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MABAS Communications Committee DRAFT Meeting Minutes August 15, 2004 The meeting was called to order at 10:20 a.m. at the Lisle Village Hall. Present were committee members Paul Maplethorpe, Round Lake; Dave Dato, Wauconda; Steve Rauter, Lisle-Woodridge; John Lozar, DuComm; Bill Bouma, Mt. Pleasant; and Greg Riddle, IFCA.
Meeting Minutes
Chief Maplethorpe reported that the date the first page of the July 19th minutes reflected May 17th and should be corrected. D/C Rauter reported that he corrected the date prior to posting the draft minutes on the website.
Chief Bouma moved to approve the July 19, 2004 meeting minutes as corrected. Second by D/C Rauter. All AYES; motion carried.
St. Louis’ Use of IFERN Chief Maplethorpe reported exchanging e-mails and telephone calls with Chief Render at Signal Hill FPD regarding St. Louis’ use of IFERN for fireground operations. Chief Render reported that St. Louis does use IFERN on occasion but is not causing interference to adjacent Illinois counties. He asked that the MABAS Communications Committee not take any action at this time.
Gregg Riddle reported that he briefly discussed the St. Louis and other MABAS Communications issues with Steve Devine from the Missouri Highway Patrol. He was not aware of any specific issues. It was suggested that Mr. Devine be added to the MABAS Communications e-mail list.
Randolph County’s Use of IFERN Chief Render from also reported to Chief Maplethorpe that Randolph County is using IFERN for routine emergency call dispatch for several fire departments. Chief Dato met with several individuals from Randolph County at the MABAS Executive Board meeting on August 5th. As a result, a dialogue has begun to address the issue in a similar fashion to Division 15.
STARCOMM 21 A lengthy discussion over various STARCOMM 21 issues was held. Chiefs Dato and Maplethorpe reported on their telephone conversation with Chief Reardon following the ITTF meeting in July. In summary, he reported that it is his understanding that no previously approved ITTF funds for other programs have been redirected for STARCOMM. He also indicated that highly ranked State officials have strongly influenced the action of making sure that STARCOMM moves forward. Chief Reardon indicated that the intention for STARCOMM as will be used by most fire agencies is not interoperability but secure dissemination of sensitive broadcast information during times of emergency. He related that STARCOMM will definitely be moving forward with or without the support of various Associations and organizations in the State.
The following summarizes the issues discussed and questions raised:
As a result of this discussion, two recommendations were developed:
IREACH Chiefs Dato and Maplethorpe reported on various e-mails that have been circulating among the IREACH Board members concerning MABAS’ reference to and advocacy of the use of IREACH for various purposes. Chief Dato distributed copies of the IREACH rules and by-laws at the last MABAS Executive Board meeting. He indicated that MABAS’ advocated use of IREACH is within the IREACH rules. Chief Dato, who is a member of the IREACH Governing Board, will address the matter at their next meeting.
Discussion from several committee members ensued about the continued use of IFERN for medical helicopter landing zones instead of IREACH or other more appropriate frequencies. Chief Dato reported that the matter was mentioned again at the August MABAS Executive Board meeting.
Clemmensen Response Chief Maplethorpe reported that he responded to Chief Clemmensen’s concerns about interoperability between 800 MHz and other fire service users. He has not heard back from Chief Clemmensen.
Livingston County Chief Maplethorpe reported that Mr. Dennis Higgins, the Manager of Communications for Livingston County has been in contact with him several times over STARCOMM and other MABAS issues. Mr. Higgins asked to participate on the MABAS Communications Committee to provide a rural perspective. Chief Maplethorpe invited him to attend our monthly meetings.
Wisconsin DOJ Interoperability Plan Chief Bouma reported on the State of Wisconsin Department of Justice communications interoperability plan. He previously circulated the plan via e-mail. Comments from the Committee were positive concerning the plans direction.
VHF Interoperability Radios Chief Dato reported that John Myers from IEMA has been working with Central Management Services to develop a bid specification package for the proposed VHF interoperability radios. The radios will be 40-50 watt VHF mobiles that will be P25 upgradeable.
A discussion ensued concerning distribution of the radios. It is perceived that MABAS will be the clearinghouse for the fire service’s radios. Chief Dato discussed an agreement that should be executed between the ITTF and each radio recipient prior to radio shipment. He felt that the same agreement should be utilized by ILEAS for police radios and IESMA for EMA radios.
Chicago Area Interoperability Assistance Project Mr. Lozar distributed information regarding the US Department of Justice’s High Risk Metropolitan Area Interoperability Assistance Project that is underway in the Chicago metro area. Mr. Mefferd joined this discussion via speakerphone. Chief Dato updated the group on the project’s scope, as he represented MABAS at the kick-off meeting. It was felt that this program is to some degree running parallel to other federal, state and local interoperability programs and perhaps all players should get together to ensure a common goal.
MERCI Base Stations A short discussion ensued concerning the MERCI base station project that our committee has been asked to assist with. A detailed specification for the base station, console and antenna system must be prepared.
Tactical Frequency Use Guideline Chief Maplethorpe reported that nearly all constructive comments concerning the proposed tactical frequency use guideline have been addressed and most were included in the final draft. The concurrence from the Committee was to post the Recommended Practice on the Website.
Old Business Rock Island County No report. 154.280 Issues No report. New Business None
Adjournment Chief Maplethorpe moved to adjourn the meeting. Second by Chief Dato. All AYES; the meeting adjourned at 11:53 a.m.
The next meeting for the MABAS Communications Committee is scheduled for Monday, September 20, 2004 at 1000 hours. The location of the meeting will be at the Lisle Village Hall, behind Station 1, at 925 Burlington. Please mark your calendars.
Respectfully submitted,
Paul Maplethorpe
Paul Maplethorpe Co-Chair |