HomeMy WebLinkAboutAgenda - 01-23-2007-5pORANGE COUNTY
BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS
ACTION AGENDA ITEM ABSTRACT
Meeting Date: January 23, 2007
Action Agenda
Item No. 5,
SUBJECT: Acceptance of Grant Allocation from the Law Enforcement Terrorism
Prevention Program
DEPARTMENT: Emergency Management PUBLIC HEARING: (Y/N) No
ATTACHMENT (S): INFORMATION CONTACT:
Memorandum of Agreement Kent McKenzie, 968-2050
PURPOSE: To approve acceptance of State Managed Federal Homeland Security grant funds
totaling $1,814,000 for interoperable communications infrastructure and equipment, and to
authorize the State Highway Patrol to expend these grant funds to construct communications
infrastructure for Orange County to benefit public safety agencies and the people of the County.
BACKGROUND: The United States Department of Homeland Security (DHS) awarded the
State of North Carolina funding for equipment, exercises, and training through the FY 2004 Law
Enforcement Terrorism Prevention Program. The State administers the grant funding to local
agencies to improve domestic preparedness for law enforcement through the purchase of law
enforcement equipment and supplies.
The Orange County Department of Emergency Management applied for a grant, on behalf of all
law enforcement agencies within the County, to develop two radio tower sites. Engineers with
the State Highway Patrol and the County's consultant CTA Communications have identified
three locations that will provide appropriate coverage: The state-owned communications tower
on Occoneechi Mountain in Hillsborough, a state-owned communications tower on Cane
Mountain in southern Alamance County, and a Piedmont Electric Membership Co-op tower in
the northern part of Orange County on Hurdle Mills Road. These tower sites would allow public
safety agencies to easily communicate with each another during routine incidents and unusual
events through the State Highway Patrol's Voice Interoperability Plan for Emergency
Responders (VIPER) project.
Simultaneously with Orange County's application, the Chapel Hill Police Department also
applied to the State for FY2004 LETPP funding to construct a VIPER radio tower site on the
UNC campus in Chapel Hill, to further improve interoperable communication capability. Chapel
Hill was awarded a total of $832,500 for the. VIPER system.
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Since the State Highway Patrol owns and manages the infrastructure for the VIPER radio
system, that State agency plans to install and activate the three radio sites. Therefore, the
Town of Chapel Hill and Orange County must enter into a memorandum of understanding to
allow the State Highway Patrol. to use the local grant funds to build the interoperable radio sites.
(Note: In a separate but similar Board agenda item on April 12; 2005, Commissioners were
made aware that the County's participation in the locally managed portion was contingent upon
both participation with the State Highway Patrol in the state managed VIPER infrastructure
project in addition to approval of a future memorandum of agreement regarding that participation
with the Town of Chapel Hill and the Highway Patrol.)
FINANCIAL IMPACT: There is no County match required for the receipt of the State-
administered reimbursable Federal` grant. The State Highway Patrol will purchase the
equipment directly and grant funding will flow through the State without flowing through the
County or the Town of Chapel Hill; therefore, no budget amendment is required for this action.
County and Town staffs plan to work with the State Highway Patrol to ensure appropriate
expenditure and reimbursement from the State pursuant to the terms of the grant. There may
be some incidental use of existing County or Town staff time; however, no additional County
costs are expected.
With regard to future costs for operating and maintenance costs of the towers, the State
Highway Patrol has agreed to assume them, as indicated in the Memorandum of Agreement. In
addition, local emergency response agencies throughout the County will need to purchase
VIPER compatible communications equipment once the system is operational. Many of these
agencies have received additional Homeland Security grant funds to offset some of the costs of
purchasing the equipment. - In addition, the Board approved 2006-16 Capital Investment Plan
(CIP) includes $400,000 ($100,000 each year between fiscal year 2006-07 and 2009-10) to
cover equipment costs not covered by grant funds.
RECOMMENDATION (S.): The Manager recommends that the Board:
• Accept the allocation award;
• Authorize the Manager to sign the Memorandum of Agreement, pending approval from
the county attorney;
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NORTH CAROLINA
Voice Interoyer-ability Plan for• Emergency Responders (VIPER)
COUNTY OF
This Agreement made this day of , 2006, by and between Orange
County and the City of Chapel Hill, hereinafter called Grantees, and the NORTH CAROLINA
STATE HIGHWAY PATROL, hereinafter called Facilitator;
WIINESSETH:
THAT WHEREAS, NC State HighwayPatrol will act as the strategic facilitator for the Voice
Interoperability Plan for Emergency Responders (VIPER) by sharing resources such as spectrum
analysis and engineering support, currently licensed 800Mhz spectrum; a premier- microwave system
and network administrative responsibilities with the above named local government agency in return
for the sharing of local government resources; and,
WHEREAS Grantee desires "a mobile voice and'data communications network that allows
state and local law enforcement and public safety agencies to communicate with each other,
regardless of location in the state"; and,
WHEREAS the parties hereto have mutually agreed to the terms and conditions of this
agreement as hereinafter set forth;
NOW THEREFORE, the Grantee submitted to the North Carolina Division of Emergency
Management a letter stating its intent for the amount of'$2,384,000 to be retained by the State and
provided to the North Carolina State Highway Patrol to effect the implementation of (4) VIPER
antenna system(s) for Orange County and the City of'Chapel Hill (MOA #3016 and MOM 3017)..
This amount is based upon a combined total of'$2,700,500.,00, the combined total of'2004 Grant #
196 (MOA# 3020), Grant #232 (MOA# 3016) and Grant # 102 (MOA# 3017) of'which Orange
County retained $54,000 from MOA # 3016 and the City of Chapel Hill retained $262,500 from
MOA # 3017 for the purpose of'paying contracted services (Orange County) and the purchase of
VIPER compliant radios (Chapel Hill) Furthermore, both Orange County and the City of Chapel
Hill have agreed that as the Patrol proceeds to construct the VIPER antenna sites at Hillsboro, UNC
Chapel Hill, Laws and Cane Mountain, that all funds required to complete the installation of said
antenna sites will be encumbered-fiom the those funds-allocated to MOA#-3016 and MOA # 3020
and MOA # 3017 respectively and retained by the State of'North Carolina as expressed in a letter of
'intent from the County o.f'Orange and the City of'Chapel Hill dated December 20, 2004, however the
City of'Chapel Hill will be permitted to utilize any remaining funds to purchase VIPER compliant
radios or to be the recipient ofVIPER compliant radios purchased by the State of'North Carolina on
Chapel Hill's behalf:. Any such purchases shall be subject to the final approval of' the Secretary of
Crime Control and Public Safety..
The terms and conditions of this agreement are as follows:
1.. The Grantee and Facilitator agree to construct a statewide interagency/inter-operable wireless
voice trunked network, promote interagency sharing of'resour-ces for- the common good of North
Carolina, provide multi-host access to authorized law enforcement and public safety voice trunked
radios, provide direct mobile to mobile and base to mobile communications across jurisdictional
boundaries, comply with all security issues involved in transporting sensitive information via a
wireless network, utilize existing resources where applicable to minimize the financial impact to the
operation of the VIPER system, and share talk groups in local and state managed voice trunked radio
systems.
2.. The Facilitator will share the following r-esour•ces with Orange. County: spectrum (radio
frequencies), radio. transmitterheceiver• (base station), radio tower-, building, generator, 800Mhz
transmissions system (antenna/transmission line), 800Mhz transmission interface
(duplexer/combiner), network system links, digital microwave, system keys, unit ID's, talk-group,
system administration/technical assistance, and network management/problem resolution The
Facilitator will install and maintain at no cost to the Grantee the four- (4) VIPER antenna system(s)
identified in the Grantee's award at locations in Chapel Hill, North Carolina; Cane Mountain, North
Carolina; Laws, North Carolina and Hillsboro, North Carolina. Should unencumbered funds remain
at the completion of the installation of the above referenced VIPER antenna systems, the Grantee and
Facilitator will mutually agree on the method of dispersal of the remaining funds with the
understanding that compliance with the guidelines for spending set forth by the United States
Department of'Homeland Security must be adhered to,
1 Facilitator- will assume responsibility of reporting to the U S. Department of Homeland
Security the progress of the grants associated with the monies retained by the State on behalf'of the
Grantee.,
4. The State of'North Carolina shall have sole ownership and make available for- the purpose of
advancing communications interoperability to emergency response agencies in North Carolina the
VIPER antenna system.,
5. It shall be the sole responsibility of the State of'North Carolina, through the services ofthe
North Carolina State Highway Patrol, to maintain all the components of the VIPER antenna system
implemented as part of this Agreement, until such time as both parties to this agreement agree
otherwise
IN WITNESS WHEREOF, this license agreement has been executed by the parties hereto, in
duplicate originals, as of the date first above written..
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Grantees:
(County of Orange)
By:
(Signature)
Facilitator-:
NC State Highway Patrol
By:
(Major W.F. Sandy)
On:
(Date) (Date)
(City of Chapel Hill)
By:
(Signature)
On:
(Date)