DuPage County Emergency Telephone System Board Ad Hoc Finance Committee met May 2.
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, Baarman, Dina, Hermes, Herron, Johl
ABSENT:
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
David Poetz, Motorola System Manager
Matt Beyer, Bloomingdale Fire (Remote)
Dan Bilodeau, DuPage Sheriff’s Office (Remote)
Tom Gallahue, ILEAS (Remote)
Michael Hylton, Oakbrook Terrace PD (Remote)
Chris Kindelspire, Grundy County (Remote)
John Lozar, DU-COMM
Bob Murr, College of DuPage (Remote)
John Nebl, OHSEM
Jason Norton, Darien PD (Remote)
Rob Pekelder, Downers Grove Fire (Remote)
Frank Reyes, Broadview PD (Remote)
Jeff Runge, Villa Park PD (Remote)
Bill Srejma, ACDC (Remote)
John Sullivan, Addison Fire
Patrick Tanner, West Chicago Fire (Remote)
Dan Tasso, Downers Grove Fire (Remote)
Andrea Lieberenz, Addison PD, Secretary
On roll call, Chairman Hayden, Vice Chair Dina, Member Baarman, Member Hermes, Member Herron, and Member Johl were present, which constituted a quorum.
3. CHAIRMAN'S REMARKS - CHAIR HAYDEN
There were no comments from Chairman Hayden.
4. PUBLIC COMMENT
There was no Public comment.
5. GRUNDY COUNTY APXNEXT BEST PRACTICES
Ms. Zerwin advised that Chris Kindelspire will be speaking about APXNext best practices from the Grundy County deployment. She said Mr. Kindelspire is on the State 911 Advisory Board, as well as several STARCOM21 committees, and is a Region 54 representative. Ms. Zerwin told Mr. Kindelspire that PAC would like to hear his best practices and lessons learned through his programming and using the new radios, as well as his thoughts on encryption.
Mr. Kindelspire said WESCOM and Grundy got together in 2016 and did a port agreement with STARCOM21. They built out the Will County simulcast cells, which now covers two counties; there are 20 sites and 12 channels. He said they are seamless; they have an open MOU between each other with their talk groups, and they share some common encryption keys with each other. He said Grundy, Kankakee and WESCOM are working on a key management facility so they can begin working on an over-the-air rekeying project. Will County is now on an EF Johnson/Kenwood system, and they continue to add their system into subscriber devices.
Grundy executes an MOU between ETSBs; there is one with Kendall and Vermillion and Kankakee, where instead of each individual agency having an MOU, it is done between ETSBs, since the programming is done internally. Will County has required fire departments to secure their own MOUs. Mr. Kindelspire said when he gets a copy, he adds Will County assets to the subscribers. He said they also have a security group, MOU 2, with the same agencies (Kendall, Kankakee and Livingston Vermillion). There is a security group agreement so resources are also on consoles that can be shared. He said they are the backup location for Kendall and Kankakee, which helps to see their STARCOM21 and conventional resources, and vice versa.
Mr. Kindelspire said the biggest struggle was when a deputy was shot last October. He said they have something similar to an ILEAS call and have been using it since 2013. He said the Sheriff was having trouble regarding knowing to whom and when he could speak; he couldn’t communicate with anyone, no one was on the same page. They now have talk groups that have been built out. It is structured so incoming units will have access.
Mr. Kindelspire asked Ms. Zerwin if they use Radio Manager. She said they use do, as well as Command Central. Mr. Kindelspire said Radio Manger has been a game changer for the portable subscribers, as changes can be made on the fly and can be pushed out over wifi. He said APXNext has the same capabilities. The only moving part on the APXNext is if there is no access to the internet, how can you make changes to the subscriber device if you were deployed into an area that had no internet or LTE coverage. He understands there will be a mechanism within Motorola so the code plug can be modified in the radio.
Ms. Zerwin asked him to speak about the key management system he is working on and what he would like to gain from it. Mr. Kindelspire said Grundy and Wescom work closely; there is a lot of overlap. They use some shared encryption keys. There has been an increased desire to have one more of their dispatch encrypted. He said Bolingbrook encrypted theirs. He said deputies complain that they can hear themselves talk on the radio sometimes, so there is a desire to control that traffic. He said the concern is the limited operability with neighbors. For the last 9 months, they have been talking with WESCOM to do a Key Management Facility (KMF), where keys can be managed, and it has spilled into Kankakee, as they are looking to do the same thing - there is power in numbers. He said they are looking at a KMF with a redundant KMF. He said they didn’t put over-the-air rekeying on the radio originally, and now a flash needs to be added. He said they standardized on the AES256 multikey as adopted by the P25 CAP. That is the standards-based encryption for P25. He said right now to rekey a radio, a hand-held device needs to touch each radio. The KMF will allow updating of keys on demand.
Mr. Poetz asked how many secure keys they went with and what process was used to define which channels were on which key. Mr. Kindelspire said they have slots from STARCOM21. Each law enforcement agency has their own key. There is a common law enforcement key, as well as a generic key. With open dispatch, there are a couple of tactical dispatch channels they can use that are monitored in the 911 center. All the talk groups that are encrypted are under strapped encryption. Mr. Kindelspire said there are five keys specific for law enforcement agencies, as well as the common and generic keys. He concluded by reviewing the need for the KMF as opposed to having to touch each radio for touches which is a logistically nightmare.
Ms. Zerwin asked if the Members had any further questions, to which there were none.
6. CONSENT ITEMS
A. Approval of Minutes
1. ETSB - Policy Advisory Committee - Regular Meeting - Apr 4, 2022 9:00 AM
A motion was made by Member Johl, seconded by Member Hermes, to forward the minutes from the April 4, 2022 meeting to the ETS Board to receive and place on file. On voice vote, motion carried.
RESULT: ACCEPTED [UNANIMOUS]
MOVER: Pat Johl, ACDC Fire Rep
SECONDER: Sherianne Hermes, ACDC Rep
AYES: Hayden, Baarman, Dina, Hermes, Herron, Johl
B. Radio Maintainer Report
1. 21-22-33 DEDIRS Monthly Maintainer Report
All Members had already received and reviewed the Radio Maintainer Report.
A motion was made by Member Johl, seconded by Member Hermes, to forward the report to the ETS Board to receive and place on file. On voice vote, motion carried.
RESULT: APPROVED [UNANIMOUS]
MOVER: Pat Johl, ACDC Fire Rep
SECONDER: Sherianne Hermes, ACDC Rep
AYES: Hayden, Baarman, Dina, Hermes, Herron, Johl
7. COMMITTEE APPROVAL REQUIRED
A. 21-22-34 PAC 2022 Meeting Calendar Revised
Chairman Hayden advised the revised calendar includes dates for bi-monthly meetings.
RESULT: APPROVED [UNANIMOUS]
MOVER: Matt Baarman, DU-COMM PSAP Rep
SECONDER: Pat Johl, ACDC Fire Rep
AYES: Hayden, Baarman, Dina, Hermes, Herron, Johl
B. 21-22-35 Addison Fire WAVE Application
Chairman Hayden advised that per the policy, this item does not require ETS Board approval. Addison FPD has completed the appropriate STARCOM paperwork for WAVE and the application for DEDIRS.
RESULT: APPROVED [UNANIMOUS]
MOVER: Matt Baarman, DU-COMM PSAP Rep
SECONDER: Pat Johl, ACDC Fire Rep
AYES: Hayden, Baarman, Dina, Hermes, Herron, Johl
8. PARENT COMMITTEE APPROVAL REQUIRED
A. DEDIRS Access Request
A. ETS-R-0036-22 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 Broadview Police Department. Recommendation to amend and approve Policy Advisory Committee VOTE (to approve): 6 Ayes, 0 Nays.
Member Baarman suggested only recommending approval of the Interops 1-8 channels, to be consistent with the April 4, 2022 PAC meeting for the BNSF Railway and the Maywood Police Department.
A motion to recommend approval of access to the Interops 1-8 channels only was made by Member Baarman, seconded by Member Herron. On voice vote, motion carried.
Chairman Hayden said that as of today, there have been no objections to the talk groups posted. Ms. Zerwin asked if there should be an adjustment to the policy that when the talk groups requested are not all approved, if the amended talk groups should be circulated through the agencies for a second review or as an informational piece. A short discussion ensued, and the consensus was since the amendment recommendation was a decrease in the number of talk groups as opposed to more, a second 14-day notice would not be necessary as the agencies had already given their approval by not opposing the application. Ms. Zerwin felt this should be clarified in the policy re-write.
RESULT: APPROVED [UNANIMOUS]
MOVER: Matt Baarman, DU-COMM PSAP Rep
SECONDER: Steve Herron, DU-COMM Police Rep
AYES: Hayden, Baarman, Dina, Hermes, Herron, Johl
9. DEDIRS PORTABLE AND MOBILE REPLACEMENT
1. APX Configuration
Motorola System Manager David Poetz provided an update. He said the fire and police work groups have been meeting to discuss the APX configurations, new features, and policy questions from the last PAC meeting. He said the channel zone/channel assignments template was modified, as well. He said the main focus of the work groups has been on the template design. There will be a proposed fire version and a proposed police version.
2. Proposed Naming Convention Changes for Police Template
Member Herron advised that the work group has gotten together. He shared a Proposed Channel Line-up, listed as Banks A-C. He said most law enforcement people do not use many of the channels, and they are trying to figure out the best option to utilize the 22 channels that are not being used. Member Herron said they are going to make it similar to what fire has been doing; it will be very straight forward. Member Herron discussed the different channels. He said it will be relatively simplistic.
Member Baarman asked what the next step will be. Member Herron said the group will need to agree and then converse with the group on the idea of sharing those instead of main talk groups. The PD ops groups need to be assigned to the channels. He said the biggest question he gets asked is what channel someone is on. He said they will talk about encryption next. Member Herron advised MERIT feels anyone that is in MERIT should get all 5 MERIT channels. He said we also need to talk about naming conventions/aliases.
Member Baarman asked if someone is putting together a master talk group list, so we know what talk groups are available to each group. Mr. Nebl answered he has a list of conventional channels and believed they were going to roll the STARCOM talk groups in, too. Member Baarman was looking for a list with channels that could be named so everyone has the same name in all their radios, what the usage for each will be, so agencies will know what their available channels will be. This would also help them decide how many keys would be needed based on groupings. Member Herron said he still uses the list Mr. Lozar distributed 10-11 years ago. Member Baarman also asked if they would revisit the list of standard zones that are not editable. Mr. Sullivan referenced the list shared by Member Herron and while it may be semantics, he suggested they be called Zone A, B, C instead of Bank A, B, C, etc. These are different terms and have different definitions in training.
A short discussion ensued regarding naming conventions utilized by surrounding communities and their effect on the ViQi voice command feature, that Chief Herron hopes first responders will utilize.
Chairman Hayden asked about the console names; would recommendations be made to change those. Member Herron said he assumed that will be part of this process. Member Baarman said the talk group name should be the same on any device in the system. Ms. Zerwin said it would be more awkward and a big change for the Telecommunicators visually, but it is a training issue they could overcome. A discussion ensued on how Telecommunicators will know what channels are encrypted.
3. Fire Focus Group Update/Progress Report
Vice Chair Dina said the fire work group has had several meetings to design a template to meet the needs of both DU-COMM and ACDC fire agencies based on feedback from the agencies. He advised that he and John Lozar are the DU-COMM representatives; Member Johl, Jim Connolly, and John Sullivan are the ACDC representatives, and John Nebl represents DuPage OHSEM. Mr. Nebl has a lot of state- and national-level channel knowledge. Mr. Poetz is the Motorola Radio System Manager. He advised John Nebl, David Poetz, and John Lozar cross over between the work groups. Vice Chair Dina said their goals are recommending cold plug updates and changes to the template. He is hoping Mr. Poetz can talk about the difference between a cold plug and a template. Some of their goals are reviewing naming conventions with minimal disruptions, eliminating redundancies, incorporating new fire department ops channels, communicating progress to and seeking input from the appropriate FD Ops groups and communicating with and making recommendations to PAC. He said they would like to be ready by the time the new radios are delivered in the summer. He said the work group members have been reaching out to the neighboring county fire agencies. The goal for those meetings is interoperability. We need to find out what we need from them for inbound communications. Some of the questions asked have been: Are there any encrypted channels we need to know about, and if so, what type of encryption? Is there an MOU that needs to be updated? And finally, are there any future changes that we should be aware of? Vice Chair Dina said they have met with or are scheduled to meet with Naperville, Aurora, Fermilab, MABAS, Cook County, Kane County, Kendall County, Will County and Grundy County. He said they have several meetings already, which have been very productive. Vice Chair Dina asked the fire agencies to be prepared to bring any questions or comments to the next support services or operations meeting, keeping in mind that today is an update and not the final recommendation.
Mr. Poetz shared his screen and spoke about the Generic DuPage FD Template for 3rd Touch. He advised this will look similar to the past fire template. He said each agency has two sections to select from - User Select and User Select #2. He discussed the channels users can select and the order they should be in.
There was a brief discussion regarding agencies that may need an exception to the template. Ms. Zerwin said exceptions would come through PAC. She said she hopes it stays consistent, but an exception should be documented.
Mr. Poetz continued by advising that 7 more FD Ops channels have been added. They are proposing utilizing the list that Mr. Lozar came up with. He said each agency or group has a primary FD Ops. He said APXNext does not need a 100% bank system anymore. The title of each zone is the same. He said the group is proposing some organization, changing a couple of the channel assignments within the zones. He discussed the zones, as well as the changes and additions that were made.
Mr. Poetz said they will be going over the APX configuration questions and the code plug suggestions. They will then be able to come back to the PAC with suggested policies for police and fire.
Ms. Zerwin said Mr. Poetz has been working on programming the jail radios for the Sheriff’s Office. There is a draft Memorandum of Agreement under review by the State's Attorney's Office. She reminded the group that those radios are APX4000s, and this deploys them out with the current jail template. Deploying these radios would give ETSB APX7000 radios with parts and batteries that can be reconditioned. She advised there will be some documentation coming through specific to that reimbursement package.
10. OLD BUSINESS
There was no old business.
11. NEW BUSINESS
There was no new business.
12. NEXT MEETING:
A. Monday, May 16 at 9:00am in Room 3-500B
13. ADJOURNMENT
Member Baarman made a motion to adjourn, seconded by Member Herron. On voice vote, motion carried. The meeting of the PAC was adjourned at 10:07am.
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