Quincy Reporter

City of Quincy and Adams County Board 911 Joint ETSB met Oct. 16.

Here is the minutes provided by the board:

9 members present: Joint ETSB Chairman and Quincy Alderman Mike Farha, Quincy Alderman Jeff Bergman, Quincy Alderman Richie Reis, Quincy Police Chief Rob Copley, Adams County Board Member Ryan Niekamp, Adams County EMS Chief John Simon, PSAP Representative John Myers, Adams County Public Member Duane Venvertloh and Adams County Rural Fire Association Representative Tom Bentley.

0 members absent.

Also present: First Assistant States Attorney Todd Eyler, 9-1-1 Director Jessica Douglas, 9-1-1 Systems Administrator John Frankenhoff, 9-1-1 Dispatch Supervisors Becky Lyon and John Creech.

Quorum Call. Joint ETSB Chairman Mike Farha called the meeting to order and indicated a quorum was present.

Ryan Niekamp made a motion to approve the minutes of the July 17, 2019 meeting; Richie Reis seconded the motion. The motion carried and the minutes were approved as distributed with no changes.

Chairman Farha asked for a motion to move into execution session to discuss personnel matters.

Ryan Niekamp made a motion to move into executive session to discuss personnel matters. Tom Bentley seconded the motion.

John Simon recused himself prior to the start of executive session.

Executive session started at 5:21 p.m.

Open session was resumed at 6:32 p.m.

Appointment of 9-1-1 Director. Chairman Mike Farha asked for a motion to appoint a candidate to the position of 9-1-1 Director of the Quincy/Adams County 9-1-1 Center.

Rob Copley made a motion to appoint Interim Director Jessica Douglas to the position of 9-1-1 Director; Jeff Bergman seconded the motion.

A roll call vote was held: 5 Yes (Rob Copley, Jeff Bergman, Richie Reis, Tom Bentley, Mike Farha); 3 No (Ryan Niekamp, John Myers, Duane Venvertloh).

The motion to appoint Jessica Douglas to the position of 9-1-1 Director, effective immediately, passed.

204 Fund balance. Director Jessica Douglas reported an Emergency Telephone System Fund (Illinois 9-1-1 Surcharge) balance of $1,405,251.17 as of October 16, 2019.

She noted that an amount of $2,165.00 was withheld by the State Comptroller’s Office due to an outstanding City of Quincy obligation owed to the Environmental Protection Agency. She further noted that the obligation has been satisfied, those funds released and a check for the total amount was issued and deposited on October 8, 2019.

Project Status of VHF Simulcast Voting Receiver Radio System. Director Douglas stated that, in September, a 32-hour test of the Centracom at the courthouse backup center on the new radio system was performed with excellent results.

She stated that upon return to the primary center a noted issue with radio transmissions dropping out, primarily on Quincy Police channel with a few drops on Adams County Sheriff channel, persisted. She stated that, due to responder safety concerns posed by unreliable radio communications, 9-1-1 operations moved to the courthouse backup center. She noted that dispatch would continue to work from the courthouse backup center until the issue is resolved, and that she hopes for operations to return to the primary center as soon as possible.

Director Douglas stated that both Wireless USA and Motorola are working on upgrades to the core system of the MCC7500 radio consoles and making progress towards resolving the issue.

Personnel status. Director Douglas stated that there was one resignation of a probationary dispatcher effective August 9, 2019.

Director Douglas reported zero vacancies, noting that two new dispatchers were hired effective October 7, 2019.

Director Douglas stated that that one employee completed probation effective August 14, 2019 and that two probationary employees are anticipated to complete probation on or about November 1, 2019.

County Budget Process – 60% / 40% Budget (COQ 202 Fund). Director Douglas reported that the County budget process is underway for the next fiscal year. She stated that expenses in the budget are personnel costs for 15 Dispatchers, 2 Dispatch Supervisors and the Systems Administrator as well as RMS annual software, licensing, repair and maintenance costs. She noted that the County is expected to approve the budget on November 12, 2019.

FY 2020-2021 9-1-1 Budget Planning. Director Douglas noted that she would seek the Joint ETSB’s approval for her budget at the January 15, 2020 meeting.

Next Generation 9-1-1 (NG 9-1-1). Director Douglas explained NG 9-1-1, stating that the technology will modernize how 9-1-1 calls route to the PSAP. She stated that NG 9-1-1 will utilize mapping data that follows uniform statewide standards and that GIS data must be kept up to date once NG 9-1-1 is implemented.

Director Douglas stated that our PSAP boundary layer templates and data were submitted to and accepted by the state.

Director Douglas stated that she expects to learn more about the timeline for NG 9-1-1 implementation at an upcoming conference in Springfield in November.

Old Business. There was no old business.

New Business. John Myers stated that issues with background noise have been brought to his attention, and he inquired about the use of headsets. Director Douglas stated that the dispatchers do have access to headsets; however, the headsets connect to the consoles via cords making it difficult for the dispatchers to move freely about the radio room if they need to access other resources.

Chairman Mike Farha inquired if Director Douglas was aware if it was possible to utilize cordless headsets and, if so, what the associated cost of purchase would be. Director Douglas stated that she would look into the possibility and cost. She noted that dispatchers might be more likely to use headsets if there was cordless capability.

Next Meeting. The next quarterly meeting of the Joint ETSB is scheduled for Wednesday, January 15, 2020 at 5:15 p.m.

Meeting Adjournment. John Simon made a motion to adjourn the meeting; Jeff Bergman seconded the motion. The motion carried and the meeting adjourned.

http://www.co.adams.il.us/911/minutes/minutes201016.pdf