Missouri Chief Interoperability
Officer holds Planning Session for $17 Million Grant
JEFFERSON CITY, November 5, 2007—The state’s
Chief Interoperability Officer Jim Lundsted convened an all-day planning
session today in Jefferson City with public safety communications
representatives from each of the nine Regional Homeland Security Oversight
Committees (RHSOC) and the two Urban Area Security Initiatives (UASI)
of Kansas City and St. Louis.
The meeting was facilitated by a communications engineer
from the company of L. Robert Kimball and Associates of Pittsburg,
PA. Missouri has signed a contract with the firm to develop an interoperability
blueprint for the state.
“The purpose of the meeting was to brief the communications
reps from around the state on requirements of a $17 million federal
grant available to Missouri and for me to gain insight as to how best
invest this one-time grant money,” Lundsted said. “Kimball
has designed and built statewide interoperable communications systems
in numerous states and brings a wealth of experience and lessons learned
to assist our effort.”
Director of Public Safety Mark James urges interested
agencies to contact their RHSOC or UASI communications representatives
to give their viewpoints and opinions on this special grant funding
opportunity.
“Missouri’s communications landscape is
very complex and its needs are many. Urban areas are moving into 700/800
MHz trunked systems while most of the rural areas remain in VHF. Add
the fact that the Highway Patrol’s radio system is 50-year-old
technology and on the verge of failure and we have a great challenge
on our hands,” James said. “We are making up for years
of inactivity in this area and while we recognize our responsibility
to lead the effort, we will do so inclusively of our state, local,
county, and private partners.
Lundsted explained to the group how this grant money
was different from other Department of Homeland Security (DHS) grant
funds in that it has to be spent toward a statewide interoperable
plan and requires a 20 percent match. Other DHS grants require no
match and can be spent on the needs of individual departments. James
encouraged the group to identify interoperable technology or infrastructure
that would help bring interoperability to their local areas and simultaneously
fit into a statewide plan.
Results of this meeting will be presented to the Governor’s
Homeland Security Advisory Council on Friday and to the Statewide
Interoperability Executive Committee next week.
“We are absolutely committed to developing the
state’s first interoperable communications plan and projected
costs in time for the next legislative session” Lundsted said.
For more information see Office of Homeland Security
link at www.dps.mo.gov.