ADMINISTRATIVE REPORT Date: July 02, 1997 File: A867-50.1 CC File: TO: Vancouver City Council FROM: Project Coordinator and Project Manager EOCC/Area Wide Radio Project, on behalf the Chief Constable, and General Managers of Fire and Rescue Services, Engineering Services, and Parks and Recreation Services SUBJECT: Emergency Operations and Communications Centre/Area Wide Radio - Status Report INFORMATION THAT Council receive the following report for INFORMATION. COUNCIL POLICY There is no Council policy specifically applicable to the EOCC/Wide Area Radio project. The project supports Council's objectives for emergency preparedness and public safety. Specific resolutions in support of the EOCC/Wide Area Radio project are described in the BACKGROUND section of this report. SUMMARY The Emergency Operations and Communications Centre (E-Comm Building) and Area Wide Radio projects which City Council initiated will offer very significant improvements in public safety throughout south western British Columbia on a daily basis and in a major emergency. The E-Comm building and radio system will be constructed to post disaster standards and will permit, for the first time, radio inter-operability across emergency services. The project components include: A new radio system covering the area bounded by Boston Bar, Pemberton, Sechelt and the US Border will provide service to all police agencies within the area, BC Ambulance, and to municipal services within the GVRD. This system will replace existing systems which are aging and lack capacity and capabilities. The system will allow emergency agencies to communicate with each other, will provide access to emergency services databases from the field, and will facilitate secure communications. A consolidated dispatch centre within the E-Comm Building will provide the capability for common 911 call taking for the area, and has the capacity to dispatch for all emergency services. Computer aided dispatch services will be provided. The integrated call taking and dispatch offer significant economies and major operational benefits. The dispatch centre will be the answering point for the coverage region under the proposed new provincial 911 system. A Regional Emergency Coordination Centre in the E-Comm Building will provide a focus for communications in the event of a major emergency. Representatives from emergency response and related agencies will operate in the Centre to provide communications among municipalities, the GVRD, the Province (through the Provincial Emergency Program), utility companies, the RCMP, BC Ambulance, hospitals, BC Transit, Coast Guard, Municipal Affairs, and the Ports of Vancouver and Fraser Rivers. All municipalities in the region except those on the north shore have confirmed their participation. At this time, twenty out of twenty-five seats in the Centre have been committed. The Vancouver Emergency Operations Centre gives the City, for the first time in its history, a post disaster facility for emergency response. The Vancouver Centre will accommodate representatives from all civic departments to direct and coordinate a major emergency response. Redundant communications systems, video capability, an Emergency Management Information System, emergency response databases and computer messaging will greatly enhance disaster response in the City. The Provincial Emergency Program will relocate its regional office to the E-Comm Building. Through its participation in the Regional Emergency Coordination Centre, the Province will be able to coordinate emergency response to significant regional emergencies, or provide initial coordination in a regional disaster while a Provincial Field Response Center is established. The Port of Vancouver and Fraser Port will maintain a disaster recovery centre within the E-Comm Building. An offsite backup centre will be provided to maintain 911 call answering and critical communications in the unlikely event service in the communications centre is disrupted. A new 'alternative service delivery' agency will manage the building and the systems. A British Columbia Corporation, tailored by provincial legislation, it will provide representation to all participating agencies. A Board appointed by users will provide policy direction; emergency service users will provide operational direction to a professional civilian dispatch operation and technical support personnel. The projects are proceeding well. The major partners in the initiative - - the City of Vancouver, the Vancouver Police Board, the RCMP, the Ministry of Attorney General and Ministry of Health - - continue to provide strong support. Legislation to enable the corporation has been tabled. The Minister of Health has announced that the British Columbia Ambulance Service will participate. Most GVRD municipalities have endorsed the proposed radio system, the concept of the E-Comm Building, and the new governance agency to own and administer them. The GVRD Board has approved the release of radio channels currently allocated to municipalities through the Region. Industry Canada, which manages the allocation of radio frequencies, has expressed strong support for the new radio system. The new initiative has generated renewed interest in enhancement to policing and justice information systems. Where current police information systems in use in Vancouver are incompatible with others in the region, the Vancouver Police Department, RCMP, and Ministry of Attorney General are cooperating closely in the development of proposals for an integrated system. A Request for Proposals for the radio system was issued late last year, and bids are now being evaluated. The E-Comm Building has been designed, a building permit application has been processed, and tenders for the construction of the building at Hastings and Rupert Streets have been received. A companion report in this package recommends award of the building tender. The legal framework for the new corporation to own and manage the system has been developed. Provincial legislation to enable participation and structure the corporation appropriately has been tabled. The new corporation, to be named E-Comm, Emergency Communications for Southwest British Columbia, will be incorporated when the legislation has been proclaimed. Financing for the building will be provided through a combination of borrowing by the new Corporation and existing funding authority from the City of Vancouver. Costs of the radio system, along with radio-related building components, will be distributed to member organizations annually. The bid for the building is within budget. Radio network costs are higher than anticipated, but user equipment costs are generally lower. Based on updated financing costs and equipment amortization periods, annual cost estimates for the project are essentially unchanged from those provided previously to Council. PURPOSE This report is presented to update Council on the development of the E-Comm Building, the Area Wide Radio System, and the new governance organization. BACKGROUND Emergency communications systems and capabilities in Vancouver are inadequate to the task. Fire, police, and engineering personnel cannot communicate effectively in the field, or with counterparts from other municipalities or with personnel from BC Ambulance. Systems are at capacity. The radio system itself is twenty years old; while improvements and upgrades have been purchased, the system is not post-disaster, lacks capacity to support operations fully and the capability to support encrypted (secure) communications, and cannot provide adequate access to information from the field. Critical systems are currently housed in buildings which are subject to earthquake damage. The 911 centre and Vancouver dispatch operations are located in vulnerable facilities. Key systems lack redundancy - - a single failure could result in loss of communications capability. The Stanley Cup riots brought these limitations into stark perspective. While staff had planned for a potential disturbance - - the Emergency Operations Centre had been activated and personnel from the RCMP were on standby - - when the event occurred communications were a limiting factor in the response. Fire units provided through mutual aid from other municipalities were equipped with incompatible communications systems. Vancouver Fire and Police units teamed with Ambulance units to respond, but had to maintain physical contact since radio communication was impossible across agencies. RCMP units were unable to communicate on scene with Vancouver Police. It is a credit to our emergency response personnel that the incident was managed so successfully under these circumstances. City staff had been examining the question of a replacement radio system for the City for some time - - an initial study of replacement options was carried out for the Engineering Department in 1993. However, limitations in the availability of radio spectrum and the difficulty of generating a coordinated effort to resolve cross agency issues precluded further progress at that time. The announcement of the Federal-Provincial Infrastructure Program in 1994 prompted City staff to propose a submission for the development of a City of Vancouver Emergency Centre, which would provide dispatch and disaster response capability for the City. Council approved this submission. At the time of the submission, the City noted the potential for this facility to serve as the core of a larger region-wide facility. In May 1995 the Province approved a $6.6 million contribution to the costs of the Vancouver Emergency Operations Centre. In announcing the contribution, then Premier Mike Harcourt expressed his desire that the centre indeed serve as a catalyst for development of a region wide capability. The Infrastructure grant generated intense planning activity. Preliminary estimates for the City Centre were confirmed, and Council provided the necessary funding authority for the project. The previous studies on the radio system were reviewed, and discussions were again initiated with the RCMP. Like the City, RCMP communications facilities were badly in need of upgrading. The RCMP had initiated studies for a replacement radio system and consolidation of dispatch operations throughout "E" Division - - the area covered by the current proposal. However, limitations in available spectrum and inter-agency issues had, as with the City s studies, precluded progress. Sufficient channels were available for the development of a Vancouver system. However, that system would again be incompatible with those of other agencies and adjoining municipalities. A joint effort involving the City, the RCMP, and the Ministry of Attorney General was established. This team quickly concluded that the only possible solution to the radio system issue lay in an area wide system using spectrum efficient technology. Assembling sufficient spectrum, however, would require the cooperation of GVRD municipalities, which had wisely reserved a block of spectrum through the GVRD, and Industry Canada, which manages the allocation of radio spectrum. In 1995, Council authorized the retention of Teleconsult Limited (now Deloitte & Touche Consulting Group) to develop the plan to upgrade City communications systems and Architectura to plan the development of the Vancouver Emergency Centre. Council also took a significant leadership decision at that time. It authorized terms of reference which included examination of a regional centre and radio system despite recognizing that some City expenditures may not be recovered if a more broadly based system did not proceed. Through this leadership, Council made the present initiative possible. Since the appointment of the consultants, the project has moved quickly. A project team lead by Clyde Hosein from Facilities Development, Corporate Services was established. Patti Marfleet, the City's Director of Risk and Emergency Management was named Project Coordinator. Inspector Steve Foster from Vancouver Police Department and Division Chief Barry MacKenzie from Fire and Rescue Services were seconded to the team. (Subsequently, Inspector Larry Smith replaced Inspector Foster, who is on sick leave.) Teleconsult personnel, working with staff from the RCMP and other users, developed a conceptual design for the radio system, proving its feasibility and providing preliminary cost estimates. The project team and RCMP personnel developed the concept of consolidated dispatch further. The architects worked with the team to develop the concept for the building. A number of potential building sites were assessed, and a site at Hastings and Rupert was selected. Intensive inter-agency liaison was conducted over this period. City, RCMP, and Ministry of Attorney General staff worked through the Regional Administrative Advisory Committee and Regional Finance Officers to develop the concepts for distribution of costs to users and a governance structure for the new facilities and cross agency operations. The team made presentations on proposed project to every Council in the GVRD except Burnaby, to the GVRD Police Chiefs and Fire Chiefs, and to the GVRD Board. Contacts were made with the Provincial Emergency Program and the BC Ambulance Service. All municipalities in the GVRD except the North Shore have approved participation in the Regional Emergency Coordination Centre, either individually or jointly with other municipalities. All municipalities except Surrey, (which is opposed), and Burnaby (which has yet to take a position), have endorsed the radio system and the release of municipal channels managed through the GVRD for the new system. The GVRD Board has endorsed release of the radio channels. As part of its capital plan preparation, City Council considered the question of funding for the Vancouver radio system. Council authorized the City s participation in either a regional system or a City only system to an amount of $22.5 million, with funding to be arranged by the corporation or other arrangements not involving direct City borrowing. If the regional system proceeds, greater capability will be provided as a result of cost efficiencies; if it does not, the current funding will provide for the system network and initial user equipment for Vancouver's fire and police services only. Engineering Services conversion to the new system would proceed as a second phase requiring additional capital plan funding. Municipalities have not yet been requested to make a commitment to participation in the consolidated dispatch service. However, the cost savings can be significant, and many municipalities have expressed strong interest. Some have already made a decision. Maple Ridge has endorsed participation in consolidated dispatch for its RCMP forces. New Westminister Police Board has endorsed participation in consolidated dispatch. Richmond City Council has recently endorsed participation by both its Fire Department and RCMP detachment in consolidated dispatch. Presentations to all GVRD Councils have been scheduled before mid-September to seek a firm commitment to participate. After an initial decision not to participate, the BC Ambulance Service has conducted a further intensive review of participation within the last two months. Simultaneously with the tabling of provincial legislation to enable the management corporation, the Minister of Health announced the participation of BC Ambulance in the radio system and dispatch operation. Late in 1996, the RCMP committed additional full time resources to the project team, and the team was relocated to Teleconsult s offices to bring it together on a full time basis. An Executive Committee, consisting of Ken Dobell, City Manager, Vancouver; Deputy Chief Constable Paul Battershill, Vancouver Police; Superintendent Peter Martin, RCMP; Glen Maddess, General Manager, Fire and Rescue Services; Kevin Begg, Director of Police Services, Ministry of Attorney General; Johnny Carline, Regional Manager, GVRD, and Val Pattee, Executive Director of BC Ambulance Service was established to oversee the project. This Committee meets monthly to review progress reports from the project team and to make project decisions to ensure the needs of future participants continue to be met. Considering the scale of this initiative, the significant costs involved, and the number of agencies whose participation is required, remarkable progress has been made. The following sections will describe the current development of each element of the proposal and expected developments in future. DISCUSSION The E-Comm Building The design for the E-Comm Building is essentially complete. The overall building contains some 60,000 square feet of space. Continued refinement of components of the building is ongoing, but a building permit application has been submitted and tenders have been received. The E-Comm building is designed and equipped to post disaster standards: high earthquake resistance backup emergency power generation systems positive pressure ventilation and air scrubbing system on site water storage on site refrigeration and ice storage to maintain cooling positive pressure ventilation / air scrubbing system card controlled security system direct connection to two telephone exchanges and to Rogers cable network high capacity internal cabling and communications systems video displays internal computer network and E-mail The estimated cost (hard and soft) of the building is approximately $24 million. The two story building provides a high quality environment for dispatch personnel on the upper floor, with extensive natural light and eighteen-foot high, sloped ceilings. The lower floor contains the Vancouver Emergency Operations Centre, the Regional Emergency Coordination Centre, the Provincial Emergency Program office, and the Port Recovery centre. In addition to dispatch and operating personnel, it will accommodate managerial and support staff for the Corporation. It contains a media briefing room. The Centre has already received a national award for design excellence. The following sections provide a description of the components of the Centre. Floor plans are included as Appendix "A": Regional Emergency Coordination Centre As with the rest of the E-Comm Building, the Regional Emergency Coordination has now been designed. It occupies approximately 2,200 square feet. The Centre will provide twenty-five seats for participants, some of whom will represent more than one agency. Each seat will be provided with the following services: a communications link to their own agency satellite communications for general use computer terminals for entry and management of data and access to the Emergency Management Information System E-mail communications video display capability large screen displays of emergency status information access to breakout rooms for working discussions access to Computer Aided dispatch status information for agencies participating in consolidated dispatch Emergency Planners for the agencies committed to the Centre have formed a committee to review the design and develop operating protocols. The relationship between the Provincial Emergency Program and its response systems has been discussed in some detail, and the Province has agreed to facilitate the operation of the Regional Emergency Coordination Centre when it is activated. The Regional Emergency Coordination Centre space is immediately adjacent to the Provincial Emergency Program regional office, which will allow for effective integration of operations in the two facilities in the event of a major emergency. The agencies participating in the Regional Emergency Coordination Centre have depended until now on establishing independent links with each other and with the Provincial Emergency Program in the event of a large emergency. The centralized communications which the Regional Emergency Coordination Centre provides, represents a significant enhancement to emergency planning, coordination and response. Committed participants to the Regional Emergency Coordination Centre include: all GVRD municipalities except the North Shore GVRD Port of Vancouver/Fraser Port BC Tel BC Hydro BC Gas BC Ambulance Coast Guard BC Transit Hospitals (through Vancouver Hospital) Railways (one seat) Provincial Emergency Program RCMP Ministry of Municipal Affairs The cost of this facility is $75,000 per seat, for a total of $1.875 million. The capital cost may be paid up front, or through an annual levy. Operating costs will be assessed annually. Vancouver Emergency Operations Centre The Vancouver Emergency Operations Centre will be the focus for Vancouver s emergency response in a major emergency. Containing approximately 20,000 square feet, the Emergency Operations Centre will provide space for approximately eighty staff and volunteers. All civic response departments will be represented; trained volunteers will provide volunteer radio communications and emergency social services. The Vancouver Emergency Operations Centre is organized into the Policy Section; Operations Section; Logistics and Acquisitions; Emergency Social Services Section; Plans and Intelligence Section; Emergency Public Information; and Finance and Administration section. The Policy Section (Chief Constable, General Manager of Fire and Rescue Services, General Manager of Engineering Services, General Manager of Parks and Recreation Services, and City Manager) provides overall strategic direction to the response effort, and assesses and addresses longer term issues, twenty-four and forty-eight hours out. The Operations Section, consisting of approximately twenty staff representing Fire, Police, Engineering, Parks, Health, Buildings, and Environmental Hazards, provides direction and support to field staff, coordinates operations across departments, and allocates resources. The time horizon for this group is more immediate. The Emergency Social Services Section consisting of approximately twenty-five staff and volunteers, manages the opening and staffing of reception centres and related volunteer services, and provision of food and supplies to individuals who have been relocated as a result of the emergency, as well as emergency workers. The Logistics and Acquisitions Section includes volunteer radio communications and City staff dedicated to obtaining required resources for City operations, and information management. The Emergency Public Information Section is responsible for providing warnings, directions, and information to the public about the emergency situation. The Planning and Intelligence Section is responsible for gathering, analyzing, and disseminating technical information about the emergency internally and for making recommendations to the Policy Section about courses of action and options for response. Finance and Administration tracks damages and costs and issues payment for required work. Once again, there is a heavy emphasis on handling the huge volume of information generated in an emergency. Personnel in the Vancouver Emergency Operations Centre will have access to information on the status of fire and police resources from the computer aided dispatch system. There will be terminals to the City s Geographic Information System and other City systems. Staff will be dedicated to obtaining necessary information from these systems for centre and operational personnel. The Emergency Management Information System will provide information on the location and nature of particular hazards, as well as available resources. E-mail will provide rapid communications throughout the centre. Media and remote video will be available, and large screen status displays will be available. Remote broadcast will be possible in the event of the failure of local private radio stations. The Consolidated Dispatch Centre The communications centre, containing the 911 call answering, call interrogation, and dispatch operations for emergency services, is the key day to day operational facility for emergency response. At 18,000 square feet, the facility is capable of handling the dispatch operations for the RCMP and police agencies and BC Ambulance over the entire area, and Fire operations in the GVRD. Computer aided dispatch systems will support the call answering and interrogation and dispatch operations. On receipt of a 911 call, the calling number and its location are displayed, the call taker identifies the services required, and the appropriate information is routed to the dispatcher handling the response units. The dispatcher is provided information on the status and location of the units under his or her control, and selects a unit to be dispatched. Specialized or local information about the incident site (e.g., Presence of hazardous chemicals, previous incidents etc.) will be available to the dispatcher. Seconded uniformed personnel from police, fire, and ambulance will be present in the communications centre to provide support and advice to dispatchers. In the event of a tactical situation requiring special management, one or more dispatchers may be moved into a breakout area to handle the high traffic volume related to that incident without distraction, and without interrupting the ongoing operation of the centre. The consolidation of dispatch operations in the centre provides a much better opportunity to coordinate multi-agency response. If a major incident requires the dispatch of police, fire, and ambulance personnel, the dispatch centre will be able to manage and monitor the response as a single event. If a major incident occurs just inside the border of a municipality, the dispatchers will be able to determine if a unit in the adjacent municipality is significantly closer, and depending on urgency, priority and operating policies, may dispatch that unit. In its initial configuration, the centre will contain a training area for call taking and dispatch staff. As utilization of the centre increases and additional dispatch space is required, the training area may be moved offsite. The Province has announced a proposal for a province wide 911 system. The project team has had discussions with Provincial staff, and have been advised that if the Provincial 911 initiative proceeds, the dispatch centre will be the logical answering point for its coverage area. The cost attributable to the dispatch centre will be distributed across radio system users. Provincial Emergency Program Regional Office The Provincial Emergency Program Regional Office will be located in the Centre. This area - - about 2,100 square feet - - will house Program operations for the region. The space, adjacent to the Regional Emergency Coordination Centre, will include work areas for staff from other Ministries brought in for response to a particular hazard. The role of the Provincial Emergency Program is central - - in addition to its administrative role, this office will act as the initial Provincial response centre, and will coordinate the Provincial response with the operations of other agencies through the Regional Emergency Coordination Centre. Other E-Comm Building Facilities In addition to the facilities described above, the E-Comm Building will contain an area to monitor alarms from major public and high risk facilities, and a small emergency management and recovery area for the Port of Vancouver and Fraser Ports. Backup Facility The E-Comm Building is a post disaster, highly redundant facility, and will be substantially more secure than any existing emergency communications centre in the region. However, there is some potential for interruption of its operations, most probably from short-term, local conditions in or around the building. Given the role of the Centre as a focus for 911 call answering and emergency services dispatch, an alternate location for these operations is required. Alternate facilities could range from a duplicate centre of similar size with similar capabilities dispatching for a part of the region, to a basic facility providing minimal electronic support and using more human resources to take calls and dispatch services. Creation of a fully functional alternate facility would represent a significant capital cost. If such a facility provided dispatch services to a part of the region, it would also result in significant duplication of operating cost. The project team has concluded that a basic backup facility near the existing centre to provide for quick transfer of operations would be the most appropriate and economic approach. Such a facility would best be located in another public building within ten to fifteen minutes driving time. It may be possible to locate the facility in a fire hall in east Vancouver which is due to be replaced within a few years, or an alternative location within Burnaby would be viable if a suitable facility could be found. This question is under review by the project team and will be reported within the near future. Area Wide Radio The Area Wide Radio system will cover approximately 13,000 square miles, from Boston Bar to Pemberton to Sechelt to the US Border. It will provide service to over half the population of British Columbia. It will include features not present in existing radio systems, as well as provide a high degree of security through post disaster construction and redundancy. The central controller for the system will be located in the E-Comm Building. The radio system will be managed from this location. However, the system will be divided into zones, each of which will function independently if the central controller is inoperable for any reason, providing 'fail soft' operation - - the system will degrade in operational capability, rather than collapsing. The system will provide a number of operational capabilities necessary for emergency services which existing systems do not provide: Complete radio interoperability across emergency services, throughout the system coverage area. All communications can be encrypted with high security methods that are virtually impossible to break, eliminating the current criminal practice of monitoring police operations. The system will have the capability to locate personnel using radios geographically, making it possible to dispatch the nearest unit to a call for service, and to locate units which have indicated assistance is required. 'Talk groups' can be established to allow intercommunication between groups of units within or across services. In this way, units from different services responding to a common emergency will be able to communicate and coordinate in transit as well as at the emergency scene. A priority hierarchy for communications will be established, by call type, so that urgent traffic will not be delayed when the communications system is overloaded as a result of a major emergency. Radios can be controlled remotely, so that (for example) a radio can be switched off if it has been stolen. Enhanced data capabilities will be more widely distributed. While some data transmission to and from the field takes place now, the new system will provide greater capacity and the ability to enter reports from the field and receive more information. The full radio system cost across the wide area to serve all potential users is estimated at $186 million (this amount includes the dispatch component of the E-Comm Building, the Computer Aided Dispatch System and a high level of user equipment). This is an initial estimate based on an overview of bid prices -- the total cost depends substantially on the choice of user equipment, which is a decision for each agency. It also includes a provision for future growth to 2002, and has the capability for further expansion at relatively modest cost. This cost will be distributed to users based on a formula which considers the coverage area, population, number of radios served, and radio traffic volume. A request for proposals for the radio system was issued in the fall of 1996. In the first stage of the proposals, bidders submitted their proposed system configuration for review. The second stage of the proposals, in which bidders submit prices, was completed by the beginning of June. Evaluation of the bids will now proceed to a planned contract award by September. To date, the bid process has confirmed the configurations developed by Deloitte & Touche Consulting Group in the conceptual design, and has proceeded well. The RCMP has participated intensively in the review of the radio system proposals, and is pleased with the results to date. They are fully committed to the system. The project was presented to the Commissioner of the RCMP and to the Deputy Solicitor General - both have indicated strong support for the proposal. Governance Structure Users of the system will include municipalities, the RCMP, provincial agencies, and federal agencies. There is no natural governance vehicle which will provide representation in policy and operational issues for such a diverse group. Accordingly, a new 'alternative service delivery' governance model has been developed, which allows the organization to be tailored to the specific services it will deliver. The model provides for appropriate representation for funding agencies on the Board of Directors, and for users on committees which are formally structured as part of the organization. The governance agency is a corporation created under the BC Company Act, tailored through provincial legislation for the specific role it will carry out. The proposed legislation will modify the application of the Company Act to eliminate inappropriate provisions for a non profit, government corporation; authorize membership by the participating agencies; obligate the payment of financial levies; enable financing by the Municipal Finance Authority; limit the role of the Board to overall management; provide for the management of the labour issues in transition by the Labour Relations Board under successor provisions; and limit liability. The Member Agreement (shareholder agreement) will provide the operational rules for the organization, including limitations on budget growth without member approval, and structure user committees which will provide direction to the corporation on operational matters. The corporation will be able to borrow in the market at or close to the rates paid by its members. The scale of the project and the nature of the equipment being purchased provides the opportunity for creative financing techniques, which will provide the corporation with very low cost financing. The corporation's borrowing will be 'off balance sheet' to the members. Dominion Securities-RBC have provided advice to the project team, as has MFA staff. Moving to a corporate model, albeit one owned by governments, has the potential to create additional tax liabilities. Both the federal and provincial governments have been supportive and co-operative in finding solutions to maintain tax neutrality. The Federal GST Interpretations Directorate has advised that they are prepared to accept the corporation as a 'para-municipal agency', which will maintain the current status of all agencies with respect to GST. The Province will exempt the corporation from the telecommunications provision of the taxation legislation, avoiding PST on corporation billings to users, and will provide a one-time rebate of PST on purchases by the corporation for PST exempt users. All costs to users will be billed on an quarterly basis. Where many agencies now find equipment replacement a major issue, the proposed model will convert these capital obligations to an annual stream, ensuring that the corporation and its members have the capability to keep equipment current and capable. This will avoid in future the situation that exists now, where key services are working with obsolescent technology. Computer Aided Dispatch and Information Systems Computer aided dispatch is a key component of the new proposals. It is essential for effective utilization of emergency resources and management of the flow of information. It is also a key component of police, fire, and ambulance information systems, which serve both to inform personnel in the field and provide essential information for effective operational resource management. The project has encountered a number of significant issues in the development of proposals for the computer aided dispatch. Some agencies have existing systems; some have none. In particular, the RCMP has been implementing a high capability system for its police operations, and now has in-field laptop computers operating to display and update information from police records. The City of Vancouver was among the first to install a data system, which it still maintains; it lacks some of the capabilities of the RCMP system, but has advantages in some areas. A number of fire departments operate CAD systems, of varying capabilities. BC Ambulance does not yet have CAD capability, but its acquisition is a high priority for them. Ambulance and Fire requirements differ to some degree from police requirements. The objective of the project team is to prepare the corporation to work toward a single integrated CAD system for all users. For the initial implementation, the RCMP has advised that it must maintain the CIIDS system which it uses nationally, and which it has recently installed in the lower mainland, for its operations. Vancouver Police and Fire staff and Ambulance staff are working together to identify the most appropriate computer aided dispatch solution for other users of dispatch operation. A Request for Proposals for this purpose has been issued. It will provide the opportunity for non-RCMP users to select a commercial CAD system or a modification of the current RCMP (CIIDS) system. The systems which will be implemented will meet the needs of all user agencies. In this development process, the Ministry of Attorney General has strongly urged the development of compatible police information systems. At the moment, most agencies operate on the RCMP system, while Vancouver does not. While information from the major national police information system (CPIC) is available to all agencies, certain information which should be available to all police agencies is not. The RFP has requested provision of an interface to the RCMP system, which will eliminate this problem so far as Vancouver information is concerned. Further, the RCMP is proposing an initiative to update its present system - - the Attorney General's Ministry, the Vancouver Police Department, and the RCMP are working jointly to ensure that any new system will be adopted widely and will meet the needs of all agencies. This is a significant step forward. SOCIAL IMPLICATIONS The E-Comm Building and Area Wide Radio will provide significant public safety benefits, on a day to day basis and in a major emergency. Improved communications for emergency services agencies are central to their operations, and provide the opportunity both to enhance service and increase efficiency. In a major emergency, the capability of the communications system and the components of the E-Comm Building will significantly enhance coordination between responding agencies and the effectiveness of the response. PERSONNEL IMPLICATIONS The creation of the new governance agency will result in the transfer of dispatch and communications related functions from the Vancouver Police Board and the City to the new agency. While the new corporation will in the long term operate with fewer personnel than presently employed in the various agencies, the transition will involve significant training and staff needs. It is anticipated that the new corporation will be able to employ all existing permanent full time dispatch employees who wish to move to it and who meet training and security requirements. Existing city radio maintenance staff may or may not be required for the regional radio system depending on the model chosen for provision of the service. Three to six long term employees could become redundant. Efforts will be made to find opportunities for these employees with the service provider chosen. Existing levels of casual staffing and normal turnover through attrition will assist in the effective management of the transition. FINANCIAL IMPLICATIONS The E-Comm Building and the Area Wide Radio will involve additional costs to the City and other user agencies. In the case of the City, these costs have been funded through the Infrastructure grant and the provision of capital funds for the remainder of the City's portion of the Center itself, and through Council s approval of additional annual costs for the radio system. The additional costs for the Centre are clearly justified by the need to improve the City's emergency response capability and harden our system against earthquakes. The radio system costs are replacement costs, which must be incurred -- the proposed Area Wide Radio will provide lower costs for the required capabilities through the partnership with other agencies. There will also be significant offsets through the release of Police personnel from existing communications duties. IMPLEMENTATION PLAN Implementation will take place beginning with approval of contracts for the E-Comm Building and Area Wide Radio system. Construction will take place through 1997 and 1998, with the E-Comm Building operational in September, 1998, the Vancouver radio system operational at the end of 1998, the GVRD in the second half of 1999, and the remaining phases of the radio system in 2000. The corporation will be created by the September of this year. The present team will continue implementation management, on behalf of the corporation, for the initial phases. It is anticipated that the corporation itself, with continuing consultant support and seconded staff, will take over implementation as system expansion continues. CONCLUSIONS The E-Comm Building and the Area Wide Radio system will provide a significant upgrade in emergency communications and response in its service area on a daily basis, and in a major emergency. And, they represent a change in the way we do business, from an agency focused base to a service focused base. The corporation is designed to deliver its services on a cross agency, cross government basis, based on the needs of the people served. The cross agency, cross jurisdiction nature of the project and its high cost make its development a challenge. Many obstacles -- legal, structural, and attitudinal -- have had to be overcome. City Council and its partners in the RCMP and the Ministry of Attorney General have played a major leadership role through their commitment to the project, which is now in a position where it can be implemented. * * * * *