Subject: [NEXTEL-1] Montana Public Safety Radio System- Funding, logistics the biggest barriers

From: Marcel <[email-masked]>
Date: Sun, 20 Apr 2003 14:26:47 -0400

Funding, logistics the biggest barriers

By CAROLYNN BRIGHT, IR Staff Writer - 04/08/03

Radio project coordinator Capt. Dave Clouse may have the knowledge base that 30 years
of history with the Lewis and Clark County Sheriff's Office provides, but all the time he
has
spent watching the department's communication system evolve isn't making this leap to
the next technological level any easier.

In fact, the two greatest hurdles on the way to the successful completion of the radio
project
are the same ones that have bedeviled similar projects for as long as he can remember —
money
and logistics.

"It's a real round robin," said Clouse recently.

Bowling for dollars

Since passage of the public safety levy in 2000, Lewis and Clark County officials have
spent
$120,341 on radio-related line items ranging from consulting fees to radio tower repairs.

And with $451,063 sitting in a savings account to help pay for the project that would link

emergency responders and city/county personnel from Helena to Augusta, it appears county
officials are in a fairly comfortable position.

That's an assumption that makes Clouse shake his head and smile a knowing smile — he
probably
had that misconception at one point, too.

The truth is, Clouse and other county officials won't even venture a guess at a price tag
for a
new radio system for the county — they want more feedback from their consultant, who
describes the cost of some systems currently operating across the county as
"astronomical."

Clouse also wants to draw on the experience of potential vendors.

Sheriff Cheryl Liedle said the system that the county ultimately attains is going to be
the result of
a lot of give and take on the part of everyone involved.

"We need to determine what the ideal would be and what we realistically can get," she
said.

Recognizing that the funds obtained through the public safety mill levy will never be
enough to
establish a viable system in Lewis and Clark County, officials are pursuing other options
for
obtaining the cash to get the project off the ground, according to Clouse.

First, officials have applied for acceptance by the state as a demonstration county for
the state's
Southwestern Interoperability Project (SWIP).

SWIP is a stepping stone on the path to the state's larger goal — the Montana Public
Safety
Radio System — which is a cost-shared, reliable and effective network providing wireless
voice
communications between all levels of government and all types of public safety services
across
Montana.

While the Montana Public Safety Radio System is several years and millions of dollars away
from
becoming a reality, a more attainable step along the road is setting up a test system in
the
state's capital city to allow officials to examine the effectiveness of the plan.

As part of the state's larger request for federal appropriations for the project, Lewis
and Clark
County recently attached its own appropriations request for $3.2 million. If approved, the
funds
would be used to purchase high functioning mobile and handheld radios that would allow
system
users to communicate with users from other systems operating in this geographic area.

All the while, Clouse added, county officials and members of the radio project steering
committee
are forging ahead, working to form the basis for a request for proposals (RFP) to be
supplied to
potential vendors within the year.

A simple wish

With all the possibilities circulating around the radio project, Clouse's vision of what
he hopes will
be accomplished is pretty simple.

"We need to fix things in a way that is cost effective and a stepping stone to the next
level if the
funding ever becomes available to go to the next level," he said, explaining that the
system the
county accepts must mesh with the other systems being used and implemented.

For the time being, Bob Batdorf, the consultant hired to assist in developing the RFP,
said he will
concentrate his efforts on identifying what technology exists in the county, how the
different
agencies use those capabilities and how everyone could maximize the potential of the
existing
system.

From that basis, Batdorf said he intends to help the steering committee develop an RFP
that
solicits information and solutions to the county's communications woes.

"It's like walking through a minefield," said Clouse. "You can't get the whole picture
unless you
take the time to get all the facts."

Beyond providing those answers, the successful bidder will be required to provide a
long-term
plan, with several suggestions for the short term.

"We want to make an expenditure that has an immediate return," Batdorf said.

Another essential component of the RFP will be suggestions on methods for financing
maintenance
of the equipment to ensure that officials are able to maximize the taxpayers' investment,
he
added.

"I know this money is coming out of my pocket," said Clouse. "We need to move carefully."

The successful vendor will have considerable hurdles to overcome on the road to
implementing an
effective system for the county, according to Clouse.

The county's unique topography will present its own challenges, he explained, adding that
a
combination of mountainous areas, plains, rivers and more will rule out many systems that
have
been ideal for other areas.

Combine that issue with the red tape that flows from securing repeater sites — for
example, the
requirement for time-consuming National Environmental Policy Act studies to locate such
sites on
public lands — and the progress of the work is additionally confounded, Clouse said.

Under the guidance of Batdorf, the radio project steering committee is making considerable

progress, Clouse said, and while the process may get bogged down at times, he is
optimistic.

"It's like herding a bunch of chickens down the road with a pickup truck," he said. "But
we'll get there eventually."

Funding, logistics the biggest barriers

By CAROLYNN BRIGHT, IR Staff Writer - 04/08/03

Radio project coordinator Capt. Dave Clouse may have the knowledge base that 30 years
of history with the Lewis and Clark County Sheriff's Office provides, but all the time he
has
spent watching the department's communication system evolve isn't making this leap to
the next technological level any easier.

In fact, the two greatest hurdles on the way to the successful completion of the radio
project
are the same ones that have bedeviled similar projects for as long as he can remember —
money
and logistics.

"It's a real round robin," said Clouse recently.

Bowling for dollars

Since passage of the public safety levy in 2000, Lewis and Clark County officials have
spent
$120,341 on radio-related line items ranging from consulting fees to radio tower repairs.

And with $451,063 sitting in a savings account to help pay for the project that would link

emergency responders and city/county personnel from Helena to Augusta, it appears county
officials are in a fairly comfortable position.

That's an assumption that makes Clouse shake his head and smile a knowing smile — he
probably
had that misconception at one point, too.

The truth is, Clouse and other county officials won't even venture a guess at a price tag
for a
new radio system for the county — they want more feedback from their consultant, who
describes the cost of some systems currently operating across the county as
"astronomical."

Clouse also wants to draw on the experience of potential vendors.

Sheriff Cheryl Liedle said the system that the county ultimately attains is going to be
the result of
a lot of give and take on the part of everyone involved.

"We need to determine what the ideal would be and what we realistically can get," she
said.

Recognizing that the funds obtained through the public safety mill levy will never be
enough to
establish a viable system in Lewis and Clark County, officials are pursuing other options
for
obtaining the cash to get the project off the ground, according to Clouse.

First, officials have applied for acceptance by the state as a demonstration county for
the state's
Southwestern Interoperability Project (SWIP).

SWIP is a stepping stone on the path to the state's larger goal — the Montana Public
Safety
Radio System — which is a cost-shared, reliable and effective network providing wireless
voice
communications between all levels of government and all types of public safety services
across
Montana.

While the Montana Public Safety Radio System is several years and millions of dollars away
from
becoming a reality, a more attainable step along the road is setting up a test system in
the
state's capital city to allow officials to examine the effectiveness of the plan.

As part of the state's larger request for federal appropriations for the project, Lewis
and Clark
County recently attached its own appropriations request for $3.2 million. If approved, the
funds
would be used to purchase high functioning mobile and handheld radios that would allow
system
users to communicate with users from other systems operating in this geographic area.

All the while, Clouse added, county officials and members of the radio project steering
committee
are forging ahead, working to form the basis for a request for proposals (RFP) to be
supplied to
potential vendors within the year.

A simple wish

With all the possibilities circulating around the radio project, Clouse's vision of what
he hopes will
be accomplished is pretty simple.

"We need to fix things in a way that is cost effective and a stepping stone to the next
level if the
funding ever becomes available to go to the next level," he said, explaining that the
system the
county accepts must mesh with the other systems being used and implemented.

For the time being, Bob Batdorf, the consultant hired to assist in developing the RFP,
said he will
concentrate his efforts on identifying what technology exists in the county, how the
different
agencies use those capabilities and how everyone could maximize the potential of the
existing
system.

From that basis, Batdorf said he intends to help the steering committee develop an RFP
that
solicits information and solutions to the county's communications woes.

"It's like walking through a minefield," said Clouse. "You can't get the whole picture
unless you
take the time to get all the facts."

Beyond providing those answers, the successful bidder will be required to provide a
long-term
plan, with several suggestions for the short term.

"We want to make an expenditure that has an immediate return," Batdorf said.

Another essential component of the RFP will be suggestions on methods for financing
maintenance
of the equipment to ensure that officials are able to maximize the taxpayers' investment,
he
added.

"I know this money is coming out of my pocket," said Clouse. "We need to move carefully."

The successful vendor will have considerable hurdles to overcome on the road to
implementing an
effective system for the county, according to Clouse.

The county's unique topography will present its own challenges, he explained, adding that
a
combination of mountainous areas, plains, rivers and more will rule out many systems that
have
been ideal for other areas.

Combine that issue with the red tape that flows from securing repeater sites — for
example, the
requirement for time-consuming National Environmental Policy Act studies to locate such
sites on
public lands — and the progress of the work is additionally confounded, Clouse said.

Under the guidance of Batdorf, the radio project steering committee is making considerable

progress, Clouse said, and while the process may get bogged down at times, he is
optimistic.

"It's like herding a bunch of chickens down the road with a pickup truck," he said. "But
we'll get
there eventually."

http://www.helenair.com/articles/2003/04/08/helena/a08040805_03.txt

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