Sponsor: Emergency Communications
Title
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Grant Agreement with Department of Justice Office of Community Oriented Policing Services for Ramsey County Emergency and Public Safety Communications Network Replacement
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Recommendation
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1. Ratify the submittal of the grant application to Department of Justice Office for Fiscal Year 24 Community Oriented Policing Services Technology and Equipment Program Invitational Solicitation.
2. Accept a grant award and approve a grant agreement with the Department of Justice Office for Emergency and Public Safety Communications Network Replacement for the period of upon execution through March 31, 2026 in the amount of $2,965,000.
3. Authorize the Chair and Chief Clerk to execute the grant agreement.
4. Authorize the County Manager to enter into agreements and execute amendments to agreements in accordance with the county’s procurement policies and procedures, provided the amounts are within the limits of the grant funding.
5. Authorize the County Manager to execute amendments to the grant agreement in a form approved by the County Attorney's Office.
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Background and Rationale
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Ramsey County’s existing radios have reached end-of-life in 2014 and end-of-support in 2019 and are limited to 64-bit Data Encryption Standard (DES) encryption. Emergency Communications have been working with the collaborating cities and the state legislature to understand and develop a plan to best serve the residents and ensure safety for all. The State of Minnesota has decided to migrate the entire Allied Radio Matrix for Emergency Response (ARMER) radio system to 256-bit advanced Encryption Standard (AES) encryption rendering our current radio cache obsolete.
This grant funds some of the necessary replacement and upgrades of technology that has reached end of life to ensure Ramsey County’s emergency and public safety communications networks remain intact and resident and emergency responder safety is protected.
This award is funding replacement for Ramsey County Sheriff’s Office radios ($798,049), four generators ($802,500), Emergency Communications radios ($444,451), and Correctional Facility radios ($920,000). All radio projects will be facilitated by Emergency Communications.
The grant funds infrastructure upgrades, radio consolettes and handheld radios providing resiliency and reliability of our services and allows us to improve our interoperability communication between departments in order to better serve the residents of Ramsey County.
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County Goals (Check those advanced by Action)
☒ Well-being ☐ Prosperity ☐ Opportunity ☒ Accountability
Racial Equity Impact
There is no direct racial equity impact linked with this board request.
Community Participation Level and Impact
There is no community engagement associated with this request for board action. Community will be impacted by ensuring residents continue to have uninterrupted dispatch services.
☒ Inform ☐ Consult ☐ Involve ☐ Collaborate ☐ Empower
Fiscal Impact
The Community Oriented Policing Services (COPS) Technology and Equipment Program Grant for Ramsey County Emergency and Public Safety Communications Network Replacement is $2,965,000 of federal funding administered by Department of Justice Office for the period September 30, 2024 through March 31, 2026. Acceptance of this award will increase appropriation for the placement of Ramsey County Sheriff’s Office radios ($798,049), four generators ($802,500), Emergency Communications radios ($444,451), and Correctional Facility radios ($920,000). All radio projects will be facilitated by Emergency Communications.
Last Previous Action
None.
Attachments
1. Grant Award