WASHINGTON PARISH COMMUNICATIONS DISTRICT

Minutes for June 14, 2004

A regularly scheduled and properly and advertised Washington Parish Communications District Board meeting was held on at June 14, 2004 the E-911 Planning Office located at 1005 Cleveland Street.

Members present were:            Mr. James Coleman                        Chairman

                                                Mr. Mike Stogner                            Vice-Chairman

                                                Mr. Gary Fenner                              Treasurer

                                                Mrs. Cynthia August                        Secretary

                                                Mr. Jason Verret         

                                                Mr. Joshua Bridges            

                                                Mr. Mike Miller

Others present were:                Mr. Kenney Gatewood                   Attorney

                                                Mrs. Joanna Thomas                       Manager

                                                 Mr. Jerry Fortenberry                     Dist. 9 Fire Department

Chairman Coleman called the meeting to order at the appointed time of 6:00 p.m. Mr. Fenner opened with prayer and the pledge of allegiance to the flag of the United States.

ROLL CALL OF BOARD MEMBERS

Mrs. Thomas called the roll. The results of that roll call are recorded above.

READING OF THE MINUTES

Chairman Coleman called for a motion to dispense with the reading of the minutes of May 04, 2004, since they were mailed out to each member prior to this meeting.

Mr. Bridges made the motion to dispense with the reading of both these sets of minutes. Mr. Miller seconded the motion. Motion passed by a unanimous vote.

Chairman Coleman asked if there were any deletions, corrections or additions to be made to the minutes of May 04, 2004.  Hearing none, Mr. Coleman called for a motion to accept the minutes as written and mailed out.  Mr. Stogner made the motion to accept and approve the minutes as written and mailed out. Mr. Verret seconded the motion. Motion passed by a unanimous vote.

TREASURER’S REPORT

Mr. Fenner reviewed the financial statements beginning with the current assets.

Mr. Fenner then reviewed the balance sheet, both assets and liabilities. He then reviewed the income and budget statements, he pointed out the $ 29.00 dividend check that was received from Workman’s Comp. And that this was the first ever to be sent.  Next, Mr. Fenner reviewed the check registration, cash receipts, the account reconciliation statement and the 911 funds statement with cash disbursements. In the check register he pointed out the $65,000.00 check to CML and explained that this was for the 2nd 25% of the $260,000 that is owed for the 911 equipment.

Mr. Fenner asked if there were any questions or comments regarding any of the financial statements.  Chairman Coleman called for questions or comments on the Treasurer’s Report. Hearing none, Chairman Coleman called for a motion to accept and approve the Treasurer’s report all the financial statements and the checklist. Mr. Bridges made the motion to accept and approve the Treasurer’s report all financial statements and the checklist. Mr. Stogner seconded the motion. Motion passed by unanimous vote.

MANAGER’S REPORT

Mrs. Thomas reported that she has been active during the month of May with both the normal daily operational issues of the office plus supporting our special projects. She reported first  on the daily operational issues:

Daily Operational Issues

All PSAP equipment is up and running which includes the new CML equipment at the Washington Parish Sheriff’s Office.

The accounting system is working well Mr. Fenner and I continue to input the monthly financial data.

We’ve given out a total of 30 new addresses in the Parish and they are:

Franklinton      13                              

Mt. Hermon     03                                                    

Pine                  06                                                     

Bogalusa          06                                                                   

Angie               02                                                 

Total                30

Special Projects

I have been working daily with Gage Telephone to coordinate 911 equipment and training schedules at both the Sheriff’s office and the Franklinton Police Department.

The Sheriff’s 911 equipment has been successfully brought on line and their personnel are very pleased with it.

Mr. John Daniels, Franklinton Police Commissioner, has requested that I personally train the Franklinton Police dispatchers and this has been accomplished except for one dispatcher who is on vacation.  As soon as she gets back from vacation I will train her.

While their first reaction to the equipment change was negative, they are now supportive. We plan to start the Franklinton Police department 911 equipment up tomorrow and the Bogalusa Police Department by the end of the month.

This has been an interesting and productive month for our office. I would like to thank the board for their support and inputs.

Chairman Coleman asked for questions or comments on the Manager’s Report, and hearing none, asked for a motion to accept and approve the report as written. Mr. Stogner made the motion to accept and approve the Manager’s Report as written, and Mr. Miller seconded the motion.  Motion passed by a unanimous vote.

CHAIRMAN’S REPORT

I’m happy to report that the progress of the Commission has been excellent over the past month and that the day to day issues of the Commission have been effectively handled in the office.

PSAP Equipment Modifications

The start up of the new CML ECS-1000 and Higher Ground recorder system started up on June 3, 2004, at approximately 1:45 PM at the Washington Parish Sheriff’s office.  The new system is running well and is being tuned for maximum performance.  The remaining PSAP’s are scheduled for start up during the remaining month of June.

Other Issues

We have received a proposed settlement agreement from the U.S. Attorney General’s Office.  I have developed a preliminary implementation plan, schedule, and supporting polices.  These are attached for your review.  In order to meet the required schedule, the following items require action at tonight’s meeting :

1.      Signing of the Settlement Agreement between the United States of America and the Washington Parish Communications District. 

2.      The Policies and Procedures committee to monitor the implementation of the settlement.  Members are : Jim Coleman, Cynthia August, Mike Stogner and non voting member Joanna Thomas

3.      Appointment of Joanna Thomas as the organization’s  representative to keep abreast of technological developments in the area of TDD and related modern telephony equipment.

4.      Approve purchase of  three back up TDD’s which are capable of ASCII/Baudot transmission plus VCO (Voice Carry Over) and HCO (Hearing Carry Over).  Per unit cost is estimated at $900 each.

5.      Approval to request each PSAP to appoint a member to the Washington Parish TDD implementation Team

Our web site continues to operate.  Since its start up we have had 1,086 page hits from 68 separate visitors. 

Mapping and Addresses

The contract for mapping and other services to implement Phase 1 and 2 wireless and wireline location has been reviewed and approved by Kenny Gatewood and was thereafter signed. 

The Request for Proposal for the purchase, installation, and training of the dispatcher software has been advertised, issued, and received.  I have a copy of this proposal for your review and have included it on our July meeting agenda.

Public 911 Education

Following our meeting tonight, the Washington Parish Council and other invited persons will attend our open house.  Following the open house, Sheriff Aubrey Jones has invited us all over to his agency for everyone to see his dispatcher operation with our new equipment. 

This will do much to further develop our relationship with parish government and the Sheriff’s Office.

Chairman Coleman asked for questions or comments on the Chairman’s Report, and hearing none, asked for a motion to accept and approve the report as written.  This motion includes approval of  the five step implementation plan.  Mr. Verret requested that step 5 be revised to include the statement that membership on the Implementation Team must be approved by the Communications District.  Mr. Stogner made the motion to accept and approve the Manager’s Report with the revision by Mr. Verret.  Mr. Miller seconded the motion.  Motion passed by a unanimous vote.

Conclusions

Our agency is making much progress to improve 911 communication services in Washington Parish.  Additional challenges related to the community of deaf, hard of hearing and speech impaired people have been added.  I am confident that all challenges will be met.  I would like to thank both the board and the staff for their hard work on the many complex challenges currently facing us.

COMMITTEE REPORTS

There were no committee reports given.

PUBLIC COMMENTS

There were no public comments

Chairman Coleman called for any additional comments or questions from the members of the board.  Hearing none, he called for a motion to adjourn the meeting.

Mr. Miller made the motion to adjourn. Mrs. August seconded the motion. Motion passed by a unanimous vote.  Meeting adjourned at 6:30 PM.

As recorded by: Mrs. Joanna Thomas.

 

 

Approved by:  ___________________________________

                               Mrs. Cynthia August, Secretary