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HomeMy WebLinkAboutItem 06.nFebruary 22, 2011 RESOLUTION GRANTING APPROVAL OF OUTDOOR WARNING SIREN SYSTEM NARROW BANDING PLAN Proposed Action Staff recommends adoption of the following motion: Approve Resolution Granting Approval of Outdoor Warning Siren System Narrow Banding Plan Approval of the Resolution will result in all sirens being converted to use a common signaling format and provide financial assistance for the implementation of the narrow banding plan. Overview Public out door warning sirens within Dakota County are activated via radio from the DCC. The current warning sirens use "wide band radio technology that must be retired prior to January 1, 2013 in order to comply with FCC rules. A staff work group from the County and the Cities has examined the issue and recommended upgrades to the siren warning activation method, improved operational performance; two -way configuration of the system that would permit individual communities or siren owner /operators to monitor and know if a siren(s) activated or were otherwise ready for activation; and, faster and more secure activation technologies that could be implemented as part of FCC narrowband compliance; and, a structure to permit financial assistance from Dakota County grants for siren owners that elect to utilize the strategies recommended by the Siren Work Group. The attached Resolution endorses and recommends the adoption of the Work Group's outdoor warning siren narrow banding plan. Primary Issues to Consider FCC Narrow Banding requirements Siren system design and implementation Project financing Supporting Information gt. John Kornman Item No. Financial Impact: $_$16,000 revenue, $247,000 expenditure Budgeted: Y/N Y Source: Related Documents (CIP, ERP, etc.): Notes: Primary Issues to Consider FCC Narrow Banding requirements In October 2012, Dakota County will change all siren frequencies to the VHF narrow band in order to comply with FCC rules. This law has been in effect since 1993 and compliance will be required by January 1, 2013. All sirens in the inventory will require modification. Of the 21 sirens, five are narrow band ready. Lakeville's 12 oldest units will require significant expenditure of funds to make them narrow band ready. Since the sirens are at the end of their service life, they will be replaced instead of upgraded. The replacements and upgrades will make the siren fleet narrow band compatible and the serve the city until approximately 2040. Siren System design and implementation The City of Lakeville of Lakeville currently operates 21 outdoor warning sirens. 12 sirens in the system were installed in 1978 and have exceeded their anticipated 30 year service life. Repair parts are no longer available and the oldest sirens are no longer supported by the manufacturer. Mechanical problems plague four sirens, requiring frequent repairs and reliability is now in question. If the narrow banding upgrades were performed on these 12 units, the old technology would not transfer to new replacement units. Investment in repairs rather than replacement of the 12 oldest sirens is not cost effective. Siren Location Modifications. In preparation for the 2012 narrow band upgrade, the City of Lakeville and Federal Warning Systems studied the placement of our sirens to verify they were in the correct location for effective coverage of the city. The siren at U 164th and Cedar Avenue will be relocated to Valley Lake Park as a part of the Cedar Avenue BRT project. The siren at 172 and Hearthside will be moved to the west side of Highview Ave. to improve access to the siren and reduce direct noise impact on a residence. The siren in Ardmore Village will move to the intersection of CR 50 at Gateway Ave. to provide long term coverage to the community and industrial park to the south. This move will reduce noise impact for homes within 20 feet of the current location. Electronic Monitoring As a part of the siren upgrade and replacement program, the city will invest in a computer based siren monitoring program. This computer program will give staff the ability to monitor the status of sirens remotely. The new sirens are equipped with a two way radio system that allows staff to poll the siren to determine if it is ready for use. Currently, staff members must be on site at the 21 locations to verify the sirens activate for the monthly test. The system can be checked on a weekly basis instead of one day per month. This system will save 21 hours of staff time per month and allow the city to check sirens more frequently. Project Financing The siren project budget ($247,000) is financed by the Liquor Fund. Dakota County will also be providing $16,000 of financial assistance to the City of Lakeville for this project. CITY OF LAKEVILLE RESOLUTION NO. RESOLUTION GRANTING APPROVAL OUTDOOR WARNING SIREN SYSTEM NARROW BANDING WHEREAS, in 2007 the Dakota Communications Center (DCC) began to provide 9 -1 -1 call answering, public safety radio dispatching, and related Public Safety Answering Point (PSAP) services to the citizens and visitors of Dakota County; and, WHEREAS, in 2008 the DCC and Dakota County (County) entered into an Agreement relating to the maintenance, operation, and support certain fixed radio communications and signaling equipment used to activate individual outdoor warning sirens located in various communities and townships within or near Dakota County; and, WHEREAS, individual outdoor warning sirens are owned and maintained by various entities including cities, townships, and private enterprises (e.g. Xcel Energy); and, WHEREAS, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) has established Rules and Regulations which require the reconfiguration of radio transmitters and receivers used in conjunction with the outdoor warning siren system by January 1, 2013; and, WHEREAS, the aforementioned transmitter /receiver reconfiguration is commonly known as the First Phase Narrow Banding requirement; and, WHEREAS, failure to comply with FCC Rules and Regulations may subject the County and/or the Cities to possible sanctions including loss of FCC license authority and/or fines; and, WHEREAS, representatives of the Cities and Dakota County staff (Work Group) have been planning a method to narrow band equipment used by the DCC to activate outdoor warning sirens as well as individually owned /operated sirens across the County; and, WHEREAS, the DCC Joint Operations Committee has reviewed and recommended the Work Group recommendations to the DCC joint power's board. WHEREAS, the Work Group has recommended a migration strategy including funding assistance to local communities to narrow band individual siren radio transmitter /receivers using technology that will provide additional redundancy, faster signaling methods, and capability for future siren status monitoring. NOW THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED: The City of Lakeville hereby endorses and recommends the adoption of the Work Group's outdoor warning siren narrow banding plan. ADOPTED this day of , 2011. ATTEST: Charlene Friedges, City Clerk CITY OF LAKEVILLE Mark Bellows, Mayor Background Dakota County Outdoor Warning Siren Activation System — Recommended Board Action (RBA) Public out door warning sirens within Dakota County are activated via radio from the DCC. The current warning sirens use "wide band" radio technology that must be retired prior to January 1, 2013. The radio conversion from wide band to narrow band operation is required by published FCC Rules. A staff work group from the County and the Cities has examined the issue and recommended upgrades to the siren warning activation method. The group has further considered and recommends standards for: 1. Improved operational performance; and, 2. Two -way configuration of the system that would permit individual communities or siren owner /operators to monitor and know if a siren(s) activated or were otherwise ready for activation; and, 3. Faster and more secure activation technologies that could be implemented as part of FCC narrowband compliance; and, 4. A structure to permit financial assistance from Dakota County grants for siren owners that elect to utilize the strategies recommended by the Siren Work Group. At their October 16, 2008 meeting, the DCC Board adopted an Agreement with Dakota County which establishes responsibilities for outdoor warning siren activation and central transmission equipment maintenance. This Agreement continued the past practice of making individual communities and responsible for their local siren equipment. The siren Work Group reviewed various technologies and operational concepts relating to siren activation and monitoring. The Work Group also explored opportunities to expedite and simplify siren activation for DCC staff based upon migration to a common activation technology for more than 115 outdoor warning sirens within Dakota County. Work Group Recommendation & Summary The Work Group makes the following recommendations: 1. All sirens within Dakota County be converted to use a common signaling format which will permit a streamlined activation method. A common activation code plan will need to be developed for all sirens across the County. Several technologies were explored and it was determined that DTMF signaling offered the best price -to- performance ratio. Some sirens within the County already use this signaling format but will still need to be converted for narrow band operation. 2. County financial assistance should be made available, using the Attachment below as the basis for the level of assistance. Receipt of this assistance assumes that communities conform to the common alerting policies and procedures established by the Outdoor Warning Siren Work Group and approved by the County relating to Outdoor Warning siren hardware and software. 3. That each siren operator be polled to determine their interest and willingness to utilize status - reporting siren technology.(This technology would permit communities, either individually or in groups, to poll the "health and welfare" status of their outdoor warning sirens if they chose to invest in technology to accomplish this. Siren status polling would not be a DCC responsibility.) PSC Alliance Inc. Page 1 DRAFT 6 November 29, 2010 Recommended Resolution Study Group Participants Notes: PSC Alliance Inc. Dakota County Outdoor Warning Siren Activation System — Recommended Board Action (RBA) 4. That policies and procedures be developed amongst interested communities for shared use of siren status monitoring equipment and software. Attached to this RBA is a suggested resolution for consideration by individual siren Owners /Operators within the County. In order to achieve the recommendations of the Outdoor Warning Siren work group it will be necessary to all siren owner/operators to adopt a common signaling method. The common signaling method must be compatible with narrow band FCC regulatory requirements and suitable equipment purchases and programming modifications to the activation equipment used by the DCC will be necessary. The following people participated in a study group which evaluated various options and recommend the strategy contained in this document to siren owners: Dakota Communications Center (DCC): Diane Lind, Acting Executive Director Dakota County: Dave Gisch, Chair, County Emergency Manager BJ Battig, Manager Risk Management & Homeland Security Ron Jansen, Coordinator Radio Services Lakeville: John Kornmann Nelcom: Steve Nelson PSC Alliance: Jeff Nelson 1) This 2 -way handshake design contemplated in this white paper requires that some siren "handshake" messages be passed from one siren to another in certain locations in a daisy -chain fashion. In order to effect this strategy all sirens in a particular daisy chain will need to be outfitted with 2 -way capability if desired by the participating community. 2) Siren owners seeking a transition path into a 2 -way capability should contemplate these rough budgetary estimates to outfit siren radio signaling logic: - $1,500 per siren if two way capability is added at the time of the initial purchase of a siren $4,500 per siren if the two way capability is added after the initial purchase and installation of a siren assuming siren upgrade compatibility. Note these costs are related to the "radio package" at individual sirens only and neither purchase nor replace a siren itself. The costs for outfitting sirens with two way communications are outside the scope and mobilization of the narrowband conversion project, but should be considered by siren owners if they are buying new sirens concurrent with the implementation of narrow banding and wish to have monitoring in capability in the future. 3) If desired, communities wishing to do so could also acquire separate equipment to locally activate their sirens. This would create a third level of redundancy in addition to the primary and backup transmitters which would be installed at Empire and Palomino as part of the narrowbanding project. 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