County 911 Board Meets November 30th to Discuss CAD Updates and Other Items

SALINE COUNTY 911 BOARD MEETING DRAFT MINUTES

October 10, 2023

The Saline County 911 Board met at the OEM Building on Tuesday, October 10, 2023 at 9:00 a.m.

Board Members Present:
Saline County Judge Matt Brumley
Benton Mayor Tom Farmer
Benton Fire Chief Russ Evans
Bryant Police Chief Carl Minden
Bryant Fire Chief JP Jordan
Bryant Interim Mayor Rhonda Sanders
Saline County Sheriff Rodney Wright
Saline County OEM Director Jerry Cohen
Benton Police Chief Scotty Hodges
Saline County OEM Fire Service Coordinator Stuart Duke

Board Member Absent:
Pafford Ambulance Operations Manager David Chreene

Others attending meeting:
Communications Manager Staci Winberry, Assistant Communications Manager Deanne Owen, Saline County Comptroller Angie Drummond, Saline County Attorney Kolton Jones, Bryant Police

Asst Chief JW Plouch, Bryant Fire Brandon Futch and David Slack

Meeting was called to order by Saline County Judge Matt Brumley.

Communications Manager Staci Winberry presented the minutes to the board from last meeting on September 15, 2023. A motion was made to approve the minutes by Saline County Sheriff Rodney Wright and 2nd by Benton Fire Chief Russ Evans. Minutes approved.

Judge Matt Brumley introduced Rhonda Sanders, Interim Mayor for City of Bryant and Saline County OEM Director Jerry Cohen introduced the new Saline County OEM Deputy Director / Fire Service Director Stuart Duke.

AWIN Project: There is a piece of property that the county has made a verbal offer and had a verbal acceptance on which is located the western part of the county. This has been looked at by engineering from AWIN / Motorola has been identified as a place that we need a tower. After discussion with the land owner, the county has entered into an informal agreement with the land owner on a long-time long-term land lease. Saline County Attorney Kolton Jones spoke about the property. He advised this land would not be a lease it would be a permanent easement. The county would not own the property but have what is needed for the county to have a permanent easement to the property as long as needed to have access to the tower. The location to the property is at the 13000 block of Hwy 298 (other side of Timber Ridge Ranch). East End tower has not been done yet but hopefully in the near future.

Budget Update: A copy of the budget was given to the board. Communications Manager Staci Winberry gave updates of changes they are making for next year. Over-time line item $35,000. for 2023 to $75,000 for 2024. $71,000 was used for last year. Clothing / Uniform line item will increase for 2024 for T-shirts and pullovers for new hires. Telephone line will be lowered for 2024 to $160,000 instead of 2023 $190,000. Because of the phone bills being consolidated bills should be lower. Meals and Lodging should be increased 2023 $500. to 2024 $4000. Sending dispatchers to training, there has been price increase. Computer software and support maintenance increased in 2023 $176,000 because of the combiner cost but will decreased for 2024 $120,000. Reimbursement cost will decrease from $200,000. to $50,000. This is not a final budget, it is a draft only.

Combiner Update: Saline County OEM Director Jerry Cohen gave an update on the combiner. Bid Specs: Two pieces that Motorola has proposed (1) is the 8 radios for Bryant – installation and programming cost will not be included in the bid package because of the cost is under the $35,000.00 and (2) is the two combiners cost which will be out for bids because the amount is over the $35,000.00. We hope this will be sent out today. Three weeks after it is advertised around November 27th or 28th, 2023 for opening bids. The agreement on the combiner cost will be split Bryant 50% – $29,356.00 (29.3 share) the total cost of the combiner / programming and the other 50% would be split between Saline County and City of Benton $14,678.00 (14.6 share).

• • •

Combiner/Programming Payments

Bryant Benton Saline County

$ 29, 356.00 $ 14,678.00 $ 14,678.00

EMD Training: Saline County Communication will be hosting an International Academy Emergency Dispatch class on November 6th – 8th in the EOC. There will be an in-person instructor for the training, that is open to the public for any communication center wishing to sign up. Currently, there are 15 students enrolled and can host up to 25 max. The International Academy Emergency Dispatch is the priority dispatch and Emergency Medical Dispatch is protocol that is provided in medical emergency per-arrival instructions given to callers. Both IADE and EMD are both very important in our communications center. The instructor will not cost the county anything since there are 15 signed up to attend the training. Mems ambulance will be sending 6 of the 15 and hopefully, we can get others to attend as well.

North Little Rock, Maumelle and Sherwood came to Saline County Communication Center a few weeks ago to visit and talk with Director Staci Winberry and Deputy Director Deanne Owen about consolidation. All three agencies were very impressed with the dispatch center. Bud Gray with North Little Rock is very interested in Saline County being their back-up center and hoping to get a MOU agreement signed between Saline County and NLR. If NLR phone lines should go down or if the phones lines need to be transferred over to another agency in an emergency situation Saline County would be responsibly for their calls. At this time, City of Little Rock is responsible for NLR back-up if needed. North Little Rock, Maumelle and Sherwood will be consolidating in year 2025, so the calls would eventually be for all three of those agencies. There is a concern that Garland County might also be interested in a MOU agreement with Saline County. There was discussion on who Saline County would ask to be our back-up. North Little Rock said they would be happy to be Saline Counties back-up. Currently, Saline County has 2 ways we can have back-up. By transferring our 911 lines to our landline internet or to a sim card both of these are tried before we try to switch them to the City of Bryant.

A T & T is available 24/7 to make a switch. Currently, Saline County has no written agreement with any other agency. Saline County will be asking North Little Rock to submit a proposal for the 911 board to

consider. Benton Police Chief Scotty Hodges asked about having 3 additional consoles available at our center along with whoever our back-up center would be so if either system should go down you could send your dispatchers to that communications center to be able to assist with the work load. NLR did give Saline County some of their old consoles that they were no longer using. They are now set up in our 911 center (old Benton room) to be used if needed.

Consolidation Updates:
911 Director Staci Winberry stated that they have hired 6 new dispatchers. One of these was a previous employee who has already been trained. She will be starting in 2 weeks. The 6 are currently being trained by the Director and Asst Director on Monday – Friday until the middle of November to go over the basic concepts with them until they take their EMD class. The 5 that were hired previously just started yesterday in the dispatch center. They will be in training with a supervisor until the middle of November, Monday – Friday to go over the basics before being placed on a shift so they will be more prepared.

Judge Matt Brumley had budget committee meetings and has asked Director Staci Winberry to hold on 1 of lead dispatcher positions. At the last 911 board meeting, we discussed Integration and the cost associated with it and how it would be split between Saline County, City of Benton and City of Bryant.

The board members voted on September 15th, 2023 the following:

(1) SalineCountywillhireupto8fulltimeemployeestobehiredfortheexpansioninthelast quarter of 2023 to be split 3 ways equal between Saline County, City of Benton and City of Bryant the motion was 2nd by City of Bryant Mayor Allen Scott. All board members were in favor of the motion for the minutes to be amended. Motion carried.

8 – Dispatchers Hired (9/30/23 – 12/31/2023) • Total Expected Cost $ 60,829.60

o Bryant
o Benton
o SalineCounty

$20,276.53 $20,276.53 $20,276.53

(2) MayorFarmer made a motion that the cost for Southern for 2023 in the amount of $13,500.00 to be split 3 ways which would be $4,500.00 for Saline County, City of Benton and City of Bryant. When the other 50% is due it will also be split 3 ways. Motion was 2nd by City of Bryant Mayor Allen Scott. 1 opposed Bryant Police Chief Carl Minden. Motion carried.

Total Cost of the (Motorola) Spillman / Southern Project – $50,755.12

• Southern $ 13,500.00 (Due Upon Contract Signing)

  o Benton $6750.00

  o SalineCounty $6750.00

• Spillman (Motorola) $ 23,700.00

  o Bryant $23,700.00

• Southern $ 13,500.00 (Due upon Completion)

o Bryant
o Benton
o SalineCounty

$4500.00 $4500.00 $4500.00

Judge Brumley and the Quorum Court are concerned about it taking 14 to 16 months longer for the consolidation, the cost being more expense and having 2 providers to deal with. Judge Brumleyreceived an e-mail from Benton County last week on their consolidation. They sang praises of Motorola and the company that they tried to integrated with. When they have a problem in their dispatch center, the integration software companies blame each other for the problem and they are stuck in the middle. Judge Brumley does not want that to happen in Saline County. He asked about Southern Software – 1 system sole provider, the cost would be $16,837.00 for the mobile CAD and could start January 1, 2024. The Record Management System (RMS) would be a separate cost for Bryant. City of Bryant Chief Carl Minden wants to stay with Spillman. He wants both systems to be placed in the dispatch center so Bryant does not have to change. If this happens, Director Winberry says it would mean dispatchers would have to be trained on both CADS and there would be a lot of confusion within the dispatch center.

Bryant Mayor Rhonda Sanders is asking about her options for Bryant. She is trying to understand everything that has been discussed previously. Judge Brumley explained that on January 1, 2024 the city of Bryant’s tax dollars will be coming to Saline county. Mayor Sanders will have to decide what is best for the citizens of Bryant. She would like to hear from Southern Software and see the options available to Bryant.

Judge Brumley is requesting a meeting before the end of the week with Jennifer from Southern Software. This meeting could be a zoom call. He would like for Southern to explain the software information to the 911 board to make sure everyone understands what will be provided and “turn key cost” for each agency involved.

Jennifer at Southern Software is available for a zoom call anytime this week. Judge Brumley requested a meeting for 3 o’clock today if Southern Software can have figures ready by then.

Motion made by City of Bryant Fire Chief JP Jordan to take a 4-hour recess and reconvene at 3:00 pm today for a zoom call with Southern Software. Motion was 2nd by Benton Police Chief Scotty Hodges. Motion carried.

SALINE COUNTY 911 BOARD MEETING DRAFT MINUTES

October 10, 2023

The Saline County 911 Board resumed the meeting at the OEM Building on Tuesday, October 10, 2023 at 3:00 p.m.

Board Members Present:
Saline County Judge Matt Brumley
Benton Mayor Tom Farmer
Benton Fire Chief Russ Evans
Bryant Police Chief Carl Minden
Bryant Fire Chief JP Jordan
Bryant Interim Mayor Rhonda Sanders Saline County Sheriff Rodney Wright
Saline County OEM Director Jerry Cohen Benton Police Chief Scotty Hodges
Saline County OEM Fire Service Coordinator

Board Member Absent:
Pafford Ambulance Operations Manager David Chreene

Others attending meeting:
Communications Manager Staci Winberry, Assistant Communications Manager Deanne Owen, Saline County Comptroller Angie Drummond, Saline County Attorney Kolton Jones, Bryant Police

Asst Chief JW Plouch, Bryant Fire Brandon Futch and David Slack, Southern Software Representatives Matt Byrd & Scott Wright

Attending meeting by Zoom:
Southern Software Representative Jennifer Meggs

Saline County Judge Matt Brumley would like to say thank you to Jennifer Meggs with Southern Software for being able to meet and preparing information needed on short notice. He asked for Southern Software to present the information on the proposal to the 911 board members so everyone is aware of the options available.

1st Page – Proposal: Saline County is needing 65 RMS licenses – Southern gave a price to purchase 50 licenses but they converted that to site license which means, we can install as many licenses as we want to whether it be 65, 99, 110 the amount does not matter. The charge will only be for 50 to keep the price down. Project management that covers them installing it, do all the training and the annual support. Citizens connect for RMS which allows the public to log in and collect information that they typically would have to call in for such as incident reports, accident reports, etc. but they will to have permission to enter the information.

2nd Page – Proposal: Mobile Licenses – 10 licenses & 35 ABL units – the licenses can be installed on as many mobile units as we have but only 10 units can log in at any simultaneous time. Project Management that covers installation, training and support.

This was the same proposal Southern Software that was provide some weeks back when we were talking about the interface option as well, $16,837.00.

Questions & Answers:

What is the RMS recurring cost? $8,500.00, this reflects the 50 licenses but we can utilize as many as needed? Yes, Saline County requested 65 but in order to discount the sale Southern Software made the pricing on 50 licenses but converted to a site license so we can install as many as we need on our own devices. They cannot be given to someone else they will have to be installed on Bryant PD owned devices.

Jennifer advised on page 2 at bottom: Annual Fee RMS Licenses $8,500.00 support fee and dash board analytics, citizens connect subscription fee $3,500.00 annual fee, Total: $12,000.00 RMS site licenses and $2,550.00 annual support fee on mobile side. There should never be an increase on the RMS because we have a site license.

Sheriff Rodney Wright asked: If Southern Software takes Spillman’s information, how much would it cost for Southern to convert the data? Southern would have to review data and make sure it is convertible and there were no issues with it first. Typically, conversion would cost between $12,500.00 to $16,500.00. There has never been an issue in the past on converting all data. In their contract, there is a clause that states no 100% guarantee on converting data because you can run into problems with data while trying to convert it. In the past with Spillman conversion, Southern has always been able to convert it over.

Bryant Police Chief Carl Minden asked: Can we only run 10 mobiles units at a time? Yes, that was the price that was given, 10 mobiles $680.00 per mobile – $6,800.00 included in pricing quoted. You can increase amount but would cost more. You can install on up to 35 devices but only allow 10 devices to run simultaneously. What would 20 cost? Another $6,800.00 for 10 more mobiles.

If a natural disaster happens or you have a special event planned, there will be an exception where you can have everyone on at one time. There is an increase in price but after the disaster or event is over, the price can go back to original price. They can also issue licenses for training but cannot be on same network as live data.

Judge Brumley asked: If we double the amount of ADL users we would be at $23,637.00 and this does not affect the RMS quote? Jennifer stated he was correct $23,637.00 and it does not affect the RMS quote.

On behalf of the board, Saline County Judge Matt Brumley expressed appreciation to Jennifer, Matt and Scott with Southern Software for the short notice on the meeting and them having the information needed to answers for the board.

Saline County Judge Matt Brumley stated he wants answers today on what the 911 Board wants to do.

3 options given to board:

Option 1: Yr 2025 Benton

Saline County Bryant FD

Option 2: Yr 2024 Benton

Saline County Bryant

E SRMS
($124 K – Bryant) ($140 K w/conversion)

Bryant PD w/Integration

Option 3: Yr 2024 Benton

Saline County Bryant

Option 1 & 3: Spillman Bryant

Benton Saline County Bryant

Combiner – (Stay) Bryant
Benton
Saline County

(90 to 194 Days)

(Bryant PD manually entry while waiting 16 mos.)

$23,700.00 + $4,500.00 = $28,200.00 $11,250.00

$11,250.00 $ 4,500.00 $50,755.00

$29,000.00 $14,000.00 $14,000.00

A lot of discussion was made between the options presented to the board. When board members vote on options, consider “What is best for the citizens of Saline County”.

Board all agreed to go with Option #2 except Bryant Police Chief Carl Minden who would only agree on Option #1 and Bryant Mayor Rhonda Sanders who still would like to look over what has been discussed in the past and be able to talk with her council members.

A motion was made by Benton Police Chief Scotty Hodges to start Integration and Bryant Police does not come over until Full Integration is complete and 2nd by Benton Mayor Tom Farmer – Judge Brumley just verifying to go with Option 1, start Integration and Bryant PD does not come over until Full Integration is complete (2024 or 2025) or unless Bryant PD is ready before that time. Motion carried.

A motion was made to adjourn by Saline County Judge Matt Brumley and 2nd by Benton Police Chief Scotty Hodges. Motion carried. Meeting adjourned at 4:11 pm.