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<br /> <br />Public Safety Commission <br />February 29, 2016 <br /> <br /> <br />Attending: Commissioner Allen, Commissioner Boyd, Commissioner Eichers, <br />Commissioner Hollimon, Commissioner Lamp, Commissioner Schumann, <br />Deputy Director Paetznick, Council Member Strub, Joe Dillenburg <br />(RCECC), and Renee Rosenberg (Allina Health) <br /> <br />Absent: Commissioner Anderson, Commissioner Donohue, Commissioner Kerns <br /> <br /> <br />Call to Order/Roll Call <br /> <br />Commissioner Allen called the February meeting to order at 6:30 pm and roll call was taken. <br /> <br />January Meeting Minutes <br /> <br />The January meeting minutes were reviewed. Commissioner Hollimon made a motion to approve <br />the January meeting minutes; Commissioner Lamp seconded. Motion carried. <br /> <br />Public Hearing/Presentation <br />A. Ramsey County Emergency Communications Center (RCECC) – Mr. Joe Dillenburg <br /> <br />Mr. Joe Dillenburg started by giving a little background on himself. He has been in the 911 <br />business for 20 years; starting as a dispatcher. He is now an Administrative Manager in a <br />consolidated group which serves all of Ramsey County except for White Bear Lake. <br /> <br />The Ramsey County ECC is one of the largest dispatch centers in the region, with the next biggest <br />being in Chicago. The RCECC just went through new equipment upgrades to include a new CAD <br />(Computer Aided Dispatch) and a new phone system. Commissioner Hollimon asked how Allina <br />Health fits into this. Mr. Dillenburg states 911 calls come into both the RCECC and Allina <br />dispatch and both police and Allina are dispatched. <br /> <br />The RCECC operates on the 800 MHz Trunked Radio System. This is a very good system which <br />allows for interoperability; when responders from multiple agencies go to a scene, their radios can <br />all communicate. Mr. Dillenburg reviewed some statistical data showing call volume by type of <br />call and by seasonality (month and time). The average speed of answering a 911 call is less than 5 <br />seconds. <br /> <br />The RCECC operates 24/7, 365 days a year, and is staffed by about 25 people at one time; <br />including telecommunicators and both police and fire dispatchers, handling more than 1.2 million <br />phone calls annually. They work 10-hour shifts which allows for some shift overlap during busy <br />times of the day. <br /> <br />Mr. Dillenburg reported that technology wise, the RCECC is ready to take text 911 calls; however, <br />phone providers are not at this point yet. The RCECC has many multilingual employees and they <br />also use AT&T’s Language Line, if needed. <br />