Meeting Minutes
645 New London Ave.
Cranston, RI 02920
Mr. Jerry Zarwanski chaired the meeting. The meeting started at 10:02 AM. An agenda was emailed to all committee members and copies were available for those attending the meeting. Several members called in on the telephone conference bridge.
A copy of the minutes from the last meeting was passed out. A motion was raised to accept the minutes. The minutes were accepted by Mr. Jeff Otto and seconded by Mr. Elliot Derdak.
Mr. Jerry Zarwanski stated the committee received a letter dated April
29, 2009 from Mr. George Pohorilak announcing his retirement. Mr. Pohorilak
identified he has been involved in 700/800MHz planning for over 20 years and
takes great pride helping facilitate 700/800MHz plans. He stated it has been a
pleasure to serve public safety in all of New England and would like to thank
everyone for their support. Mr. Jeff Otto made a motion to accept George
Pohorilak resignation and recognize his contribution to the committee over the
years. Mr. Derdak seconded the motion.
Mr. Zarwanski informed the committee the bylaws of the Region 19 plan stated all officers must be members of the regional committee. Anyone with the intention of becoming a committee member or running for office must provide a letter of support from their agency. The letter must identify they are in good standing and are willing to make a commitment to the Region 19 committee.
Connecticut: Mr. Steve Verbil informed the committee he has been
conducting monthly statewide interoperability conference calls with the
Interoperability Managers of Pennsylvania, New Jersey, New York and the New
England States. An agenda item for next weeks conference call is the New York
Interoperability Symposium in Albany, New York. Mr. John Gustafson and Mr.
Verbil will be speaking on a panel about interoperability governance.
Mr. Verbil identified
Investment Justification 1 monetary portion of the PSIC grant will be spent on
a P25 switch. The P25 switch will work in conjunction with the existing
Connecticut State Police switch and provide services to the municipals. Region
1 UASI (Urban Area Security Initiative) and New Britain plan on utilizing the
P25 switch.
States applying for the 47
CFR 400 E-911 Grant Program must submit their applications by August 4, 2009.
The grant application requires certification that no 9-1-1 funds have been
diverted in the last 18 months nor will the funds be diverted throughout the
period of time the grant fund are available.
Mr. Verbil informed the
committee; John Gustafson, the OSET staff and he is developing the Connecticut
State 700MHz Plan. The completed plan will be presented at the September 8,
2009 New England Region 19 meeting. Mr. Zarwanski identified Stamford and
Region 1 UASI are each looking for five 700MHz channels.
Massachusetts: No report
Rhode Island: Mr. Thomas Crotty stated there is proposed legislation
in the state house to create an interoperability committee. The Emergency
Management Agency has taken over interoperability coordination efforts.
New Hampshire: Mr. James Kowalik indicated New Hampshire has had some
vender onsite to upgrade their existing interconnect system into a redundant
backbone. New Hampshire will be utilizing an IJ in the SCIP plan as a funding
source to support the upgrade.
New Hampshire state agencies
and public entities supporting state agencies are working together to apply for
the Broadband Technology Opportunities Program (BTOP). The goal is to plot a
redundant usable backbone path all around the state.
Mr. Kowalik informed the
committee he is State of New Hampshire Interoperability Advisory Committee
Chairman. He indicated there is not a state official interoperability executive
committee yet.
Mr. Kowalik identified the
State of New Hampshire has a state interoperability plan out of the office of
Grants Management. The state plan is based on the SAFECOM Interoperability
Continuum.
Maine: Mr. Zarwanski stated Kennebunkport, Maine filed an
application for 700MHz state channels with APCO. Mr. Zarwanski reviewed the
application and identified Kennebunkport, Maine has identified channels from
the General Use frequency pool. Mr. Zarwanski stated entities wishing to
license General Use channels must complete a Region 19 application. Upon review
and approval of the application by the Region 19 committee, the applicant would
be granted permission to move forward with FCC licensing. Mr. Zarwanski
indicated a letter was sent to Jeff Smith, the contact for Kennebunkport,
Maine, identifying the procedures one must follow when requesting 700MHz
General use pool frequencies for licensing.
Vermont: No Report
Rhode Island: No Report
Mr. Zarwanski identified the
final DTV transition date is June 12, 2009. All high power TV station will be
required to transmit on and after that date utilizing digital signals.
Fourth item on the agenda: Region 19 Plan
Mr. Zarwanski stated the FCC
sent a letter to the committee approving the Region 19 Plan on April 21, 2009.
A copy of the official FCC letter approving Region 19Õs plan was distributed at
the meeting to attendees.
Fifth item on the agenda: FCC Broadband Auction – D Block
Mr. Zarwanski indicated the
FCC has not determined what will become of the FCC Broadband D Block channels.
Boston, Ma, State of New Jersey and California Bay Area cities; San Jose,
Oakland and San Francisco filed waivers with the FCC requesting Broadband D
Block be reallocated for public safety use.
Mr. Zarwanski stated Mr.
Verbil and he will be attending the 700/800 MHz Regional Planning Workshop and
CAPRAD Training from June 29th thru June 30th. The
training is being funded by a grant received by APCO.
Mr. Zarwanski identified the
Region 8 plan was approved by the FCC. The Region 30 plan was not approved
because they did not reach out to the tribal nations. Once Region 30 meets this
requirement they can resubmit to the FCC for approval.
Mr. Zarwanski stated the FCC
approved licensing 4.9GHz Òpoint to pointÓ and Òpoint to multipointÓ for
broadband primary use. An entity currently holding a license for Òpoint to
pointÓ or Òpoint to multipointÓ must relicense identifying technical parameters
(Latitude and Longitude, directional antennas, etc.). Mr. Zarwanski suggested
referencing ÒWP Docket 07-100Ó, released by the FCC, on April 9, 2009 for more
information about licensing 4.9GHz.
Mr. Verbil stated a federally
funded RF project that affects the landscape, will have an environmental review
conducted by NEPA (National Environmental Protection Agency). The State of
Connecticut Siting Council can not grant permission to move forward with a land
altering project. The NEPA will determine the impact the project will have on
the environment and grant permission to move forward according to their
results.
Mr. Zarwanski indicated NPSTC
submitted a petition to expand the 470 - 512MHz band to new market groups.
Radiosoft, Inc. submitted a petition requesting Hartford, CT considered as an
urbanized center for assignment of 470 - 512MHz frequencies.
Mr. Zarwanski stated NTIA
Office has 43.5 million in grant fund for the upgrade of 911 equipment and
Phase II Wireless. The only requirement for the State of Connecticut receiving
their allotted amount of $500,000 dollars is the submission a completed grant
application by August 4, 2009.
A Public Notice (DAO 09-1064)
was released by the FCC on May 13, 2009 providing guidance on resolving border
issues.
With no further comments or
business, Mr. Steven Verbil motioned for adjournment. Mr. Stephan Brown
seconded the motion. Next meeting will be held in the Connecticut Fire Academy,
34 Perimeter Road, Windsor Locks, Connecticut.
All present agreed to adjourn
at 11:17AM.