TITLE
Vote on a request to schedule a public hearing to receive input on amendments to the Chatham County Wireless Telecommunication Facilities Ordinance to add an exception to tower heights for public safety service providers.
ABSTRACT
Action Requested:
Vote on a request to schedule a public hearing to receive input on amendments to the Chatham County Wireless Telecommunication Facilities Ordinance to add an exception to tower heights for public safety service providers.
Introduction & Background:
The Chatham County 911 Communications Center has an approved Capital Improvements Program (CIP) project to replace the current emergency radio system infrastructure with a reliable and industry standard P25 radio system. To accomplish this replacement requires the installation of new telecommunications towers in the county in areas that are currently have limited or no coverage. To reduce the cost of this upgrade the telecommunications tower ordinance needs to be amended to provide tower height exception for public safety service providers.
Discussion & Analysis:
The 2020-2026 CIP includes the following description of the proposed replacement of the current emergency radio system:
"The existing VHF/UHF radio system used by county public safety agencies is approximately 30 years old. The system has been maintained by replacing and upgrading equipment as needed, but rapidly increasing communication demands and technology advancements have rendered the system obsolete. The county currently has seven different tower sites which transmit and/or receive communications to fire, emergency medical services, and law enforcement. The current radio system does not cover the entire county. Interoperability with surrounding counties and/or agencies is limited or non-existent due to disparate radio systems. The current radio system poses a serious safety risk for responders and citizens.
Upgrade the current system to a P25 700/800 MHz radio system and connect to the NC VIPER ra...
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