Following the election of its new leadership, the Legislative Council wasted no time December 4 listening to a presentation on what is likely one of the more costly public safety projects in the Town Capital Improvement Plan (CIP).

The CIP, whose town and school project earmarks have already been requested by the Boards of Selectmen and Education, and combined and approved by the Board of Finance, now rests with the council for final adjustments and endorsement.

Among the largest bonding initiatives that awaits consideration by the council, and if approved, will be sent to voters in the April 2020 budget referendum, is a comprehensive replacement of Newtown’s emergency communications systems.

As the council heard from First Selectman Dan Rosenthal, the project may be completed in phases, but the bonding authorization must be endorsed in full by local voters if endorsed by the council. The planned bonding schedule for the project would request $2.5 million in the fiscal year 2019-20, and $5,041,933 in the 2021-22 fiscal year.

The council invited Newtown Emergency Communications Director Maureen Will and communications specialist Paul Zito, owner of New England Radio Consultants, LLC.

Ms Will said, going back to her first emergency communications projects, she has found the utilization of a consultant similar to the expertise Mr Zito brings is very beneficial, considering the end pricetag and critical public safety implications of the work.

Mr Zito joked that he has been in the emergency communications business “since tin cans and string,” in the early 1970s, and after nearly two decades working for the state, he has been a municipal and public safety emergency communications consultant for five years.

His work at the state level included overseeing the transition of the former State Police dispatch system, to what was at the time, a state-of-the-art digital network, which was eventually expanded and made available to all state municipal police agencies.

“My specialty is to not only design systems, but to primarily ensure the purchaser — the town, fire department, police department — get what they need, what they think they’ve paid for, and that the project is done to a public safety standard so that it’s operational every time somebody pushes a button, whether that’s standard communications or in an emergency,” Mr Zito explained.

He said Newtown’s system is far beyond its life in certain cases, and within a year, some of the local equipment will no longer have access to technical support.

He said today, with computer-based systems, all systems are built to a military-grade standard “to ensure mission critical communications are put out and received the first time.” He said the 18-plus-year-old communications consoles are in such tenuous shape that he is advising they not be moved to a new police headquarters facility under construction now.

Mr Zito said the coincidence of the new emergency communications wing of the police headquarters being developed at the same time as the communications upgrade is in process offers the town an opportunity to get all the new hardware installed, tested, and operational while keeping the current dispatch center on line at Town Hall South.

Then, once personnel have been trained, the conversion to the new system could conceivably happen in short order.

Enhancing Communications

To get the town up to the new premium standard, the project will need to commence in the coming fiscal year, and phase 1 equipment should be ordered soon in order to ensure timely delivery.

Responding to a question from Councilman Philip Carroll about some existing communication dead spots in lower Sandy Hook, Mr Zito said the new system is designed to eliminate them.

First Selectman Dan Rosenthal told the council how important this added coverage is, having heard an emergency dispatch scenario just the prior weekend, where responders to a call had to relay information to the dispatch center because of sketchy radio coverage.

According to documentation, the new system will enhance communications capability for police, fire, ambulance, and Public Works. It will include six transmit sites and two receiver sites.

One of the more costly aspects of Phase 1 is the installation of a communications shelter, which is budgeted at between $100,000 and $150,000. A primary feature of Phase 2 is the installation of a 125-foot tower adjacent to the Sandy Hook Volunteer Fire & Rescue sub-station.

Mr Rosenthal said the final projected CIP amount increased substantially since last year mainly on Mr Zito’s recommendation of a hefty contingency line in the project budget.

On a question from Councilman Dan Honan about system life, Mr Zito said with proper planning, the system should sustain 20-25 years and would effectively upgrade all advancing technology about every two years.

Mr Rosenthal said while the roughly $2 million initial hardware purchase is required, additional spending might be able to be phased over two to three separate bond authorizations.

Returning to the subject of life cycle planning, Councilman Dan Wiedemann asked about annual anticipated costs. Mr Zito said after warranty, the ongoing annual maintenance and upgrade expense should be around or less than $100,000.

Mr Rosenthal said that $100,000 per year makes economic sense because the service contract includes console upgrades and other items that [the town] would otherwise “buy the equipment as it breaks and replace it.”

Ms Will said the existing service plan on emergency communications equipment has consistently saved taxpayers “hundreds of thousands of dollars each year.”

“It is fiscally responsible for us to have that service plan,” Ms Will said. That current service plan costs about $35,000 per year.

“It’s wise to buy it or commit to it up front,” Mr Zito said, “knowing that we have a wide window to get out of it if you decide you don’t want it.”