MARIES COUNTY — The Maries County Commission last Thursday instructed IT Manager Shane Sweno to move forward with his efforts to upgrade the county’s 911 Dispatch Center. 

Sweno said the upgrades he is looking at have three main components. The first one is a new 911 phone system, the second is upgrading the computer aided dispatch (CAD) call-taking software, and the third is a new radio system. Sweno said this is needed because they are using a grant from the newly created MO 911 Service Board to replace the current 911 phone system that is no longer upgradeable or currently supported.  The grant awarded was over $240,000 and is enabling better redundancy and is a geo-diverse system with a neighboring PSAP. This means if a disaster takes out one center, the other can take over with little to no down-time. The current 911 phone system is integrated into the radio system. The two dispatch consoles are almost 10 years old and are again not able to be upgraded easily or cost-efficiently.  A few months ago the sheriff’s office had a lightning strike that hit the radio tower and killed some parts of the system causing several thousand dollars in damages. The parts were hard to find and ended up being spares that were forgotten about in a warehouse. The current 911 call processing software, CAD (computer aided dispatching) system, is also several years old and is not easily upgradeable to a system that would allow deputies to self-dispatch and respond to calls without radioing dispatch. The new solution integrates directly into the new 911 system and improves and speeds dispatching and call processing. Since Maries County’s dispatchers are also jailers it helps enable much greater efficiency. Sometimes seconds matter and any improvement in speed and efficiency could save lives. The last component is the radio system. Again, it is 10 years old and parts and equipment are hard to find. If they don’t upgrade everything in the center it limits the capabilities and the potential for a major loss of service if parts or service are not quickly available. Currently the dispatch center has one Missouri Statewide Interoperability Network (MOSWIN) radio and seven VHS frequencies. Sweno is obtaining a price quote on a new radio system through Motorola. 

Presiding Commissioner Victor Stratman was reading the information supplied to him by Motorola and asked about the consoles not being included. Sweno checked with Motorola and they will send a representative to address the questions. He said the price quoted is less than he thought it could be. If the quote is in fact a turn-key solution then now would be the time to proceed. He needs to check into this. Sweno told the commissioners this is just a Maries County radio solution, with no back-up service for the radios but with MOSWIN the deputies and first responder radios will still trunk. A lightning strike could put the radio system down in dispatch but other agencies would still be able to hear units. 

The radio upgrade is about $130,000 and Sweno said there may be other parts needed, too and added to the overall expense. The post warranty maintenance and lifecycle support for the first five years will cost about $20,000. The county also purchased a new 911 server to replace their current one. Several programs are housed on this server and it is considered critical to daily operations in the call center. This already has been ordered and has arrived at a cost around $7,600. Sweno said one additional item they have to buy will be a digital license that will enable logging of the two new dispatch consoles. This will be about $5,500. Stratman said he is glad for the opportunity to work with Phelps County on the 911 phones and CAD system.

Stratman wanted to talk about other first responders in the county—the fire departments and ambulance districts. Vienna Fire wants new radios, too, and would like to purchase them at the same time as the sheriff’s office does. Sweno said the sheriff’s office wants eight radios and he can see if Motorola can do a big package. 

Sweno said the dispatch center will still have the same existing VHS channels. With the improvements there will be greater MOSWIN capability, providing internal communications capabilities for state agencies and providing a statewide interoperability platform and access for local agencies to achieve interoperable communications with local, state, regional and federal agencies. MOSWIN also provides a platform for some local agencies’ daily dispatch and internal communications. 

The commissioners said now is the time to upgrade the equipment and the ambulance districts need it too. Stratman said if the fire department handles a wreck with hazardous material, they need to be able to “get out” with their communication. Sweno said there are channels to deal with hazardous materials and they can also contact the state’s SEMA team. This is what MOSWIN can help them achieve. He said they can add equipment and radios for about $35,000 to $40,000 and the old system can work. 

Western District Commissioner Ed Fagre said they need to, “Do it while we can. In ten years it will be something else.” The county hopes to be able to use its American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) money to pay for all of this.

Sweno said Vienna Fire each has its own separate VHS radio channel. They can communicate back and forth on that but if they upgrade to MOSWIN, it will use the state network radio network. 

Stratman said he thinks they should take care of the 911 upgrades first and not worry about what the others need right now. Eastern District Commissioner Doug Drewel said they need to set priorities as the ambulances go further away to hospitals whereas the fire departments generally are within about a 10-mile radius. 

Sweno said they might be able to save some money buying good, used equipment, but the commissioners didn’t want this, saying they are already behind the times. 

“Go with the new stuff,” Fagre said. “Let’s get this lined out before we go on with fire departments and ambulances.” 

Sweno said he will put something together with three different parts so the commissioners can better understand it. Stratman said they would like to speak with a Motorola sales representative. 

Sweno said Major Scott John has been taking care of the deputies’ radio upgrades and has been ordering equipment. 

The IT manager’s next project is putting in the new server, migrating things over. He said the timing is just right as they are over 90 percent capacity on the old server which uses Windows Server 2008.

Solar Farm

Stratman reported he was told it is the prairie land owned by Dr. Bowles’ heirs along Highway Z on the east side of the county being sought for the 2,800 acre solar farm being developed by the Chicago-based company Invenergy. 

Other landowners along Highway Z are being approached as well. There is interest in it among them. Drewel said he’s heard there are some who have signed to be part of it and others who are leaning toward it. 

The company is reported to be offering a 30-year contract, paying $800 per acre per year with a two percent inflation additional fee. At the end of the contract, the company will remove the solar farm and return the land back to the way it was. 

Buildings and Grounds

The commissioners had talked about ceramic tile being a possible solution to the floor covering in the sheriff’s office. The current tile needs to be stripped and waxed but it’s hard to find someone to do it. It will take some time to do this project and they can’t shut down the sheriff’s office operations while this job is done.

Stratman reached out to Tom Campbell, who he said has been in the flooring business his whole life. He asked Campbell for an opinion. Campbell suggested they use a floating vinyl floor covering product. The reason is because they will have to take up the tile to put down the ceramic tile product, and the floor in the basement will gouge out and it all will have to be leveled. 

He had samples of the product, which looks like a wood floor. The labor for this product is less to install. The cost is $2.79 a square foot and there is no glue used. The wood grain-look floating vinyl can be purchased at Freeburg Home Center. They need to cover 300 to 500 sq. ft. so the cost is about $1,100 for material plus labor costs. Campbell said it goes down quickly. The commissioners are looking for a new floor covering in the booking room, hallway and kitchen. This product would eliminate stripping and waxing. New carpet is needed in the dispatch room. Carpet cuts down on the sound in the communication room. 

There was discussion with a Solomon Boiler Works representative about the boiler. When it was cold and the heat was not working, it was because the boiler has two systems that work and the value was frozen-up (locked) from disuse. Stratman said either of the two systems can operate the boiler. To repair it, the value will be changed out so the system works as it is supposed to. The courthouse custodian said he will periodically switch systems so the valves are used and don’t freeze up again. Stratman asked Solomon to do the required inspection while he is here working on the valve replacement. Stratman commented the valves looked expensive to him.