NCFPD approves RCS payment agreement

The North County Fire Protection District will be continuing as a participant in the Regional Communications System.

A 5-0 NCFPD board vote Aug. 23 approved a payment agreement between the County of San Diego and the fire district for costs of the next-generation RCS infrastructure while authorizing NCFPD fire chief Steve Abbott to execute the necessary documents.

"It's a big deal that this is moving forward," Abbott said. "The importance of maintaining our communications system is paramount."

The Regional Communications System was established in 1995 and allows emergency and public safety agencies to communicate with each other. The RCS provides public safety and public service radio communications to San Diego and Imperial Counties and includes those two county governments, 24 incorporated cities, fire protection districts, state and Federal agencies, tribal governments, and medical operations. The County of San Diego procured and constructed the RCS and operates the system while the participating agencies share the cost of the infrastructure. The RCS consists of 50 radio sites in the two counties which support 24 public safety dispatch centers and serve more than 10,000 radio users.

The County of San Diego and the participating agencies realized that the RCS would eventually approach the end of its useful life and would need replacement. In 2010, San Diego County's Sheriff's Department contracted with technical consultants to assist with planning the next-generation system. A working group consisting of RCS partner agency executives made recommendations regarding system design and cost apportionment, and county staff members worked with more than 100 public safety agencies and medical operations to develop the requirements for a new system.

"This will also enhance the computer equipment," Abbott said.

The RCS upgrade will be implemented in three phases. Phase I is the system design and planning phase which will include detailed technical designs, project planning, and identification of new radio facilities. Phase II will implement the new technology at existing RCS facilities and will include the procurement of new radio system hardware and software, the replacement of the existing hardware with the new equipment, and the migration of the dispatch center equipment and user radios to the new system Phase III will consist of the new site development, facilities construction, and integration into the system. The completion of the upgraded system is expected to occur during Fiscal Year 2018-19.

"Very much needed given all of our public safety challenges these days," Abbott said.

In December 2013, the San Diego County Board of Supervisors approved an agreement for participating agencies which established a cost apportionment model and served as the operating and business agreement between the parties. The cost apportionment was based on an estimated $105,000,000 cost to design, procure, and install the next-generation system, although the specific final costs were not known at the time. Agencies which signed the agreement were allowed to opt out if the agency's actual cost was significantly more than the estimate, and 50 agencies signed the agreement. The contribution of each partner is based on the number of radios that agency has on the Regional Communications System.

On Feb. 2, the county supervisors authorized the Clerk of the Board of Supervisors to execute payment agreements, upon receipt, with Next Generation Regional Communications System partners. A local agency has the option of paying its share in a lump sum during the initial stages of the system or through a financing mechanism in which the payment agreement involves contributing funds on a monthly or yearly basis.

"The county has been very generous in providing financing for this program," Abbott said.

On June 30, the county awarded a contract for the next-generation RCS to Motorola Solutions, Inc. The amount of the contract was $70,065,207, which was approximately 25 percent less than the estimated cost.

The supervisors' December 2013 action authorized the county's chief administrative officer or her designee to amend the agreement with the participating agencies once the specific final cost was determined. Ron Lane, who is the county's deputy chief administrative officer for the county's Public Safety Group, approved the amended agreement on July 12.

The participating agencies have a total of 14,782 radios, so the cost per radio was determined to be $4,443.23. The number of radios for an agency was based on the average of the agency's radio counts on Sept. 1, 2013, and July 1, 2014. NCFPD had 127 radios on Sept. 1, 2013, and 119 radios on July 1, 2014, so the fire district's assessment is based on an average of 123 radios. The cost to the North County Fire Protection District is $546,516.77.

NCFPD will make monthly payments of $24.50 per radio for the period from July 2017 through December 2033 in addition to a monthly operating fee.