June 2001
Minutes
New England Region 700MHz
Technical Advisory Committee Meeting
Wednesday, June 20, 2001
List of Attendees:
George Pohorilak DPS-OSET, State of Connecticut, Chairman
Jerry Zarwanski DPS-OSET, State of Connecticut, Vice-Chairman
James Warakois Boston, MA, Police Communications, Secretary
Stephan Brown CT State Aviation and Port
George Carbonell CT DOT
Stephen Verbil Verbil Communications, Inc.
Robert DiBella Town of Glastonbury, CT
Mark Cady Worcester, MA, Fire
Terry Lavalley VT State Police
Elliot Derdak Boston, MA, EMS
Bob Cruikshank Motorola
Ralph R. Thomson Worcester, MA
Thomas Crotty RI State Police
Gary Gutowski MA State Police
Mike Stemmler CT State Police
Blair Sutherland MA State Police
John Pinkham MA State Police
The third quarterly meeting of the New England Region 700MHz Technical Advisory Committee was held on Wednesday, June 20, 2001 at the Vermont State Police Barracks, Chester, VT. The Chairman called the meeting to order at 10:20 AM.
First Order of Business:
Acceptance of the minutes of the previous meeting.
Moved by G. Carbonell to ACCEPT the minutes as written.
.
There was no discussion or changes. The minutes were approved
as presented.
Grant Application:
An application for a grant for operational expenses
was submitted in May to the National Law Enforcement and Technology
Center. There has been no response.
A Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) has been created between this Committee and the Atlantic Chapter of APCO. The funding obtained through the grant will be held and disbursed by the Atlantic Chapter APCO with Committee's approval, voted authorization.
700MHz FCC Planning Process:
The Chairman discussed the historical development of the 800MHz
Plan. He emphasized the need to examine the successful and unsuccessful
processes used in that plan. The Chairman indicated the need for
creativity/improvements for the forthcoming 700MHz plan development
and not to necessarily copy the existing 800MHz plan.
The Chairman announced the intent of the Committee meetings to be held at various venues around Region 19 to allow wider attendance
The Chairman discussed the need for creating an equitable representation from the community of Public Safety users. The Chairman noted the need to take a proactive approach to gaining membership and interest. By moving the meeting sites among the states of Region 19 it is hoped that all committee members would be able to participate actively in the meetings. There are members of the NCC from within the Region who could serve as a link with the Committee for the exchange of ideas.
Mr. Carbonell noted that the Governor of each state has to
designate some Public Safety group within the state to administer
the "State License", state defined radio channels.
General discussion: The governor of Vermont has appointed
the Vermont State Police as administrator within that state. New
Hampshire and Maine have designated the State Police to administer.
The Massachusetts State Police have filed application with the
Governor for designation as administrator. Official designation
has not been received. Connecticut has also moved to name an administrator
with several possible choices.
Mr. Derdak observed that in all cases the license is always held
by the highest political entity, which is the State. The
department chosen to administer the license serves as "the
mailing address." Mr. Crotty confirmed that the Rhode Island
State Police would be the administrator in that state. The Chairman
noted that the deadline for such appointments is the end of 2001.
It seems certain that all administrators within Region 19 will
be officially established by then.
The Chairman placed some ideas on the composition of the
Committee. The eligibility for membership could be determined/defined
by state and category. The number of members must be decided as
well as those who would be "members at-large."
General discussion: The updated list of those that
are eligible must be confirmed. Public Safety entities such as
Fire, Police, EMS, DOT and others must be identified as officially
eligible.
The Chairman noted that the identified groups must be notified of their eligibility to participate. A list of such groups will be prepared by the Chairman and circulated among the participants for comments.
General discussion: Better effort must be made to notify all with potential interest in the Committee. Meeting notices and committee information must be more widely distributed. Email lists can be also be used for dissemination.
Mr. Carbonell will investigate the development of a list server.
POINT SCORING PROCESS:
The Chairman introduced the subject of scoring the applications
for Regional Planning Committee (RPC) approval. He mentioned several
of the shortcomings of the present system, the lack of completeness,
or misunderstanding of instructions. There is a need for close
examination of the process with the intent of streamlining or
simplifying it.
There is a current practice in the 800 MHz planning process of
returning applications numerous times for data or contacting the
applicants for clarification.
OLD BUSINESS:
The Chairman reports that Connecticut has submitted to the
FCC an "opt out" of Region 8 statement for the 700MHz
planning process. All of Connecticut is now in the New England
Regional Planning Process Region 19.
NEW BUSINESS:
The next meeting will be held on Wednesday, September 26,
2001 at 10:30 AM at a location in Maine. Mr. Carbonell moved
to adjourn. Carried. Meeting adjourned 11:20 AM.
Respectfully Submitted
James Warakois, Secretary
Documents distributed to attendees:
GUIDELINES FOR 764-776/794-806 REGIONAL PLANNING COMMITTEES, NCC Implementation Subcommittee Guidelines, May 10, 2001
OUTLINE FOR 764-776/794-806 NATIONAL / REGIONAL PLANS, NCC Implementation Subcommittee, May 10, 2001
Minutes New England Region 700 MHz Planning Meeting, Massachusetts State Police Headquarters, Framingham, Massachusetts, Thursday, March 29, 2001