R2000-05 AUTHORIZING AGREEMENT - Laserfiche WebLink

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. , DECATUR POLICE DEPARTMENT MEMORANDUM 00-11 TO: Mayor Terry Howley and City Council FROM: Steve Garm "� i Manger �, Michael L. we , Chief of Police �'� � � Michael E. Buckl y, Commander- Emergency Communication Division ��r� DATE: January 24, 200 Purpose: The purpose of is memorandum is to secure council approval of the expenditure of funds for the purchase and installation of an antenna/repeater system for voice radio within the Law Enforcement Center (LEC). Planned cost is $19,995.00. Funds for this project have been provided to the City of Decatur by the Public Building Commission for Capital Improvements within the LEC. Background: In October of 1999, Rolanda Johnson, Assistant City Manager, tasked Commander Buckley with performing a review of the 800 MHz radio system and identifying possible points of failure and making recommendations to compensate for those to enhance the reliability of the system. This report was completed in November of 1999 and submitted to the city manager's office. This project is part of that written recommendation. The problem identified is the failure to be able to reliably receive and transmit on portable radios within major portions of the Law Enforcement Center. This problem is based on the characteristics of 800 MHz radios systems within structures of this nature. The first issue is the fact that this building is of heavy steel and concrete construction hampering radio transmission. Also, the north side of the building, toward Wood Street, is at a higher elevation than Macon Street on the south side, placing much of the first floor below the surface of the land, hampering signal delivery to the city antenna located at 2600 N. Jasper. This problem has made it difficult for dispatch to contact officers within the building utilizing our radio system and for the officers to respond. It has made it difficult for command officers to monitor radio traffic from their offices in monitoring and coordinating on-street activity. However the most serious issue identified is the inability of the communication center to utilize the portable radios for police and fire dispatch in the event of system failures within the communication center. The Dispatch Center utilizes a complex electronic system of computerized consoles which link with a Central Electronics Bank(CEB)which then relays signals from the LEC to the main tower and transmission site (2600 N. Jasper) via a microwave relay system. In the event of a failure at