Starke County IT Director Joe Short can replace a network server and several computers that pose security threats to the network. The county commissioners Monday authorized him to spend $24,000 from the cumulative capital fund on the technology upgrades. Continue reading
Commissioners Approve Internet Agreement for Grovertown EMS Base
The Starke County EMS base in Grovertown will soon have Internet service again.
The county commissioners this week approved a contract with Mediacom for Internet, telephone and basic cable television service there at a cost of $89.95 per month. County information technology director Joe Short says Mediacom had a better price than CenturyLink, who quoted $105 per month for just Internet and telephone service. The $89.95 price is based on a three-year contract.
Starke Commissioners Approve CSI Maintenance Agreement
Starke County May Soon Switch Cell Phone Providers
Starke Commissioners Approve $4024 Expense to Solve Communications Issues
IT Director Joe Short told the commissioners that since the storms in June and July 2012 damaged the sheriff’s department’s radio tower, causing it to be shorter and consequently shortening the range of the signal along with FCC-mandated narrowbanding efforts compounding those issues, he has reprogrammed and relocated the Koontz Lake antenna to a location in Hamlet. On top of that, Short said he replaced the transmit radio in Hamlet with a base radio, which solved the communications problem in that area.
Starke Commissioners to Receive Antenna Update This Evening
EMA Director Ted Bombagetti explained to them the process to declare a local communication emergency, which would give the county the authority to do what needs to be done to restore full radio communications while getting the FCC licensing caught up at a later time. County Attorney Martin Lucas reviewed the information and gave it his approval.
Starke County Commissioners Receive Narrowbanding Update
Starke County is still suffering from the storms that wreaked havoc in June and July, as the Sheriff’s Department’s radio tower is still not quite up-to-snuff because of damage caused during the storms. IT Director Joe Short gave the commissioners an update last night on the progress of not only the repairs on the tower, but also the county’s progress on complying with new narrowband requirements from the FCC.
Starke Commissioners Table Narrowband Radio Purchases
The Starke County Commissioners heard an update from IT Director Joe Short regarding the narrowbanding compliance efforts being undertaken by the county. Short told the commissioners that the compliance update is finished, and all compatible equipment has been programmed to the new standard. However, a few pieces of equipment cannot be upgraded to narrowband, and Short said those will need to be replaced.
Starke County Approves Switch to Narrowband Radios
Starke County IT Director Joe Short told the commissioners this week that time is running out to switch county radio equipment to narrowband systems. The switchover, which was ordered by the FCC in December 2004, has an end-of-the-year deadline for Indiana counties.
Short told the commissioners that the current communication towers in San Pierre and North Judson are a bit “spotty,” which may be worsened with the switch to narrowband systems which have a shorter range. Several towers were damaged during this year’s June and July storms, and Short recommended waiting to reprogram the radio equipment until the towers have been fully repaired and the Sheriff’s Department’s radio tower relocated.
Starke Co. Sheriff’s Dept. To Utilize Electronic Ticketing
The Starke County Sheriff’s Department will soon be streamlining operations when issuing traffic tickets or warnings.
A Sheriff’s Department representative and IT Director Joe Short attended a training session last week in electronic ticketing. With this system, when an officer pulls over a suspected traffic violator, the officer will be able to scan a Driver’s License and vehicle registration into a mobile computer, plus fill out the necessary violation information, edit any information – like an address – and print out the ticket at the time of the traffic stop. This puts the information of the traffic stop into the state computer system and lessens the paperwork and time of the traffic stop.
Starke County Sheriff’s Dept. Radio Tower Antennas Replaced
The Starke County Sheriff’s Department’s radio tower is back up and running at near-full capacity, but IT Director Joe Short said it’s still not in ideal condition. Because the tower had been damaged during the storm, it was shortened, and new regulations in the city of Knox prohibit the department from building a tower taller than 100 feet.
Radio engineers had replaced the two antennas atop the tower earlier this week at an estimated cost of $2200 per antenna, but Short said the final price came out less than that at around $4000 total. He said there was some concern over whether or not the coax cable would need to be replaced running up the tower; fortunately, however, he said the coax cable checked out and they are running between 99–100 percent efficiency. While it’s not ideal, and the antennas do not have the range they would like, Short said this is as good as it’s going to get until they decide on the location for the new tower.
Starke Co. Sheriff’s Department Antennas to be Replaced
As a temporary solution, the Starke County Commissioners last month gave IT Director Joe Short the go-ahead to replace two antennas atop the sheriff’s department. Short said this will cost approximately $2200 per antenna, and said they can be moved later when a new tower is established.
The replacement will take place on Wednesday, Oct. 10, and Short said it should take only half the day. He explained that the engineers will check out the coax cable before performing the replacement to ensure that they are in good condition to prevent further problems.
Starke County Commissioners Approve Request to Replace Antennas
Starke County IT Director Joe Short told the commissioners this week that he has met with a few radio tower authorities and showed them around the county’s radio towers, looking for input on how to go about building a new tower.
According to Short, they recommended building a 180-foot tower and a 20-foot antenna. The construction of the tower would require a request for sealed bids, but before the county can request bid proposals, Short says they must determine where the tower will be built.
Starke County Receives First Insurance Payment For Storm Damages
The Starke County Commissioners this week approved a motion authorizing Auditor Kay Chaffins to create a separate fund for funds that will be received from the county’s insurance company. The county will receive $75,000 to get started on repairs and pay vendor claims stemming from the June and July storms.
Unfortunately, County IT Director Joe Short says that chunk of change is hardly enough to cover the cost of repairs from the storm – and they haven’t even accounted for all of the items that need repaired or replaced.
Proposed Jail Could House New Starke County Sheriff’s Dept. Antenna
Repairs are still underway in Starke County in the wake of this year’s storms in June and July. County IT Director Joe Short says one of the most important items they are working on repairing at the moment is the sheriff’s department’s radio tower, which was severely damaged during the storm.
Unfortunately, the tower is unable to be repaired because of the way it is built. Short says the county will need to purchase a new tower, as no tower companies are willing to make repairs to the structure.
State to Fund GIS Agreement Renewal
County IT Director Joe Short approached the commissioners this week with an update regarding their Geographic Information System agreement with WTH Technology. According to Short, the agreement has expired and needs renewed, but he says the state has offered to cover the cost of renewing the agreement in exchange for sharing their GIS information.
Short says the state will fund $2000 toward the agreement for the next two years, while the GIS cost is only $1500. The extra $500, Short says, can be spent on related expenses to the GIS system.
