HomeMy WebLinkAboutMinutes 10-01-2015 APPROVED 11/5/2015
MINUTES
ORANGE COUNTY BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS
JOINT MEETING WITH THE
ORANGE COUNTY CHIEF'S ASSOCIATION
October 1, 2015
7:00 p.m.
The Orange County Board of Commissioners held a joint meeting on Thursday, October
1, 2015 at 7:00 p.m. at the Whitted Building in Hillsborough, N.C.
COUNTY COMMISSIONERS PRESENT: Chair Earl McKee and Commissioners Mia
Burroughs, Barry Jacobs, Bernadette Pelissier, and Renee Price
COUNTY COMMISSIONERS ABSENT: Commissioner Rich and Commissioner Dorosin
COUNTY ATTORNEYS PRESENT: John Roberts
COUNTY STAFF PRESENT: County Manager Bonnie Hammersley, Deputy County Manager
Travis Myren and Clerk to the Board Donna S. Baker (All other staff members will be identified
appropriately below)
VOLUNTEER FIRE CHIEFS PRESENT:
Brad Allison, Fire Chief, Caldwell FD, Matt Sullivan, Interim Fire Chief, Town of Chapel Hill,
Susanna Williams, Town of Carrboro, Jeff Borland, Fire Chief, Cedar Grove FD, Phillip Nasseri,
Fire Chief, White Cross FD, Jeff Cabe, Fire Chief, Orange Rural FD, John Stroud, Fire Chief,
North Chatham FD, Kevin Brooks, Fire Chief, Efland FD, Matthew Mauzy, Chief, South Orange
Rescue Squad (SORS), Mike Tapp, Fire Chief, New Hope FD, Steve McCauley, Fire Chief,
Orange Grove FD, Keith Hayes, Chief, Eno FD, Jim Groves, Orange County Emergency
Services Director
VOLUNTEER FIRE DEPTS. — CHAIRS, BOARD OF DIRECTORS
BARRY, Caldwell BOD President, Bill Waddell, Orange Grove, BOD President
Wayne Paschall, Eno BOD President, Matt Heinz, Orange Rural BOD President, Fred Stipe,
SORS BOD President Howard Pratt, New Hope BOD President, Tony Blake, White Cross BOD
President, Shawn Garrard, Eno River BOD
Chair McKee called the meeting to order at 7:08 p.m.
1. Welcome and Introductions
Chair McKee asked for a moment of silence for the victims of the Oregon tragedy.
Chair McKee said he just signed a Declaration of State of Emergency, which focuses on
flooding and high waters in the local rivers.
Chair McKee said Jim Groves would be leaving Orange County as Emergency Services
Director, and taking a position in Durham. He thanked him for his service, and said he would be
missed.
Chair McKee introduced Chief Brad Allison, of the Fire Chiefs Council, who wanted to
give an overall update to the Board about all of the fire departments' accomplishments and
highlights. He said a strategic plan was established in 2012. He said the departments are right
on track with this plan thus far. He reviewed the following highlights:
• ISO ratings
• Building fire stations
• Fire Prevention
• Update of equipment -from grants
• Advanced training level for swift water
• Biggest- Strategic Plan
Goals:
• Continue to recruit volunteers
• Outreach with community partners- Emergency Services and Sheriff's Dept.
• Training Facility
• EMT training/certification
• Pursue grants
• Joint purchasing of equipment
• Keeping up with standards
Chair McKee said Commissioner Dorosin and Commissioner Rich were not able to
attend tonight.
2. Public Safety Training Facility for Fire/Emergency Medical Services/Law
Enforcement
Chief Allison said there are 391 volunteers in Orange County, and a facility is needed to
train these volunteers properly. He said Chapel Hill is building a new facility. He said at this
meeting last year, the request was made for the BOCC to offer assistance, if the land for a
facility could be secured. He said the Efland Fire Department offered to donate some land. He
said Chapel Hill is looking to build a huge training facility to accommodate fire, EMS and law
enforcement. He said the idea has been proposed for the Town and the County to collaborate
and create a large, jointly shared facility in a centralized location such as Blackwood Farm. He
said such a facility would benefit all the departments.
Chapel Hill Chief Sullivan said the discussions are in the very early stages, since the
present facility is very old. He said if a joint facility could be built it would be a win-win situation
for all.
Chief Cabe said in order to get ISO certification the facility must be centrally located to
the majority of the stations, and that is why a joint facility is being considered.
Jim Groves said this proposal is for the day-to-day operational needs as opposed to the
Triangle J Council of Governments (TJCOG) regional proposal. He said maybe going forward
TJCOG could be invited to participate in a joint facility in Orange County.
Commissioner Burroughs asked if there is an estimate of the needed acreage.
Chief Allison said that would depend on the design, but the biggest obstacle has been
the acquisition of land.
Chief Cabe said the acreage would depend on the uses. He said anywhere from two to
five acres would be needed to build a combination burn building/drill tower and to be able to get
fire trucks to it. He said EMS has different needs, such as driver training. He said if classrooms
are desired on site, then space would be needed for a classroom building. He said the facility
could be large and complex, or small and simple. He said law enforcement would have yet
other needs. He said most burn buildings use gas, thus having much less run off, and as such
do not have to be as far removed as in the past.
Chief Sullivan from Chapel Hill said there are public safety training center architects that
do this type of work daily across the country. He said clarifying the needs would be a good
starting point.
Chief Cabe said South Orange Rescue Squad (SORS) provides specialized rescue. He
said this squad would need to have some defined space for training props, high elevations, etc.
Chief Allison said the volunteer departments would partner with the municipalities to
flesh out some of these details.
Chair McKee asked if there were any ideas regarding the financing of a joint facility.
Chief Allison said it is hoped that the County could help with permitting and initial costs,
and then all stakeholders would put in funds for the facility as well.
Chief Brooks said an increase in the fire tax could be a possibility.
Chief Cabe said charging user fees for outside entities could be implemented to recoup
some of the cost.
Commissioner Price asked if Orange County would be able to waive fees for permitting.
John Roberts he would have to research that.
Commissioner Price said waiving the fees could help reduce the costs for the fire
departments.
Chair McKee asked if the fire departments would keep the Board updated as the plans
move forward for a joint training facility.
Fred Stipe asked if there were any other counties that have a similar multi-agency
training facility.
Interim Chief Susanna Williams said New Hanover County and their local community
college did a similar facility.
Jim Groves suggested looking at Lee and Buncombe Counties as well.
Commissioner Price said North Carolina Association of County Commissioners might
have some information too.
Chief Allison said a price cannot be put on safety, and it is imperative that volunteers are
trained as well as possible.
3. Radio Upgrades
Chief Allison said radio upgrades were discussed at their last meeting and will defer to
Jim Groves and other Fire Chiefs. He said there are still some dead spots throughout the
County.
Jim Groves said there is some funding for towers, but in order to build a tower a radio
study must first be conducted. He said a RFP will be written soon and a consultant hired to
guide them through this assessment. He said there is a separate RFP for paging, and it has
been put on the back burner for now so the focus can be placed on the radio coverage.
4. Status Updates
a) Emergency Medical Services/9-1-1/County Strategic Plan Update
The Allen Report, prepared by Solutions for Local Government and published in 2012,
addressed improvements needed to the Orange County Emergency Medical Services and
Communications Center Operations. This update will also address the County's Strategic Plan
and the status for each of the 19 recommendations identified in the report.
Jim Groves presented the following PowerPoint slides:
Orange County Emergency Services Update
October 1, 2015
Acronyms
ALS—Advanced Life Support (Intermediate/ Paramedic)
AVL—Automatic Vehicle Location
BLS— Basic Life Support (Medical Responder/ EMT)
CAD — Computer Aided Dispatch
EMD — Emergency Medical Dispatch
EMS — Emergency Medical Service
OCES—Orange County Emergency Services
QA— Quality Audit and Improvement
QRV—Quick Response Vehicle
SORS—South Orange Rescue Squad
VHF —Very High Frequency
VIPER—Voice Interoperability Plan for Emergency Responders
EMS Operations
EMS Statistics
Call Volume Comparison By Year
■ 2015 = 10,450 (as of 9/26/2015)
o Projected calls for 2015 = 13,950
■ 2014 = 13,338
■ 2013 = 12,369
Average Response Time Comparison By Year (Chute + Travel)
■ 2015 = 9:35 Avg. (as of 9/26/2015)
th
o 90 percentile is 16:37 (M-5 to go 24 hours this coming year...will help)
✓ Increased call volume
✓ Staffing (remediation & OT management) took M-7 off line frequently
✓ Increased wait times at Emergency Departments (Duke biggest impact)
■ 2014 = 8:53 Avg.
th
o 90 percentile is 15:51
■ 2013 = 9:00 Avg.
EMS Recommendations
R-1 Adjust M-5 and M-8 Coverage Hours (complete)
■ Based on recent geographic call data (North/South)
• M-5 coverage remained 6am-6pm (unchanged)
• M-8 coverage changed to 6pm-6am
R-2 Add additional ambulance 9am-9pm (complete)
■ M-9 added 8am-8pm based on recent geographical call data
o Co-located at Orange Grove FD
R-3a&b Use SORS for BLS and bring on BLS ambulance (on-going)
■ Impact of UNC Hillsborough may drive collaboration of a BLS unit for transport
R-4 Assess Fire Department capabilities for First Responder (complete)
■ With the EMS co-location initiatives with the Fire Departments, this recommendation
may become null
R-5a Implement Fire Department First Responder Initiative (complete)
■ Continuing work with the Orange County Medical Director to enable Fire Departments
that wish to provide ALS (EMT Intermediate) to do so. Implementation is in progress.
R-5b QRV Initiative (null)
■ Offered as an alternate recommendation to R-5a
R-6 Staff& Equip six (6) ALS ambulances (on-going)
• OCES is requesting one new (1) ambulance each year to replace older units
• Monitoring effectiveness of program each year
• Intent is to not over-purchase or over-staff
• Call volume and response times drive units and staffing
• M-5 to become 24 hour unit this coming year
R-7 Hire Paramedic Level Shift Supervisor 24/7 (Complete)
■ Asst. Supervisors were reclassified to Supervisors on 1/1/2015
R-8 Prepare a space needs assessment (90% complete)
• Stewart Cooper Newell awarded contract on 10/1/2013
• Staff met with firm the week of 10/7/2013 to begin space needs assessment
• Draft space needs assessment presented to OCES on 3/5/2014
• Revised space needs assessment presented to OCES on 5/20/2014
• Space layout provided to OCES on 8/6/2015
R-9 Identify nine (9) strategic locations for future EMS base (in-process)
• Integral part of the Stewart Cooper Newell discussions
• Co-location or co-build with Fire Departments may require modification of this
recommendation due to the success of the co-locations thus far
• Orange Rural
• Orange Grove
• Carrboro
• New Hope
• Eno (M-5 24 hour)
• Hillsborough/Orange Rural (potential co-build in 15/16 and 16/17)
• Chapel Hill (co-location/co-build in 16/17 and 17/18)
■ GIS Modeling underway to determine 8 and 12 minute drive times
R-10 Obtain sites for development (not started)
■ Based on outcome of R-8 and R-11
R-11 Procure EMS planning and design services (not started)
■ Dependent on co-build schedule with Chapel Hill and Hillsborough/Orange Rural
R-12 Advertise, bid, construct EMS facilities (not started)
■ Based on outcome of R-8, R-10 and R-11
9-1-1 Operations
9-1-1 Communications FLOW (NFPA 1221)
9-1-1 Communications Statistics
Call Comparison By Year
■ 2015 Incoming = 39,261 7/1/2015 to present (YTD)
0 22,356 911 Calls
0 19,905 Administrative (excluding abandoned calls)
o Projected call volume (911 and Admin) is 157,044
■ Average Dispatch Time = 2.16
o New NFPA 1221 Standard (July 2013) is 1:36
■ 9-1-1 Call Answer Time = % answer time < 15 sec = 99.34%
o NFPA 1221 Standard(July 2013) is < 15 sec 95%
■ 2014 Incoming = 132,525 Calls
0 79,241 911 Calls
0 53,284 Administrative (excluding abandoned calls)
■ Average Dispatch Time = 1:33
o New NFPA 1221 Standard (July 2013) is 1:36
■ 9-1-1 Call Answer Time = % answer time < 15 sec = 99.43%
o New NFPA 1221 Standard (July 2013) is < 15 sec 95%
9-1-1 Recommendations
R-13 Hire full time Data Systems Manager (complete)
■ Mr. Kevin Medlin was promoted to Data Systems Manager on 10/18/2013
R-14 Hire full time Training/Quality Assurance Officer (complete)
■ Training Coordinator filled but currently vacant due to attrition
■ Job posted and currently accepting applications
■ Estimated mid November 2015 to fill the position
R-15 Hire additional Training/QA Officer (complete)
■ Currently filled by Ms. Laurie Piche
R-16 & 17 Hire Telecommunicator positions (in-process/on-going)
■ New model of hiring Telecommunicators should help complete this recommendation
o Call Taker (can be under 21 years of age)
o Dispatcher (must be 21 years of age or older for DCI certification)
■ 7 new employees will be released to the 911 Center in Oct./Nov.
■ New Telecom municator Academy to start Oct./Nov.
o 12 is the target for the next academy
R-18 Purchase AVL hardware for new EMS vehicles (complete)
■ All new units will be outfitted with AVL
R-19 Provide informational meetings with emergency responders to share new software
capabilities (complete/on-going)
■ 9-1-1 Users Group re-activated
o Members of each response organization are represented
■ Information shared during Chiefs Association meeting
■ On-going weekly collaboration via email and phone
OCES Strategic Plan
OCES Strategic plan —Admin Division (3 slides)
OCES Strategic plan — EMS Division (2 slides)
OCES Strategic plan — Communications Division (3 slides)
OCES Strategic plan —fire marshal Division (2 slides)
OCES Strategic plan — Emergency Mgt. Division (2 slides)
Commissioner Price asked if there is a reason for the increase in calls.
Kim Woodward said there are typically two reasons:
1. Increase in the general population
2. Increase in the aging population
Chief Cabe referred to page 9 slide number 7, which states, "continuing to work with the
Orange County Medical Director to enable Fire Departments that wish to prove ALS (EMT
intermediate) to do so." He said the budget at Orange Rural would not support this. He said
Orange Rural is stopping at the medical responder level.
Chair McKee said this is a consideration. He said the higher the level of service that is
provided, the greater the cost. He expressed appreciation for the smaller ambulances.
Commissioner Price asked if the Fire Departments do outreach with Durham Tech and
high school students.
Kim Woodward said there have been tremendous efforts towards outreach. She said
there is a paramedic academy at Durham Tech, and nine paramedics will be joining EMS this
year.
Jim Groves said outreach is done wherever possible. He said there is a goal to have
400 cert volunteers, involving the community.
Jason Shepherd, Orange County Fire Marshal, said Orange County Schools (OCS)
recently reached out to him to incorporate fire protection from Durham Tech into the schools.
He reached out to the State Fire Marshal's office to get certification-based training into the high
schools. He said a program already exists to certify high school students. He has connected
the school system to the State Fire Marshal's office to move this conversation and idea forward
in Orange County. He said he would keep the Board updated.
b) Update on Coverage for Insurance Issues (Remaining Areas Outside Six (6) Road
Miles)-
Jason Shepherd reviewed the following information:
Since the October 2014 joint meeting with the BOCC, Fire Chiefs and Emergency
Services, there have been two additional fire stations constructed and approved which reduced
the amount of homes outside of the 6 road mile issue. White Cross Fire Department added
Station 2 on Neville Road that allowed 239 addressable structures into a protection class. The
City of Mebane Fire Department added Station 3 that allowed all parcels in the East Alamance
insurance district into a rated protection class. The BOCC has approved exchanges between
fire protection districts on the insurance layer to bring homes into a protection class rating. The
insurance districts include White Cross, West Orange, Cane Creek, Cedar Grove and Central
Orange
Chair McKee asked if it is know how many homes are still located outside the 6-mile route
distance.
Jason Shephard referred to the map on back page of agenda packet where this legend
information is located at the bottom of the map.
c) Emergency Medical Services Co-Location
Jim Groves reviewed the following information:
On March 19, 2013 the Board of County Commissioners approved an agreement with
the Orange Rural Fire Department to co-locate one (1) Emergency Medical Services (EMS) unit
at the Phelps Road Station. Subsequently, the BOCC has approved agreements with Orange
Grove, Carrboro, and New Hope Fire Departments to co-locate EMS units at those stations as
well. This item provides an opportunity for the BOCC to hear from the Fire Chiefs on how the
co-location initiative is working out.
Jim Groves said this item is to provide feedback to the Board of County Commissioners
on how co-location is doing.
Chief McCauley, Orange Grove Fire Chief, said there are no problems with co-location,
and it is a very collaborative relationship.
Chief Cabe said there have been some "bumps" but nothing major, and it is beneficial.
He said there is discussion about Medic 5 moving to Eno. He said Orange Rural's intention is to
finish Walker Road Station and make Phelps Road into an EMS base with fire trucks as well.
Chief Sullivan, Carrboro Fire Chief, said that there are no problems with their stations,
and it is a beneficial situation. He said the only challenge at Station 1 is lack of personal space
for EMS.
Chief Tapp, New Hope Fire Chief, said there is a good working relationship with Orange
County EMS.
Chief Nassari, White Cross Fire Chief, said the funding from Orange County for extra
supplies is greatly appreciated.
Matthew Mauzy, SORS, said they co-locate as well and have done so for about 40
years. He said a new ambulance was recently added to their fleet, and they just began 7 day a
week staffing in conjunction with Orange County. He said this offers greater consistency within
the system.
Chief Sullivan said smoke alarm companies have been contacted regarding recycling
smoke alarms. He said smoke alarms could be returned to the original company where they will
be recycled.
Chair McKee asked Bonnie Hammersley to check with solid waste to see if Orange
County can participate in the recycling process.
Chief Williams said she had already made this contact, and there was concern about the
ionization in the alarms. She said these types of alarms could be disposed of directly, but
probably not recycled.
Chair McKee said he would still like for solid waste to look into this as well.
Jim Groves said the Fire Marshal could work with Gayle Wilson at Solid Waste.
A motion was made by Commissioner Burroughs, seconded by Commissioner Price to
add a closed session for the purpose of: Per 143-318.11(a)(3), "To consult with an attorney
employed or retained by the public body in order to preserve the attorney-client privilege
between the attorney and the public body"
VOTE: UNANIMOUS
CLOSED SESSION:
A motion was made by Commissioner Pelissier seconded by Commissioner Burroughs
to go into closed session at 8:45 p.m. for the purpose of: Per 143-318.11(a)(3), "To consult with
an attorney employed or retained by the public body in order to preserve the attorney-client
privilege between the attorney and the public body."
VOTE: UNANIMOUS
RECONVENE INTO REGULAR SESSION
A motion was made by Commissioner Burroughs seconded by Commissioner Pelissier
to reconvene the meeting into regular session at 9:40 p.m.
VOTE: UNANIMOUS
ADJOURNMENT
A motion was made by Commissioner Burroughs seconded by Commissioner Price to adjourn
the meeting at 9:40 p.m.
VOTE: UNANIMOUS
Earl McKee, Chair
Donna Baker, Clerk to the Board