OSAGE COUNTY —  Osage County 911/EMA Director Ron Hoffman told the Osage County 911 Advisory Committee on Wednesday, Aug. 9, that the new SOMA Global Computer Aided Dispatch (CAD) is just about ready to go online. Simulation testing has gone well; the only step left is training his staff on its use. “I’ve been pushing real hard to get us a class,” said Hoffman. “They’re not quite ready on their end.”

Providing that training is something the SOMA Global of Tampa, Fla., agreed to in the purchase contract.

Osage County Sheriff Mike Bonham is enthusiastic about getting the CAD up and running. He has some software licenses with Crimestar USA of Swanzy, NH, coming up for renewal, which will be unnecessary with the new CAD. “I really don’t want to renew with Crimestar,” said Bonham.

According to Hoffman, “everything’s working well,” noting the changeover should be imminent.

Hoffman is also anxious to get the new telephone hardware contracted with Solacom of Downer’s Grove, Ill. “We’re ready for phones,” he said, indicating it’s taking a little longer for them to arrive than he was expecting. “They want to wait until the CAD’s completely installed, for some reason.”

While he’s anxious to get his staff trained on the new CAD system, other training continues apace. The department lost one of its new-hire trainees, but the group is still fairly well populated at 13. Hoffman will hire another full-timer as soon as he receives some suitable applications.

Hoffman continues to be enthusiastic about the Next-Generation (NG) 911 system. An initiative of the US Department of Transportation and the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission, it intends to seriously advance the technology used in moving emergency communications through the internet.

Missouri county call centers will be able to interface, and the situation continues to develop. This will happen without having to change buildings or any other infrastructure. “Hopefully, we can make some positive direction with being more interoperable,” explained Hoffman. “Everybody wants to stay virtual so they can stay in their own building.”

Meetings with neighboring counties are beginning to take place, and funding availability has been announced by the State of Missouri Emergency Management Agency (SEMA).

A lightning strike near Sullivan caused several 911 calls in the state to be rerouted. The Osage County Emergency Operations Center (EOC) fielded all calls from Gasconade County while repairs were being made. “It worked out,” said Hoffman. “It was no big deal. It went just the way it was supposed to.”

911 received a total of 4,329 calls since the May advisory meeting.

For 20 years, the Callaway Nuclear Generating Station, owned by Ameren Missouri, has agreed to allow the EOC north repeater antenna to operate on its property. That 20-year agreement, though, is now expiring. To renew it, Ameren is now determined to charge $800 per month in rent on the facility.

“We can’t afford that,” Hoffman insisted. “The only thing we can do is pull that off of there. We haven’t found [another place for it] yet.”

Ameren’s deadline for removal is November.

There was some thought of abandoning the instrument, but Ameren won’t allow it to stay without a rental agreement. “It’s still an issue,” Hoffman concluded. “Believe it or not, there’s a clause that says we can’t abandon the antenna.”

Other radio equipment in the EOC is demanding attention. An amplifier and lightning arrester have failed. Several radio units use obsolete analog operations systems. They need to be replaced with digital models. Hoffman is pricing some options and has been leaning toward buying from Rayfield Communications, a Motorola dealer in Springfield. “The only reason I go with Rayfield is they have the [service] contract on [some other newer equipment in the EOC which does not need replacing],” explained Hoffman, who is open to pricing with other sources.

Meta Fire Protection District Chief Kenny Helton and Maries Osage Ambulance District board member Donna Mueller recommended Public Safety Solutions, also in Springfield. Osage Ambulance District Administrator Josh Krull endorsed that recommendation. “They’ve done some stuff for us, and they’re good,” he said.

Internet problems at the Osage County Courthouse and the Osage County Administration Building (Annex) have been solved. The entire system in both buildings is now served by fiber optic cable, a much more dependable medium. “We’re good,” Hoffman asserted.

Assistant Terminal Access Coordinator (TAC) Savana Atkisson gave an update on the Priority Dispatch ProQA training and evaluation. There’s been a huge drop in non-compliant calls by the telecommunicators, but some minor errors have started catching her eye. On further investigation, she’s concluded, “the way it’s being reviewed has changed. I’ve done 36 ‘re-reviews’ of calls they’ve reviewed incorrectly.”

Worse yet, she’s been unable to get straight explanations from ProQA headquarters in Salt Lake City, Utah. As she explained her consternation, the problem caught the ear of at-large board member Steve Smyth. “You’re identifying problems with their process, and they’re not listening to you,” he said.

Atkinson agreed with his assessment.

“I’ve got a running tab on these things,” she said.

“It’s one thing to say ‘my people wouldn’t do that,’ but it’s another thing when it’s documented,” said Smyth.

Atkisson and Smyth feel the problem is with the training of evaluators. It matters because training and evaluation were selling points of the system. Hoffman’s crew is close to receiving accreditation from the National Academy of Emergency Dispatch, but they need consistent, understandable training and evaluation from ProQA to finish that process. Atkinson needs it to hone her on-site training and evaluation.

Smyth encouraged her to keep after the issue and try to talk to supervisors if necessary. “I will see if I can find out who to talk to,” said Atkisson. “We’ve hit a point where some of what I’m bringing to them, they’re getting nervous. I don’t care who’s doing it as long as I get reviews that are accurate and usable.”

She’s been especially frustrated by error notifications that aren’t necessary, but she’s very upset about the possibility that some notifications aren’t coming when needed.

Nevertheless, the crew has graded out with an “A” for two consecutive months. Accreditation is now more achievable. “We’ve got a training schedule we are pushing out,” Atkisson concluded.

Hoffman finished the meeting with a description of how the EOC truck has been modified. It’s now rigged so the department can manufacture and install county road signs on-site. The crew is now able to replace missing signs faster. “We have 11,000 signs out there. We’re continuing to do the best we can,” said Hoffman. “It goes a lot faster.”

The next meeting of the advisory committee is scheduled for 7 p.m. on Wednesday, Nov. 8.