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HomeMy WebLinkAbout7/21/2009 - Special~uiy 2~ , Zoo9 573 County Administration Center 5204 Bernard Drive Roanoke, Virginia 24018 July 21, 2009 The Board of Supervisors of Roanoke County, Virginia met this day at the Vinton War Memorial, 814 Washington Avenue, Vinton, Virginia, for the purpose of a joint meeting with the Town of Vinton to discuss merging 911 services. IN RE: CALL TO ORDER (TOWN OF VINTON) Mayor Grose called the meeting to order at 5:45 p.m. The roll call was taken. MEMBERS PRESENT: Mayor Bradley E. Grose, Robert R. Altice, Carolyn D. Fidler, W. Wesley Nance, William E. Obenchain, Jr. MEMBERS ABSENT: None STAFF PRESENT: Chris Lawrence, Town Manager; Consuella Caudill, Assistant Town Manager; Elizabeth Dillon, Town Attorney; Darleen Bailey, Town Clerk; Barry Thompson, Finance Director/Treasurer; Beth Austin, Human Resource Manager IN RE: CALL TO ORDER (COUNTY OF ROANOKE) Chairman Altizer called the meeting to order at 5:50 p.m. The roll call was taken. MEMBERS PRESENT: Chairman Michael W. Altizer, Vice-Chairman Joseph P. McNamara, Supervisors Joseph B. "Butch" Church, Charlotte A. Moore MEMBERS ABSENT: Supervisor Richard C. Flora 574 ~uiy 2~ , Zoo9 STAFF PRESENT: B. Clayton Goodman III, County Administrator; Daniel R. O'Donnell, Assistant County Administrator; Diane D. Hyatt, Assistant County Administrator; Paul M. Mahoney, County Attorney; Becky R. Meador, Clerk to the Board; Elaine Carver, Chief Information Officer; Teresa Hamilton Hall, Public Information Director IN RE: OPENING REMARKS After the roll call by Mayor Grose, there were introductions of the officials from the Town of Vinton and County of Roanoke attending the meeting. Chris Lawrence welcomed the County Board and staff to the meeting. He remarked that the purpose for the meeting was to provide background information to both governing bodies concerning the potential merger of the 911 Centers of the Town and Roanoke County and to receive direction on whether to move forward with more detailed information. He advised that after a PowerPoint presentation from staff (a copy of which is on file in the County Clerk's Office) there will be an opportunity for questions. He recognized the steering committee members, which included Elaine Carver, County Chief Information Officer; Bill Greeves, County Information Technology Director; Pat Shumate, County Communications Director; John Chambliss, Assistant County Administrator; Benjamin Cook, Vinton Police Lieutenant, Vinton Police Chief Herbert Cooley, and himself. He advised that Chief Cooley was unable to attend the meeting as he was out of town. Chairman Altizer expressed appreciation for the opportunity to meet with the Vinton Town Council and thought it was important to discuss this very important project. He called the Roanoke County Board to order with Supervisor Flora absent. ~uiy 2~ , Zoo9 575 IN RE: DISCUSSION OF THE CONCEPT/PROPOSAL TO MERGE THE TOWN OF VINTON AND ROANOKE COUNTY 911 CENTERS NOTE: The minutes for the discussion of the concept/proposal contain basically the same information as the minutes which were adopted by the Vinton Town Council for the joint meeting on July 21, 2009, and prepared by Darleen Bailey, Vinton Town Clerk. Mr. Lawrence introduced Ms. Carver to begin the staff presentation on the proposed 911 merger concept. Ms. Carver advised that the steering committee believes that the proposed merger would result in potential cost savings for CAD (Computer- Aided Dispatch) systems, hardware, radios and many other things. She stated that the Town and the County would be partners in the process to keep up with the technology needed to provide citizens from both localities with the best possible systems and equipment to dispatch calls. She explained that currently when the Town receives an emergency medical call, there is a small delay in the response time as the call has to be sent to the County's Emergency Medical Dispatch (EMD) system and then forwarded to the appropriate agency. Ms. Carver noted that another benefit would be the potential for additional back-up as the Town usually has one or two dispatchers on a shift while the County would have four or five dispatchers on a shift. She advised that the 911 Center in the County has a very good record on answering calls as the County Board of Supervisors has invested in technology and staffing. Ms. Carver pointed out that another benefit 576 ~uiy 2~ , Zoo9 would be the potential for enhanced services, such as a 311 system where a citizen could call to get answers to non-emergency questions. Ms. Carver explained that the idea for the concept resulted from a call she received from Chris Lawrence, late in March, after he had asked John Chambliss if the County would be interested in looking into the possibility of merging the two dispatch centers. After getting a positive response from Mr. Chambliss, she met with Mr. Lawrence, Chief Cooley and Ms. Shumate for the first time in early April and out of that meeting, the steering committee was formed along with several staff subcommittees to determine whether the idea was worth pursuing. Ms. Carver advised that the steering committee made a trip to York County (the dispatch center for Williamsport, Williamsburg, York and Poquoson) as well as Albemarle (dispatch center for Charlottesville, University of Virginia (UVA) and Albemarle County) to see how their mergers had worked out. She explained that the common theme that came from the site visits was improved services to the citizens, cost savings and the fact that they all felt it was the best thing for their perspective localities. Ms Carver reported that she received the following comments at the site visits: From Chief Charles Werner, Charlottesville City Fire Department - "....having our fire dispatch transferred to a regional center has been one of the best, efficient and effective decisions that I have ever made." ~uiy 2~ , Zoo9 577 From Robert W. Tucker, Jr., Albemarle County Executive - "....while merger of your communication systems will need "buy-in" by all area emergency responders and there will be issues to work through, our agency is a very good example of a success story and one you can definitely learn from." From Sheriff J. D. "Danny" Diggs, York County - "This merger has been nothing but win-win for all involved." Following Ms Carver's presentation, Mr. Lawrence pointed out that Albemarle County has had over twenty years of success with their merged dispatch system. It was noted by Ms. Carver that the issue driving each of the governments to consider merging their communications system was the need for a joint radio system which Roanoke County and the Town of Vinton currently have. Mr. Lawrence advised that the following sub-committees were created to focus on key areas: (1) Police, (2) Fire and Rescue, (3) Public Works, (4) Human Resources and (5) Technology and Logistics. He further advised that each committee was comprised of representatives from their respective agencies including senior and entry level people. He explained that each committee was asked to identify key areas of discussion, opportunities and challenges, without attempting to come up with solutions, recommendations or financial implications. Mr. Lawrence reported that the Police Committee identified four major areas to be considered, which included response times, CAD systems, radio call handling and administrative procedures. He noted that neither Police Department had 578 ~uiy 2~ , Zoo9 any significant areas that would be difficult to overcome; however, there were items that would need to be addressed. Mr. Lawrence reported that the second committee, Fire and Rescue, included representatives from the Town's career EMS staff, the County's career EMS staff, the Town's Volunteer Fire Department and First Aid Crew, as well as the Town's dispatchers. Mr. Lawrence noted their major items of discussion were response times, procedures, the CAD system and administrative items. He pointed out that one thing they identified was the opportunity to improve services due to no longer having to be "double dispatched". Mr. Lawrence advised that the Public Works committee is important because this is one area of responsibility that is different for the Town. The County does not have a public works department. He noted that their major area of discussion was their High-Band radio communications system. Again, no significant problems were anticipated by that committee. Mr. Lawrence reported that the Human Resources committee's major areas of discussion were policies, salaries, benefits and the culture of the two organizations. Mr. Lawrence noted that the Technology and Logistics' committee covers an area where the Town and County currently have a strong relationship in terms of radio systems, computers and networks. He advised that Roanoke County works very ~uiy 2~ , Zoo9 579 closely with the Town on radios, computers and networks systems. No significant hurdles or roadblocks were identified in this area. At the conclusion of the presentation by Ms. Carver and Mr. Lawrence, both thanked staff for their work and opened the floor for questions and comments from both governing bodies. Supervisor McNamara inquired about the financial impact to the County for the office space that would be needed and Ms. Carver replied that if the governing bodies approve the concept, they would bring a proposal back to them in September with a report that would include financial impacts and all the detailed information they would need to make a decision. Supervisor McNamara requested that the report include current and combined costs to the County. Mayor Grose stated that he would like to see the process continue and would also like to be provided with figures showing the anticipated costs. He stressed that Council wishes to maintain or increase the current high level of service to citizens while realizing cost savings with the proposed merger. Supervisor Church thanked everyone and commented that it looks like the concept would be "doable" but costs would be a factor. He asked if Albemarle and York Counties were similar to Roanoke County and Vinton in size or geographically. Mr. Lawrence responded they were and it was the reason the sites were chosen, even though there were some differences as well. Supervisor Church stated that he did not feel personnel and human resources would be an obstacle due to the fact that it would 580 ~uiy 2~ , Zoo9 be a small town working with a larger county and the fact that the two governments have been working closely together for many years. He advised that he felt it would eliminate the duplication of services and would help everyone involved. He was in favor of continuing their study of the proposed concept. Council Member Obenchain stated that he was 100 percent in favor of pursuing the study, but questioned whether the steering committee would be able to come up with answers to all of the questions by the end of September. Council Member Nance felt that the committees did a good job on "issue spotting" and felt that the proposal should be fully investigated. Chairman Altizer commented that the plan has to work for both localities and recommended they move forward with the study. He also recommended that the committee report back at the end of August as to whether more time would be needed to complete the study. He felt that it was important to move forward to determine what the cost savings would be, how the Town employees would be integrated into the County system and any other obstacles. He thanked the employees for their work. Council Member Altice stated that everyone is looking to provide the best service for their community and he felt the proposed merger would be a step forward. Council Member Fidler stated that she felt that Council has a responsibility to the citizens to look into the issue and supported continuing with the study. Mayor Grose stated that he wanted to get as much public input as possible before the concept goes to Council for a vote even though this might affect the ' July 21, 2009 581 time line somewhat. Mr. Lawrence advised that he felt it would be in both the County's and Vinton's best interests to have another joint meeting when the study has been completed so that both bodies receive the same information at the same time. Chairman Altizer advised that he felt another joint meeting would be a good idea. He invited the Vinton Town Council to attend a future joint meeting with the County as schedules permit. Ms. Carver responded that the committee would make sure that both the 1 Town and County are kept up to date as to whether the Committee will be able to meet the September deadline. IN RE: ADJOURNMENT Chairman Altizer and Mayor Grose adjourned the joint meeting at 6:30 p.m. Submitted by: ecky R. ador Clerk to the Board Approved by: Michael W. Altizer Chairman 582 ~uiy 2~ , Zoo9 This page left blank intentionally.