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Previously:

• Del Norte's Emergency Communications System Needs Upgrading, Consultant Says, But Sheriff Says Improvements Could Be Costly

• Parts Of Del Norte's Emergency Communications Systems Need Replacing; Dispatchers Need Hiring, Consultant Says

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Nine months after they revealed several weaknesses in Del Norte County’s public safety communications systems, Federal Engineering representatives gave county supervisors a breakdown of recommended improvements and the potential cost.

They also identified 12 different grant opportunities that could help pay for these projects and said their contract with the county includes preparing an application for one of them.

But when District 2 Supervisor Valerie Starkey asked if there was a grant that could pay for most of the firm’s recommendations — which range from establishing a repeater site near Requa in Klamath to moving the dispatch center out of the tsunami inundation zone — Director of Operations Rajit Jhaver said that was still under investigation.

“Typically each grant is targeted so that’s what we’ll look at from a dollar perspective and see what kind of funding is available,” he said Tuesday. “For example, there could be subscriber grants that would be for the actual radios. There could be grants targeting more of the dispatch [side] or grants that are targeting a multitude of maybe the radio items collectively — that being the site equipment as well as potential radios.”

Relocating Del Norte County’s dispatch center, which is housed in the sheriff’s office, a building that is not seismically reinforced and is in the tsunami hazard zone, could cost $3 million to $4 million, said Chuck Berdan, Federal Engineering’s public safety answering senior consultant. Maintenance costs would be an estimated $1.25 million, he said.

“This is not a cheap solution, but one that needs to be considered because of the tsunami hazard and the seismic hazards as well,” he said.

Using Federal Emergency Management Agency grant dollars, Del Norte County contracted with Federal Engineering in October 2022 to assess the county’s public safety communications interoperability.

In March, consultants presented the findings of an assessment of the existing system to the Board of Supervisors. Among those findings, Federal Engineering consultants stated that the radio consoles Del Norte County dispatchers use were 15 to 20 years old and at the end of their life. There were also two vacant dispatcher positions at the time with the most senior employee having just 18 months of experience.

Federal Engineering consultants returned to the Board of Supervisors in September as fire crews were gaining the upper hand on the Smith River Complex wildfires.

At that presentation they recommended Del Norte County replace its radio system, including its mobile radios. They also said the county should consider pooling frequencies with other agencies to improve coverage and recommended transitioning from analog radio technology to Project 25, or P25, digital technology.

At both the March and September presentations, consultants also touched on CalOES’s efforts to remove the public safety communications infrastructure on Red Mountain. That site has housed repeaters and radio towers since the mid 1950s and currently serves 12 different public agencies.

CalOES has identified replacement sites at Rattlesnake Peak and Big Lagoon, Federal Engineering Senior Consultant Luis Camarillo told supervisors. Because of where they’re located — Big Lagoon is in Humboldt County, for example — Federal Engineering consultants said there would be a gap in communications and have recommended Del Norte establish a third repeater site near Requa.

According to Camarillo, the firm’s high-level cost estimate for replacing the Red Mountain site costs $370,000 for new repeaters, antenna systems and control stations. The cost estimate takes into consideration the cost of spare equipment, implementation services, sales tax and potential contingency costs, Camarillo said.

Federal Engineering’s report contains 15 pages of line item pricing to support its cost estimate, he said.

Federal Engineering also recommended Del Norte County replace its radio frequency equipment and portable radios. The equipment is at the end of its lifecycle, there is limited to no support or parts from the manufacturers and the performance is degraded, Camarillo said.

“The high-level cost for replacement of the countywide radio systems that serve the sheriff’s office and fire agencies is $600,000,” he said. “There are also a number of local or tactical repeaters in use by Gasquet, Smith River and Fort Dick fire protection districts and [replacing] that has a cost of $300,000.”

Camarillo said he and his colleagues have developed a budget for replacing “subscriber equipment” for local law enforcement agencies, including the Crescent City Police Department, the Del Norte County Office of Emergency Services and the Crescent City Harbor District. The price tag for that endeavor is $570,000, he said.

The cost estimate for replacing subscriber equipment for local fire protection districts, including Crescent City Fire and Rescue, is $870,000, Camarillo said.

When it comes to staffing in the dispatch center, Berdan said there are still only one or two dispatchers on duty at a given time in Del Norte County.

This is concerning since with only one dispatcher on duty, there’s no “surge capacity to work with,” he said.

Federal Engineering recommends the county to have two dispatchers on duty at all times, but Berdan acknowledged a nationwide problem in attracting qualified candidates.

To do that, Berdan said, the county should revise its recruitment process and to increase staff’s wages so Del Norte can compete with agencies in neighboring communities.

“This doesn’t have to happen overnight,” he said. “This can be a planned increase over a period of months or years.”

As for the radio consoles, replacing them with more updated equipment would cost an estimated $80,000, Berdan said.

As far as implementing these recommendations, in addition to pursuing grant opportunities, Federal Engineering consultants said the county should explore vendor financing for the equipment they’ll need.

Project Manager David TerMoshuizen also presented a project schedule, noting that the Red Mountain replacement is underway and establishing a third repeater site at Requa was the easiest and quickest way to ensure Del Norte County has adequate coverage.

TerMoshuizen also recommended the county begin purchasing the new radio equipment.

“The challenge will be lead time once orders have been placed,” he said. “We’ve seen delivery times be delayed due to supply chain challenges.”

District 5 Supervisor Dean Wilson said he thought Red Mountain was supposed to be decommissioned in 2022. He asked if the county could continue at Red Mountain and replace the old equipment with newer equipment.

The answer to that question was yes, according to Camarillo, who said Federal Engineering didn’t have a date when the county would need to leave Red Mountain. But there would be a “second round of services” from a vendor to move the equipment to a new site, he said.

Wilson said the longer Del Norte can stay on Red Mountain the better.

“It is in the best interest of public safety to continue to do so as long as that equipment can be transferred when needed whether it be to Requa or Rattlesnake or Big Lagoon,” he said.

Wilson also sought to magnify the point Federal Engineering made with regard to Del Norte County’s emergency dispatch center.

“That should be a separate entity outside the sheriff’s office,” he said, adding that there are multiple agencies that use the system. “It should be a countywide entity. For far too long have those utilizers not been contributing to or paying their fair share for the utilization of dispatch services and communication services.”

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