Consultant describes new radio system

Historic City News reporters found that the majority of this morning’s St. Johns County Commission meeting was consumed with a presentation dealing with the proposed intergovernmental communications system; presented by their Tallahassee consultant, RCC Consultants, Inc.

The speaker, Southeast Region Director Tim Barrentine, was introduced to the commissioners and audience with high praise by Assistant Administrator Jerry Cameron.

The presentation included information on the research that has been completed and the standards for a public safety communications system upgrade required by the Federal Communications Commission.

In his introduction, Cameron said, “The FCC isn’t playing with this” as he enumerated the steps the county has already taken to gain more time to fulfill their obligation to migrate from our currently used 150 mhz VHF radio system to the higher frequency 800 mhz UHF P25 open standard multichannel radio system.

The projected costs for acquisition of new tower sites and better fortified towers, related radios and console equipment as well as the microwave network needed to manage it, is in the $30 million range.

The County Manager has recommended .25 of the proposed .75 millage rate increase this year to cover upfront costs associated with implementation of the intergovernmental communications system. Likewise, as was brought up in the discussion, the assessment could go away once the system is paid for.

When Commissioner Ken Bryan tried to put Michael Wanchick on the spot with a remark that “the .25 mill increase is temporary,” Wanchick stopped short of a “yes”, instead pointing to the “temporary” aspect of the increased millage as “one scenario”; recognizing that there could be others.

Most of the presentation was technical, as has been much of the information presented to the public.

Cameron, who once worked in law enforcement and has a working knowledge of the technical demands placed on public safety radios, seemed to understand some reactions as the public has become aware of this looming expense.

“Because of the technical aspect, the public debate has produced more smoke and heat than light,” Cameron opined. “We have done everything conceivable to keep from bringing this to you, but, we are simply unable to avert the deadline.”

In response to a request from Commissioner Cyndi Stevenson, Cameron pledged to post “frequently asked questions” with answers on the websites of the Board of County Commissioners, St. Johns County Fire-Rescue and the St. Johns County Sheriff’s Office.

While the County’s motivation as a public entity is to protect the health, safety and welfare of our residents, private, commercial interests are pressing the FCC to move forward — and they aren’t backing down.

At issue is the spectrum of bandwidth that has traditionally been reserved for government and public safety users — spectrum that could be repurposed for growing commercial demands. “Make no mistake,” Barrentine remarked. “FCC wants to sell this spectrum.”

County officials admit that they have known about this requirement for some time — a number of years, in fact. For whatever reason, it was deliberately delay until now; a matter of months before the federal deadline kicks in.

Another point of argument is the rapid evolution of technology — and radio technology has not been spared from obsolescence. The consultant, and those who have participated in meetings investigating other options, remarked that this proposal adopts a “proven technology, one that all our neighbors are using.” Observations by Commissioner Stevenson included that the new system will “enhance interoperability, allow us to communicate more clearly, and be more effective when going into the field.”

Although the sentiment is that the UHF technology is the preferred choice, it is not the only choice. Another standard, LTE, which has largely been embraced and deployed by the wireless companies, notably Verizon Wireless, was adopted by the City of Charlotte. For technical reasons, Barrentine explained that “this form of broadband is not an option for us right now.”

The only member of the public to comment on the item was Bill McCormick. His concern was that he has observed that members of the media seem to arrive “on the scene” before police and fire personnel. McCormick says that causes problems for emergency responders and he hoped that any system change will prohibit monitoring of public safety communications by the public.