Subject: [NEXTEL-1] Regional radio system recommended

From: [email-masked]
Date: Sat, 18 Oct 2003 11:30:52 -0400

Regional radio system recommended
PUBLIC SAFETY: Creating a countywide network would improve service, an official
says.
01:10 AM PDT on Friday, October 17, 2003
By DAVID SEATON / The Press-Enterprise

RIVERSIDE - Responding to mounting criticism over a glitch-plagued radio system
said to put Riverside County sheriff's deputies and citizens' lives in danger,
county officials are campaigning to create a regional public-safety communications
network.

Creating such a system would improve emergency personnel's ability to respond to
crimes, fires, accidents and disasters, officials say. And while expensive to
build, the network could lower ongoing costs by sharing them among various
jurisdictions, county technology officials are telling cities.

"We've got to do something," Steve Reneker, the county's information-technology
chief, said Thursday. "We've got to control our costs, and we've got to provide a
better communication system for our deputies in the field."
Reneker spoke to city managers gathered at the Western Riverside Council of
Governments office in Riverside. The managers agreed to consider the concept but
took no formal action.

Public-safety agencies throughout the county use a hodgepodge of systems,
including VHF, UHF, 800 MHz and microwave, with limited ability to speak to each
other.

The county bought a highly touted 800 MHz system 15 years ago and has spent $35.4
million in equipment and upgrades, but deputies still experience dead spots,
especially in the Norco and Cabazon areas, Sheriff Bob Doyle has said.
Corona police use a VHF system, as do about a dozen other government agencies
within the county.

"I like the idea of being able to communicate with neighboring law-enforcement
agencies," Corona City Manager George Guayante said by phone.  "That's something
that over the years has been an occasional problem when we're involved in joint
operations."

But Guayante and other city managers wondered about costs. Reneker said Orange
County recently implemented a 800 MHz system for $125 million. If Riverside County
upgraded to a new 700 MHz system, which offers more channels, it could cost at
least that much, Reneker said.
But shared equipment could lower operational costs, he said. San Diego County and
its cities formed a joint powers authority to create a uniform radio system that
costs $55 per device, compared with $190 per device that Riverside County pays
right now, Reneker said. Riverside County may seek to join that authority, he
added.

New equipment could be paid for through federal Homeland Security and other
grants, and by seeking a 35 cent increase in the 911 surcharge that phone users
pay, Reneker said.

In addition to entreating the city managers, county officials on Thursday lobbied
the Riverside County Law Enforcement Administrators Association. They also have
spoken to the Coachella Valley Association of Governments and plan presentations
for San Diego and San Bernardino counties.

"Right now, we have not seen any resistance to the (regionwide) approach," Reneker
said.
The county envisions eight new antenna sites to improve coverage with the current
system, but zoning and environmental issues can delay construction up to two
years. Regardless of what cities and other counties decide, Reneker added,
Riverside County will pursue improvements to its system.

Reach David Seaton at (909) 368-9456 or
[email-masked]

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