DuPage County Emergency Telephone System Board Policy Advisory Committee met Dec. 6.
Here are the minutes provided by the committee:
1. CALL TO ORDER
9:00 AM meeting was called to order by Chair Timothy Hayden at 9:00 AM.
2. ROLL CALL
PRESENT: Hayden, Dina, Herron, Hurd, Johl
ABSENT: Baarman
Attendees:
Director Linda Zerwin, DuPage Emergency Telephone System Board, non-voting Member Eve Kraus, DuPage Emergency Telephone System Board
Matt Theusch, DuPage Emergency Telephone System Board
Rich Cassady, Glenside Fire (Remote)
Eric Fors, Hanover Park Fire (Remote)
Tom Gallahue, ILEAS (Remote)
Bill Holmer, Carol Stream PD (Remote)
John Lozar, DU-COMM
Bob Murr, College of DuPage (Remote)
Keith Krestan, Lisle-Woodridge Fire (Remote)
Bret Mowery, York Center Fire (Remote)
Jeff Runge, Villa Park PD (Remote)
Richard Sanborn, York Center Fire (Remote)
John Sullivan, Addison Fire
Andrea Lieberenz, Addison PD, Secretary (Remote)
On roll call, Chairman Hayden, Member Herron, Member Hurd, and Member Johl were present, which constituted a quorum.
3. CHAIRMAN'S REMARKS - CHAIR HAYDEN
There were no remarks from Chairman Hayden.
4. PUBLIC COMMENT
The following individual submitted public comment:
Chief Keith Krestan - Lisle Woodridge Fire District - Record of attendance only
5. CONSENT ITEMS
A. Approval of Minutes
A. ETSB - Policy Advisory Committee - Regular Meeting - Nov 1, 2021 9:00 AM
A motion was made by Member Herron, seconded by Member Johl, to forward the minutes from the November 1, 2021 meeting to the ETS Board to receive and place on file. On voice vote, motion carried.
| RESULT: RECEIVE AND PLACE ON FILE [UNANIMOUS]
MOVER: Steve Herron, DU-COMM Police Rep SECONDER: Pat Johl, ACDC Fire Rep AYES: Hayden, Dina, Herron, Hurd, Johl ABSENT: Baarman |
1. 21-22-1 DEDIRS Monthly Maintainer Report.
A motion was made by Member Johl, seconded by Member Hurd, to forward the report to the ETS Board to receive and place on file. On voice vote, motion carried.
| RESULT: ACCEPTED AND PLACED ON FILE [UNANIMOUS] MOVER: Pat Johl, ACDC Fire Rep
SECONDER: Brandon Hurd, ACDC PSAP Rep AYES: Hayden, Dina, Herron, Hurd, Johl ABSENT: Baarman |
A. DEDIRS Access Request
A. ETS-R-0001-22 Resolution to approve access to the DuPage Emergency Dispatch Interoperable Radio System talk groups pursuant to Policy 911-005.2: Access to the DuPage Emergency Dispatch Interoperable Radio System (DEDIRS), as requested by the Aurora Fire Department.
Member Dina said Warrenville and Aurora share a border and Warrenville wants to increase their mutual aide activity with Aurora. Likewise, Aurora would like to increase their interoperability with Warrenville and some of the surrounding communities, based on the shooting they had there a year or two ago, when communication was an issue. Member Dina recommended approval of this request.
Ms. Zerwin said a comment came in from Chief Bozik of Roselle Fire that said, ?When a fire agency, in this case, Aurora Fire, requests access to DEDIRS, it is my opinion that they should be given access to all fire channels. In this case, due to the size and proximity of Aurora, it is very feasible they can be on Fire South, Fire North, and any other Fire Ops channels.? Member Dina said he agrees with Chief Bozik, as Aurora is the second biggest city in Illinois with a huge fire department, and a lot of potential to provide mutual aide to just about any of the agencies.
Member Herron asked what Aurora's impact would be on the system. Mr. Lozar replied there would be no major impact.
Ms. Zerwin advised the 14-day agency review would be over on December 7, 2021 with the ETS Board meeting following on December 8.
There was a brief discussion on what the motion would include, whether all the talkgroups or the ones requested by Aurora Fire. The Members came to a decision the requested talkgroups would be recommended for approval to the ETS Board, and if more were deemed necessary, a modification could be brought back to the PAC for further discussion.
Member Johl made a motion to recommend approval to the ETS Board for the requested InterOp channels, FIRE SOUTH and FIRE OPS4 pending the 14-day review, seconded by Member Dina. On voice vote, motion carried.
| RESULT: APPROVED [UNANIMOUS]
MOVER: Pat Johl, ACDC Fire Rep SECONDER: Andy Dina, DU-COMM Fire Rep AYES: Hayden, Dina, Herron, Hurd, Johl ABSENT: Baarman |
Mr. Lozar advised that upon review of the application there were questions about the talkgroups being requested. He went back to their previously approved application and clarified with the Tollway that they have a majority of the fire and police from their original agreement, but because of the consolidation and some changes in the talkgroup naming and usage, there were two talkgroups that needed to be added to their template: FDACDC2 and 3 SOUTHEAST, in addition to the requested InterOps 1-8. Mr. Lozar said the Illinois State Toll Highway Authority also provided a list of encrypted talkgroups they are sharing in a reciprocal agreement with DuPage, some of which DuPage already has today on the radio. Ms. Zerwin said there is an agreement from the Tollway that had been reviewed by the State’s Attorney's Office and sent back to the Tollway with some language changes, but is not on today's agenda. Mr. Lozar added there will need to be some cleanup of their talkgroups. Ms. Zerwin stated the 14-day agency review would end on December 16, 2021.
Member Herron recommended approval to the ETS Board as requested to include FDACDC2 and 3 SOUTHEAST, pending the 14-day approval, seconded by Member Hurd. On voice vote, motion carried.
| RESULT: APPROVED [UNANIMOUS]
MOVER: Steve Herron, DU-COMM Police Rep SECONDER: Brandon Hurd, ACDC PSAP Rep AYES: Hayden, Dina, Herron, Hurd, Johl ABSENT: Baarman |
1. Fire Requested Talkgroups
Mr. Lozar shared a PowerPoint presentation on Talkgroup Requests/Changes. He said there are several fire agencies that have expressed challenges using VHF FG channels and FD Ops. Some of the FD challenges were: in-building VHF coverage, interference from multiple users on VHF FG channels, the desire for audio recordings to facilitate after-action studies, and STARCOM FD Ops issues with multi-operations on FD Ops. Some fire agencies would like to get fire ground talkgroups on STARCOM21. Mr. Lozar said he has explored some models, one being Northwest Central. Mr. Lozar explained the steps he took to investigate these issues to see what could be done to accommodate this request. He looked at the Genwatch talkgroup activity reportand searched for the 29 least-used talkgroups. Mr. Lozar provided an Initial Talkgroup Assignment list for the PAC to review. He said after discussion today, and possibly refining the list, he would provide a final list for PAC approval. Mr. Lozar said this is actually a good time to be evaluating the option because of the new radio purchase. He advised there will be some logistical challenges that need to be worked out, as the talkgroups are currently in use especially the FD Ops 1-7. He said he wants to make sure there is a minimum amount of disruption, but with the LTE programming on the new radios, it could be accomplished. He said the effects on the dispatch centers also needs to be evaluated.
A discussion ensued on the initial candidate list. Mr. Lozar showed a list of 29 candidates out of approximately 50 that had 0% usage; he believed they would be good candidates.
Mr. Lozar next showed how the list would look once the talkgroups that need to be reassigned are pulled out.
A discussion ensued regarding fire ops, fire grounds, and public works channels. The Members concurred that fire ground channels should not replace the local channels. Fire would like their own fire Ops channels, as well as 6-7 additional channels. The writing of a new policy was discussed. Ms. Zerwin clarified it would not be an operational policy in terms of when to switch or what to do, but instead it would be a policy on how the STARCOM priorities work, where DEDIRS talkgroups fall and why. She said it is not the ETSB's place to tell agencies how to operate, but instead how the talkgroup is going to operate and what to expect. This should be part of the training with the new radios. Lt. Sullivan discussed the original process used in determining fire grounds and how they were used in training, and the intent of what the PAC is looking for now for tactical on scene communications versus special events which are a lower priority. Member Herron said he found it was difficult to write or change policies without identifying the operations of the radios.
Ms. Zerwin advised they received all of the new police radios, APX4000 accessories, chargers and RSM mics last Thursday. APX4000s, mobiles, or fire radios, have not yet been delivered. She said there is a project manager assigned, not to be confused with the contract service manager, who will come into inventory and start working on next steps. She said they would like to be ready whenever a decision is made regarding police templates.
Member Herron supported whatever the Fire side felt was necessary. Member Dina felt it was, that they had identified weaknesses in the system today. There was further discussion regarding the number of talkgroups available, including once the system switches to all TDMA, priorities, and grade of service and impact to the system.
Mr. Lozar asked for direction. It was decided he would investigate the availability of one fire ground channel for each fire agency talkgroup, as well as keep the 6 or 7 Ops channels. Member Johl said they would need to explore the historical data on when the STARCOM21 channels are heavily used and see what priorities are tying up the system so that the Fire ground and ops channels can be prioritized appropriately.
8. DEDIRS POLICIES
A. Discussion of Policy 911-005.4: DEDIRS Subscriber Unit Programming and Use of Talk Groups
Chairman Hayden thanked Member Herron for taking on the policy issues and doing a nice job.
Member Herron said everything was relatively straightforward. The group discussed the changes that he recommended in Policy 911-005.4. Member Herron said there was a little bit of clean up on the policy statement, which was pretty similar on all three policies under discussion. Member Herron said he needs to talk to Fire to understand fire policy and drill down into the language. He also needs further information regarding over-the air programming and how LTE will work. The evolution of the policies, for example the inconsistencies with helpdesk emails and such, were briefly discussed.
B. Discussion of Policy 911-005.6: DEDIRS Use of Emergency Button
Member Herron spoke about changes that were made to Policy 911-005.6. The adjustments is regards to conventional channels (VHF and patched channels), emergency buttons usage and changes, and GPS last known location data from the mobiles as well as radios were briefly discussed. Member Herron said he will have to go over maydays with the Fire side to redefine it a little better in this policy. Member Dina asked about resetting the radio in the policy, how many ways there were to reset and differences between police and fire. Ms. Zerwin asked if they would like the APXNext radios to be programmed for testing purposes.
C. Discussion of Policy 911-005.8: TDMA Compliance, Authorized Subscriber Units and Accessories
Member Herron spoke about changes that were made to Policy 911-005.8. He said there were many changes made to the waiver and who should sign off. The language needs to be very clear to the end user; if they acknowledge the waiver, there is a chance they may not have proper coverage. There was discussion on the antennas and again, the difference between the police and fire antennas and functionality. Member Herron has more questions to be answered to continue with policy changes.
Ms. Zerwin said staff will work on getting APXNext radios programmed to aid in writing the policies. She said the policies should be ready when the new radios are ready to go out the door. She suggested police talkgroups need to be discussed, as well as encryption. The police radios may be able to start being used without encryption and can be activated at a later date. The CSOs can continue utilizing the APX7000s, until fire radios are programmed.
9. OLD BUSINESS
There was no old business.
10. NEW BUSINESS
Ms. Zerwin said they are looking at a refresh of the call handling equipment, as Z Axis will probably be available in the future. She said this means there will probably be GPS on fire radios at some point.
11. NEXT MEETING:
A. Monday, December 20 at 9:00am in Room 3-500B
12. ADJOURNMENT
Member Johl made a motion to adjourn the meeting at 10:08am, seconded by Member Herron. On voice vote, motion carried.
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