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HomeMy WebLinkAboutJPZ - 12/06/2011 - JPZ MEETING,Wireless Fire Alarm 1 Elk Grove Village JPZ Committee Meeting Tuesday,December 6,2011 4:00 p.m. JPZ,Members Present: Chairman Sam Lissner, Member Jeffrey Franke and Member Chris Prochno. Staff: Village Manager Ray Rummel, IT Deputy Director Ed May,Deputy Fire Chief Scott Miller,and Acting Fire Chief Bill Balling. Guests: Trustee Nancy Czarnik WIRELESS FIRE ALARM AND MONITORING SYSTEM Deputy Fire Chief Miller presented an overview of the characteristics of existing alarm and alerting systems, and his recommendation to implement a wireless fire alarm and monitoring system in the Village. To accommodate existing contracts and relationships, the Fire Department will encourage, but not require that existing businesses connect to the new wireless system. All new businesses requiring alarm and alerting systems would be required to connect to the wireless system. The Village expects several advantages by moving to a wireless system. First, the system is more reliable than the current land based system, and fewer false calls are expected after the wireless system is implemented. Second, the Village will receive revenue from the system through Northwest Central Dispatch in the form of a credit to reduce the overall costs of dispatching in the Village. The Village is also expected to save over $9,000 from the conversion by using the wireless system. Businesses will also benefit by eliminating the need for a dedicated land line to operate the land based system, and greater reliability means less exposure to false call charges. The wireless provider will be ADT as they have the NWCDS infrastructure in place.The Village will assist with a communications piece to be distributed to all existing businesses. An ordinance establishing the mandatory connection for new businesses was reviewed in draft form. Staff noted that other NWCDS communities including Hoffman Estates, Palatine, and Buffalo Grove already require wireless alarms. Businesses will pay a monthly equipment fee and a service charge to NWCDS totaling approximately $91 per month. However, with no dedicated phone lines needed to operate the system, this price should be favorable to many Elk Grove businesses and save many businesses considerable sums. A letter will be mailed to current businesses that will include a FAQ sheet to explain how the system works. In case of power failure,a battery backup is included in the system. All maintenance would be borne by ADT, and interior coverage issues will be resolved and confirmed prior to roll out. The consensus of the Committee was to recommend approval of the proposal and to bring this recommendation to the Board. The meeting adjourned at 4:45 PM. Respectfully submitted by Bill Balling,Acting Fire Chief c: Mayor Board of Trustees Village Manager Deputy Village Manager Village Clerk Acting Fire Chief Deputy Fire Chief