For Immediate Release: Wednesday, December 9, 2020
ROCKVILLE, Md., Dec. 9, 2020—On Dec. 10 the Public Safety (PS) and Government Operations and Fiscal Policy (GO) Committees will meet jointly and virtually at 9:30 a.m. The Transportation and Environment (T&E) and Planning, Housing and Economic Development (PHED) Committees will meet jointly and virtually at 1:30 p.m. Council staff reports and additional information on items scheduled for Committee review can be viewed here. The Committee meeting schedule may change from time to time. The current Committee agendas can be viewed here.
Committees: Public Safety (PS) and Government Operations and Fiscal Policy (GO)
Time: 9:30 a.m.
PS Committee: Councilmember Sidney Katz (chair), Council Vice President Gabe Albornoz and Council President Tom Hucker
GO Committee: Councilmembers Nancy Navarro (chair), Andrew Friedson and Sidney Katz
Topic:
Public Safety Radio System Infrastructure Project
The PS and GO Committees will meet jointly to review the public safety radio system infrastructure project. In May 2019, the public safety radio system, which enables the 911 call center (Public Safety Communications Center) to communicate with police, fire, ambulances and other users, briefly experienced a significant system disruption that dropped multiple channels. System users experienced over 600 busy signals when they tried to use their radios. Some of these busy signals lasted over two minutes. There were no significant public safety incidents that weekend. If there had been, the system disruptions experienced that weekend could have posed communication and operational issues for first responders.
The Council became concerned about project delays in replacement of the old system in 2019 and about the risk of system failure with the original system. Since the PS Committee was briefed in Sept. 2019, the Department of Technology Services (DTS) has been providing regular updates on the new project’s progress, and it has remained on schedule for most of the year.
The following individuals are expected to participate in the meeting: Mike Knuppel, program director, Public Safety System Modernization, DTS; Division Chief John Kinsley, operations, Montgomery County Fire and Rescue Service (MCFRS); Assistant Chief Mike Baltrotsky, Technology Services, MCFRS; and Lieutenant Ian Clark, Montgomery County Police Department (MCPD).
The Council staff report can be viewed here.
Committees: Transportation and Environment (T&E) and Planning, Housing and Economic Development (PHED)
Time: 1:30 p.m.
T&E Committee: Council President Tom Hucker (chair), Councilmembers Evan Glass and Hans Riemer
PHED Committee: Councilmembers Hans Riemer (chair), Andrew Friedson (lead for parks) and Will Jawando
Topic:
Open Streets
On June 24, the joint T&E and PHED Committees received a briefing from the Montgomery County Department of Transportation (MCDOT) and Montgomery Parks following the opening of several street rights-of-way for pedestrian and bicycle use, as well as for open-air dining. Councilmember Glass requested an update on these efforts, including a briefing by the State Highway Administration (SHA).
The individuals expected to participate in this meeting include the following: Christopher Conklin, director, MCDOT; Hannah Henn, senior engineer for strategic innovation, MCDOT; Kyle Lukacs, planning specialist III, MCDOT; Erica Rigby, District 3 engineer, SHA; Derek Gunn, acting deputy District 3 engineer, SHA; Mike Riley, director, Montgomery Parks; Darren Flusche, trails program manager, Montgomery Parks; and Kristy Daphnis, chair, Pedestrian, Bicycle and Traffic Safety Advisory Committee.
The Council staff report can be viewed here.
On the guidance of Health Officer and Chief of Public Health Services Dr. Travis Gayles, there is currently no public access to the Council Office Building. Virtual Council and committee meetings are streamed live on the Council’s web page via YouTube (MoCoCouncilMD) and on Facebook Live (MontgomeryCountyMdCouncil) and can be watched on County Cable Montgomery on channels 30 (Fios), 1056 (RCN) and 996 (Xfinity).
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Release ID: 20-493