Carroll County E-911 will soon be getting a new recording system, according to action taken in an Aug. 25 virtual meeting of the Carroll County Emergency Communications Board.
The board voted to purchase an Eventide system at a purchase price of $39,451 from AreaWide Communications.
Director Kristy Meggs advised that the current recording system is no longer meeting the system’s needs.
The options included: Purchasing from a state or GSA contract or purchasing from another ECD’s recent contract.
It was pointed out that the board could purchase a new system or enter into a lease agreement with a vendor.
Several different systems had been checked in the past with an Eventide system noted as being both a lease and purchase option and as the system meeting E911’s needs.
On another matter, board members agreed to pursue an alternate site to purchase so as to construct a building that would better fit district needs.
The small district building is now located at 101 Dillahunty Lane in Huntingdon.
Meggs explained prior to the vote there were three possible options. The other two options included: Remain at the same location in the same building and have necessary repairs made and remain on the same property and look at expanding the building or building a new structure on the same site.
During the meeting Tennessee Emergency Communications Board training coordinator (TECB) Jamison Peevyhouse discussed with the board about training payment and policy requirements for T-CPR. This is a new law that will go into effect on Jan. 1, 2021 that requires any “emergency call takers and public safety dispatchers who provide dispatch for emergency conditions shall offer –T-CPR to a caller or bystander when deemed necessary.”
T-CPR means telecommunicator cardiopulmonary resuscitation, which is the dispatcher-assisted delivery of CPR instruction by trained emergency call takers of public safety dispatchers to callers or bystanders for events requiring CPR.
Meggs advised the board that the district would be responsible for reporting to the TECB the status of all call takers within the district.
Meggs was instructed by the board to develop a sample policy for implementing the new law and present it at the next board meeting.
In other business board members:
• Agreed for Meggs to continue to work on an unpaid bill to Cummins Co. for generator maintenance and attempt to reduce the invoice due to a high rate of mileage and hourly charge. She was also instructed to look for other companies that could do the same maintenance.
• Voted to participate in the Mission Critical Partners (MCP) Cybersecurity Program at a cost of $5,500. MCP will provide a confidential report to the district containing recommendations for improving PSAP’s security posture.
• Were advised by Meggs that she had spoken to County Mayor Joseph Butler about the purchasing of the radio console. He told her that the county’s purchasing committee would be meeting soon to discuss the submitted bids. She also said that Priority Ambulance Service has purchased a new software product that will assist the ambulance service in getting the call information directly from dispatch to computers available to the service.
• Amended the 2020-2021 budget to reflect a payment of $77,711 from the Tenn. Emergency Communication Board. Only $60,000 had been placed in the budget for this payment.
