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HomeMy WebLinkAboutADMIN-21-00 . .2' , ON: ADMIN 21-00 THE CORPORATION OF THE MUNICIPALITY OF CLARINGTON REPORT Meeting: General Purpose and Administration Committee File# /(0 G~ , Res. ti0/ ft-j'll-o 6 Date: Tuesday, September 5 2000 Report #: FILE #: ADMIN 21-00 By-law # Subj ect: JOINT FIRE COMMUNICATIONS CENTRE RECOMMENDATIONS: It is respectfully recommended that the General Purpose and Administration Committee recommend to Council the following: 1. TIIAT Report ADMIN 21-00 be received for information. 1. BACKGROUND: 1.1 As Council may remember there have been discussions related to problems with existing radio voice communication systems. These problems resulted from Industry Canada selling frequencies close to those being used by emergency services. This resulted in a lack of available frequencies and a determination on their part to narrow the bands. This will result in even greater interference then is presently being noticed, and may result in endangering emergency personnel. 1.2 It is essential that the fire service be equipped with effective voice radio communications. Careful examination, analysis, designs and implementation must be considered for a radio system that is sound, practical and cost efficient. One of the alternatives available to each municipality is to maintain the status quo. There would be no capital or increased operating costs associated with this alternative. However, the recent changes implemented by Industry Canada would deem each of the fire department's radio equipment "non-standard" on January 1, 2004. At this point the voice radio system would not be "protected" against outside radio interference. In a "worst case scenario", lilJ6 '- REPORT NO.: ADMIN 21-00 PAGE 2 Industry Canada could force each fIre department to comply with the new regulations, which would require each fIre department to replace most, if not all, of its current radio equipment. In the long term, system changes will be required by all of the southern departments in Durham Region, except Oshawa whose current voice radio system is Industry Canada compliant. 1.3 In an attempt to resolve the problem,present radio equipment will have to be replaced. It was determined that two issues could be addressed at the same time. Those being the replacement of the present equipment and moving towards a central dispatch for the Durham Region Fire Services. The best way to do this was to move to the 800 MHz radio system, which is being restricted for the use of emergency services. It would also mean working jointly with the fIve lakeshore communities in Durham Region to ensure we all had compatible radio equipment. 1.4 In August 1999, the fIve lakeshore municipalities met to discuss the possibility of a joint Fire Communications Centre serving all eight area municipalities in Durham Region, using Oshawa's existing 800 MHz radio system. As a result of this meeting, the fIve municipal Chief Administrative Officers directed the Fire Chiefs to complete a study on the feasibility of the combining of the Region's existing fIve Fire Dispatch Centres into one Fire Communications Resource Centre, using the City of Oshawa's radio system. The Fire Chiefs have now completed their studies and have submitted their recommendation to the Chief Administrative Officer. The purpose of this report is to update Council on the status of this project. 2. ISSUES There are essentially two main issues associated with this project: a) Human Resources b) Technology These two issues will be discussed separately in this report. jiG; .: REPORT NO.: ADMIN 21-00 PAGE 3 2.1 Human Resources In late 1999 the firm of Hicks, Morley, Hamilton, Stewart, Storie (Hicks, Morley) was retained to review and analyze the collective agreements in place with the five Firefighters' Associations, who would be directly affected by the proposed project. They were requested to comment on the feasibility of combining each of the Region's existing Dispatch Centres into one from a human resources perspective. More specifically, the purpose of the report was to: . Identify collective agreement and labour relations related to the amalgamation of dispatch centers. . Consider and develop alternatives for the amalgamation of dispatch centres. . Evaluate the alternatives based on the identified labour relations and organizations hurdles. . Provide strategies for the lessening or elimination of the identified labour relation hurdles Hicks, Morley, completed this study of human resource issues in February 2000 and the recommendations are summarized in this report. A single, jointly operated Communications Centre is the preferred option, as it would result in the significant cost savings and operations advantages. A single Communications Centre could operate more effectively than the current centres. This would improve the overall efficiency and effectiveness of the emergency response system and the co-ordination of Mutual Aid and Automatic Aid Response PI~s. A jointly operated Communications Centre is essential to provide the co-ordination that is needed to implement an efficient Automatic Aid Response System between Municipalities. In their report, Hicks, Morley identified several complex human resource issues, which must be addressed in this project and are outlined as follows: LeOa ~ REPORT NO.: ADMIN 21-00 PAGE 4 · The defInition of the employer. · Changes injob duties and responsibility for the current dispatchers. . Realignment of staff. · Contracting out and technological change concerns. . Wage and benefIt differences. . Staffing levels. · Determination of bargaining agent and seniority rights. Hicks, Morley feel that overcoming the labour issues necessary to operate a single Communications Centre may be extremely complex. A second option could be to operate two or even three initially, and move to the preferred option at a later date. These two options will be further examined by the Committee of Chief Administrative Officers and Fire Chiefs. Given the issue is not a down sizing exercise, but a means to examine the most effective ways to meet the needs of a rapidly growing region, it is believed that the human resources issues can be resolved through negotiation with the FirefIghters' Associations. In this regard, the Chief Administrative Officers will meet with the Associations to discuss all aforementioned human resources issues. 2.2 Technology K.V.A. Communications studied 14 alternatives (options) related to vOIce radio communications and dispatching services along with the estimates of capital and annual operating costs. These alternatives are included in Appendix "A". Given the large number of alternatives and options available to each department careful consideration must be given to implementation. K.V.A. makes two primary recommendations in its report, as follows: a) The fIre departments in the southern part of the Region (Ajax, Clarington, Pickering & Whitby) should strongly consider a move to 800 MHz b) Due to the high demand and short supply of radio spectrum in Southern Ontario, the area Municipalities are advised to move quickly to secure a suffIcient number of radio channels from Industry Canada to support their selected solution. lLu'J .~ REPORT NO.: ADMIN 21-00 PAGE 5 Essentially, this option requires the expansion of Os haw a's existing 800 MHz voice radio system to provide reliable coverage to southern Durham Region (Ajax, Clarington, Pickering, Whitby). Because Oshawa's system is in place and adequate for their needs, the costs associated with the expansion of this system would be the responsibility of the new users. Benefits to an 800 MHz trunking system: In its most basic form, trunking is the automatic sharing of a block of radio channels among a large number of users. As such there are several distinct advantages to this technology. . The larger the system, the more efficient the system becomes. Bigger is better when it comes to the capacity oftrunked radio systems. · An 800 MHz system provides better in-building coverage, especially in built up areas such as southern Durham Region. In-building coverage is a critical factor for effective and safe fire based operations. · An 800 MHz system would improve the inter-operability among fire departments within the Region and towards the west. Toronto Fire Service operates an 800 MHz system and York Region is strongly considering a move to 800 MHz as well. · Indications are that there should be sufficient spectrum available from Industry Canada to support this option. Industry Canada was contacted regarding the availability of spectrum. Based on existing numbers of calls each department in the southern portion of Durham Region would require two channels each. Industry Canada was asked if eight channels would be available. Their response was as follows: "Industry Canada is currently reviewing applications for Police Helicopters, Region of York Fire and Brampton Police and Fire. There are a limited number of channels available and more demand than availability. All public safety users therefore, must use the most technologically efficient method of dispatch available to stretch the scarce U1U -.: REPORT NO.: ADMIN 21-00 PAGE 6 spectrum resources as far as possible. Under the present circumstances there are only four (4) channels available to the Region of Durham." They went on further to say: "In closing, we believe that the amalgamation of all five departments in Durham Region may have operational or administrative savings to offset the higher initial capital costs of a trunked system as opposed to a conventional radio system. Nonetheless, given the potential for growth in Durham Region, coupled with the critical shortage of 800 MHz spectrum, for which there is no immediate relief, we recommend Durham Region seize the opportunity to establish the most efficient spectrum configuration at the onset, to avoid disappointment later on as the 800 MHz spectrum resources become fully depleted. We concur that a trunked system will provide greater spectrum efficiency than a conventional system." Financial Implications: The costs identified below reflect only those capital and operating costs associated with the expansion of Oshawa's 800 MHz voice radio system to cover southern Durham Region. The capital and operating costs associated with the physical site of the Fire Communications Centre, including those costs required to upgrade the computer aided dispatch (CAD) system, furniture for the Centre and annual operating costs (staffmg and facility maintenance) to operate the Centre are not included in this report. These costs can only be determined once the final decision is made on how many fire communication centres there will be, where they will be located and the partners included in each. It should be noted that Clarington and Oshawa have the most effective CAD system available. The expansion of the CAD system to incorporate the other partners will be evaluated once the number of centres and who will be involved is determined. As noted earlier, a single jointly operated Communications Centre is the preferred option, as it would result in significant cost savings and operational advantages. A single Communications Centre could operate more effectively than current centres. Ull "- REPORT NO.: ADMIN 21-00 PAGE 7 The capital and operating costs to expand Oshawa's 800 MHz voice radio system have been allocated on an annual per call basis for each Municipality as determined by K.V.A. The total estimated capital costs for the infrastructure required to expand Oshawa's 800 MHz voice radio system for the southern Municipalities, as indicated in the K.V.A. technical report, is approximately $2,500,000. It is recognized, however, that this estimate is conservative and recent discussions with K.V.A. Communications indicate that it may be as must as 20% low. Additionally, it is recommended to include a 10% contingency fund for this project. Thus, the estimated capital cost for the infrastructure required to expand Oshawa's 800 MHz voice radio system to provide reliable coverage to Ajax, Clarington, Pickering and Whitby is $3,250,000 (Table 2). It must be recognized, however, that the final costs to expand Oshawa's system cannot be determined until such time that detailed specifications are developed and issued to Motorola through a Request for Proposal. This is the next phase of the study. The estimated annual operating cost to operate the voice radio system is $215,400 (Table 6 - 20% has been added to the costs identified in the K.V.A. Report). ESTIMATED COSTS The total emergency calls received by each department in 1999 was as follows: Municipality Total Calls Percent of Total Ajax 2,409 18.4 C1arington 2,300 17.6 Pickering 4,254 32.5 Whitby 4,120 31.5 Total 13,083 100 Table 1 Annual Calls - 1999 1L 12 '- REPORT NO.: ADMIN 21-00 PAGE 8 The estimated capital costs to expand Oshawa's existing 800 MHz voice radio system to provide reliable coverage for Ajax, Clarington, Pickering and Whitby is as follows: Table 2 Capital Cost (Infrastructure) Municipality Costs Percent of Total Ajax $598,000 18.4 Clarington $572,000 17.6 Pickering $1,056,250 32.5 Whitby $1,023,750 31.5 Total $3,250,000 100 The estimated capital costs for each municipality to replace its radio equipment is as follows: Table 3 User Equipment (radios) Municipality Total Costs Ajax $278,070 Clarington $307,740 Pickering $326,370 Whitby $267,720 The estimated cost for the radio equipment required for the fIre communications centre is estimated as follows: Table 4 Radio Equipment for Communications Centre Municipality Costs Percent of Total Ajax $54,338 18.4 Clarington $51,977 17.6 Pickering $95,979 32.5 Whitby $93,026 31.5 Total $295,320 100 U15 ~' REPORT NO.: ADMIN 21-00 PAGE 9 The estimated total cost for each municipality is estimated as follows (Tables 2,3,4): Table 5 Total Capital Costs Per Municipality (Tables 2,3,4) Total Municipality Capital Costs Ajax $930,408 Clarington $931,717 Pickering $1,478,599 Whitby $1,384,496 The estimated annual operating costs for the expanded 800 MHz radio system IS estimated as follows: Table 6 Total Annual Operating Costs Per Municipality Municipality Costs Percent of Total Ajax $39,634 18.4 Clarington $37,480 17.6 Pickering $70,005 32.5 Whitby $67,851 31.5 Total $214,970 100 Whitby Fire Chief Tony VanDoleweerd is presently preparing a joint J.E.P.P. application. Preliminary discussions with Emergency Measures Ontario (EMO) indicate that they would be receptive to ajoint application for this project. The application would cover an amount of $49,999 for the voice radio system and an additional $49,999 for the computer aided dispatch upgrades. The application must be submitted by September 15,2000. 3. PHASE 2 STUDY Phase I, being the identifying of the best technical solution regarding the Regional Communications Centre, is now complete. Approval for Phase 2 will give the consultant the direction to prepare the required terms of reference and specifications suitable for use in an RFP. The consultant will work with the steering committee to evaluate the U14 . .-, REPORT NO.: ADMIN 21-00 PAGE 10 submissions, provide a tabulation and evaluation of the submitted RFP's to ensure compliance with specifications. He will also make recommendations to the steering committee on the awarding of the contracts. In order not to delay the Phase 2 Study, the Chief Administrative Officer of the Lakeshore municipalities have directed the Consultant to commence the Phase 2 Study in August. The cost of the study totalling $10,914. will be equally shared by the four municipalities of Ajax, Pickering, Whitby and Clarington. Funding for the Clarington's share of $2,729.50 will be provided for in the 2000 Contingency Account. 4. CONCLUSION The Chief Administrative Officers and the Fire Chiefs will be reporting back to Council as issues pertaining to human resources and the technical Phase 2 Study are resolved. Respectfully submitted, cJ~~ Franklin Wu, M.C.I.P., R.P.P., Chief Administrative Officer FW*jip lii J