7a
PORT OF SEATTLE MEMORANDUM COMMISSION AGENDA Item No. 7a STAFF BRIEFING Date of Meeting October 9, 2012 DATE: September 28, 2012 TO: Tay Yoshitani, Chief Executive Officer FROM: Colleen Wilson, Chief of Police Peter Garlock, Chief Information Officer David Soike, Director, Aviation Facilities and Capital Program SUBJECT: Port of Seattle Radio System Briefing SYNOPSIS: The Port of Seattle operates its own emergency radio system that includes nearly 2,000 radios to support its Airport, Seaport, Real Estate Division, and several Capital Development departments. The Port's radio system is aging, and it will soon be necessary to reinvest in the system. As the Port plans to chart its course for the longterm , it will continue to cooperate with King County and other regional partners in analyzing the best approach for the Port and the County to take in making the right investment decisions to support needed radio improvements and move the Port toward future seamless radio-interoperability for first-responders engaging in regional emergencies. The Port supports and has fully invested in this goal since 2008 when public executives came together from across the region to find technical and governance solutions to achieve interoperability. The Port's public safety and technical staff strongly believe in a seamless, coordinated, redundant radio communication system. T he Port supports the need for regional technology and equipment that may ultimately be funded via a future regional ballot measure. BACKGROUND: The radio system is a vital communication system for the Port's first-responders to emergencies. The Port's radio system includes dispatch systems for the Port police force, Airport firefighters, emergency preparedness teams, Airfield operations and Airport, Seaport, and Real Estate maintenance teams. Approximately 2,000 radios are in use within the Port system. The Port radio system reaches well beyond Port of Seattle properties. It is also the vital link for mutual aid responders within adjacent jurisdictions, some of whom in times of regional emergencies, like earthquakes or aircraft incidents, will come into the Port's radio jurisdiction to provide emergency aid. The Port actively practices emergency preparedness drills and training each year to hone rapid response capabilities, and the COMMISSION AGENDA Tay Yoshitani, Chief Executive Officer September 28, 2012 Page 2 of 2 Airport hosts a region-wide aircraft disaster drill in coordination with the Federal Aviation Administration every three years, as required by federal regulations. The Port is also proud to participate in King County's larger emergency preparedness drills and teams as the county works to be fully prepared to respond in concert with the state and with the Federal Emergency Management Agency in effectively managing future large- scale emergencies. Following the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, government agencies have been cooperating nationwide to create systems to allow a flow of information to all emergency responders in the event of a crisis. As a result, a Port of Seattle Commissioner participates as a member of the Radio Executive Policy Committee to address the regional governance structure that would oversee the interoperable emergency systems. The Port believes that radio system back-up capability and redundancy is a wise approach to assure the Port can respond in times of large-scale regional disaster, such as a major earthquake. The Port is preparing to take initial steps to keep our radio system intact while catching up with technology our regional partners are using. Port staff will continue to work with our partners to evaluate the upgrade work to assure we have mitigated the risks to the Port, to ensure our readiness capability, and to have a costeffective system for the long-term. A Port system that continues to support our regional mutual aid partners and that helps our emergency responders to have access to the best immediate information will ultimately keep them safer, as well as helping them to keep our residents and business partners safe. OTHER DOCUMENTS ASSOCIATED WITH THIS BRIEFING: PowerPoint PREVIOUS COMMISSION ACTIONS OR BRIEFINGS: None.
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