Members: G. Kemp, D. Brousseau, R. Cantin, H. Massender, R. Maxwell

R. Lafortune

1. 9-1-1 ADVISORY COMMITTEE DRAFT MINUTES

- Co-ordinator, 9-1-1 Advisory Committee report dated 15 May 00

__________________________________________________________________________________________________
Note:
1. Underlining indicates a new or amended recommendation approved by the Board.
2. 9-1-1 TRAINING MANUAL - OWNERSHIP AND DISTRIBUTION

- Co-ordinator, 9-1-1 Advisory Committee report dated 16 May 00

Chair Kemp indicated that the Advisory Committee had requested clarification of the ownership and distribution of the Manual.

L. Jenkins stated that as of next June, the Manual will become obsolete because a new Manual will be distributed with the implementation of 9-1-1/PERS.

The Bureau Manager, Charles Bordeleau advised that he did not have the staff that could spend the time producing and distributing the manual. He explained that the existing binders are over 10 years old.

There was consensus among members that it was doubtful there would be any updates to the Manual between now and next June and they agreed the Training Manual would stay the way it is now until PERS is implemented.

D. Brousseau agreed to provide the Bureau Manager with updated Manuals, in binder format, and that Regional staff would distribute copies to all emergency agencies.

3. 1999 STATISTICAL ANNUAL/2000 YEAR TO DATE REPORTS

- Co-ordinator, 9-1-1 Management Board report dated 23 May 00

The Bureau Manager provided a detailed presentation to the Board. A copy of his PowerPoint presentation is held on file. In addition, the following comments were noted:

In conclusion, the 9-1-1 Bureau is achieving a very high performance level based on:

The Bureau Manager advised that they will continue to monitor the number of abandoned calls, to ensure they do not impact on the quality of service offered to the community. Chair Kemp suggested that statistics on abandoned calls become a regular part of the quarterly report because it represents an important piece of information.

Ross Maxwell expressed an interest in learning about how many incidents are responded to by the call centre, e.g. 18,000 calls in any given month does not necessarily mean there were 18,000 separate incidents. The Inspector indicated this would be difficult to illustrate because the 9-1-1 system does not track such statistics. While he agreed it was a good idea, it would be too onerous a task for his staff to undertake. Chair Kemp suggested such information should be built into dispatch, i.e., the initial 9-1-1 call and the number of incidents.

The Bureau Manager was congratulated for such a thorough and informative presentation. D. Brousseau recommended that the Board send a letter to staff commending them for their work.

4. UPDATE ON PUBLIC EMERGENCY REPORT STRUCTURE (PERS)

- Co-ordinator, 9-1-1 Management Board report dated 16 May 00

Linda Jenkins, Manager, 9-1-1 Emergency Service provided the following updates:

Bell needs to know where the back-up site will be situated by August 25^th, 2000. If a dedicated back-up site is not going to be known until after 25 August, 9-1-1 service can operate as it does currently. Once PERS is implemented, the only difference will be some changes in trunk routing. The only additional costs would be associated with building an infrastructure to provide that service.

Councillor Cantin stated that having the back-up site at 111 Lisgar Street may be problematic if the O’Connor office shuts down for whatever reason. L. Jenkins confirmed that the lines to Regional Headquarters would come from the O’Connor Central office via the primary 9-1-1 Tandem in Vanier, with Kingston as the back-up. In the event of a failure at the former site, Bell would reroute traffic from Bank Street or Vanier. The councillor inquired what would happen if something goes wrong at the 9-1-1 call centre. Ms. Jenkins responded by stating that the PERS design will build another level of contingency; all the offices will feed to the Vanier site, and the Kingston office is the back-up. If there is a major failure, the Vanier host office will still have a contingency. PERS will provide a higher level of serviceability, but no matter where the back-up site is located, the possibility still exists that there could be a power failure. She confirmed the 9-1-1 operations do not totally depend on the O’Connor site because every office is involved. If the 9-1-1 call centre is not operational, a back-up plan is necessary and is the responsibility of the 9-1-1 Management Board or similar body to establish and put into place for contingency as required.

The Board Chair stated that a contingency plan has been established that does have a back-up and essentially, from a telephone point of view it is all taken care of. He believed that the only question of being so close in proximity is the quality of the air frequency, i.e., can people from Elgin move to Lisgar air-wise. He noted that the fire station on Randall Avenue is the back-up to that plant and for the Board to establish a permanent back-up site would be a waste of energy and resources.

The Bureau Manager advised that Randall just has the phones for 9-1-1, which is where the Bureau would route calls; however, for dispatch, calls would be routed to the site at Regional Headquarters.

L. Jenkins requested formal notification of the back-up site.

Ms. Jenkins indicated there will be additional costs of approximately $25,000 for software packages which will be required to incorporate the PERS transfer application. Also, there is a requirement for approximately $50,000 for DTI equipment (Digital Trunk Interface card/shelves). Therefore, until the network plant is up and running, there is an estimated $75,000 required before the end of this year.

Chair Kemp questioned whether those funds were available in the budget and D. Brousseau advised that he would recommend to the Transition Board via Randy Mar, the Project Team Leader, that those dollars be included in the 2001 budget for emergency services.

Randy Mar, Project Leader/Co-ordinator, Transition Board stated that the budget for departments is anticipated to be set in September, but he recommended the Board put this budget requirement in the form of a Motion, requesting that these funds are a pre-commitment on the 2001 budget. He recognized that the money would be spent ahead of time in order to get things up and running.

L. Jenkins advised that she would formally update the figures and provide them to staff.

H. Murphy was directed to put this proposal package together for the Transition Board.

L. Jenkins advised that Bell is building the polygon based on the fire jurisdiction which currently exists. She noted that if those boundaries change, it will have a big impact from a production point of view. As the fall approaches, the majority of the work will have been done and there will be limited changes made after that. She advised that she would require some direction with respect to the needs of each dispatch because there could be problems if changes have to be made. With this in mind, site visits will be conducted to dispatch centres over the month of July.

In addition, a list of all non-standard addresses have been provided to each municipality for review and GIS staff are working with her to determine whether there can be some cross-referencing of addresses, i.e., buildings (addresses) on Parliament Hill, et cetera.

D. Brousseau wondered whether the new polygon would allow for stations located in one municipality to be able to respond to an emergency close to the border with another municipality. Baseline Road was offered as an example where the fire station on Woodroffe Avenue is the closest station to that area in Nepean and could that fire station respond to a call from Nepean since they are closer. L. Jenkins advised that polygons are not determined based on the location of the fire station.

P. Gallant added that this was discussed at great length by the Technical Committee and he confirmed that if the call is from Ottawa, the call will go to Ottawa, regardless of whether the fire station in Nepean is closer or not.

D. Brousseau felt certain some form of agreement could exist whereby the closest station should respond, regardless of the polygon. R. Mar explained that according to the Collective Agreement, that would be considered "contracting out".

C. Bordeleau stated that should such a situation exist, the calls could be transferred from one station to the other, but he confirmed this issue has not yet been resolved.

D. Brousseau stated that this is a fire issue, but he recognized the public relations issue the emergency agencies may have on their hands with respect to the question of which fire department will be dispatched first.

5. MANAGEMENT AND AUDIT SERVICES REVIEW OF 9-1-1 ADMINISTRATION

- Management & Audit Services report dated 23 May 00

Dan Presse, Management and Audit Services provided a brief overview of the findings of his review to date. He explained that staff must now take a look at the original plan of reviewing 9-1-1 service and how such review falls into the transition process.

Randy Mar, Project Leader/Co-ordinator, Transition Board indicated that the new structure includes a committee for Protective Emergency Services. They have begun to craft a project charter and have focused on dispatch and the 9-1-1 function, particularly around the notion of an external service provider for 9-1-1. He did not know what the future held for a 9-1-1 Management Board function, since the Board is not reflected on the proposed committee structure. He suggested that the Advisory Committee capacity continue and there is a need to examine governance and where and how that fits into place.

D. Brousseau believed it was important not to duplicate efforts and suggested that in view of the Transition Board’s examination of 9-1-1 issues, Management and Audit Services staff should be directed to put a stop to their review.

Councillor Cantin felt that because Police Services fall under different legislation than fire and ambulance, there is a need for some co-ordination between the three. He questioned whether this could be handled administratively, or whether the Advisory Committee should be given the authority to bring this to the table when issues arise. R. Mar agreed that this needs to be addressed, noting it has been somewhat embodied in 1 and 2 of the Management and Audit Services report.

In response to questions raised, R. Mar confirmed that the Management Board continues to operate until 31 December 2000. He asked that he be given a ‘heads up’ of any issues that arise so he can determine whether the Management Board or the Transition Board should deal with those matters.

Chair Kemp stated that the key is communication with police service, dispatch, radio communications, 9-1-1 and where the Management Board fits, in order to ensure it provides the service for which is has been mandated. He wanted assurance that someone does not make a decision that affects another body and visa versa and emphasized the need to cross-communicate to ensure that does not occur.

D. Brousseau suggested that the Management Board advise Randy Mar that there should be some sort of Advisory Committee/Management Board structure to input into the management of the 9-1-1 service in the future.

Chair Kemp recognized the importance of maintaining public representation as an element on the Management Board, as well as the necessity to continue to bring emergency service agencies together as the key element of providing this service. Therefore, he believed the Management Board must accept that Management and Audit staff’s responsibility should be properly moved to that of Randy Mar, Project Co-ordinator with the Transition Board; and, that there be an Advisory Committee/Management Board element to the structure at the end of the day.

6. 2-1-1 SERVICE CONCEPT

- Co-ordinator, 9-1-1 Management Board report dated 24 May 00

Dr. Robert Cushman, Medical Officer of Health spoke to the Board about the proposal for 2-1-1 service. The following points were made:

With respect to the interface of 2-1-1 with 9-1-1, Dr. Cushman advised that it will reduce the call burden on 9-1-1 because of the reduction of inappropriate calls. While he acknowledged there may be very few that would actually need the services of 9-1-1, there would still be someone on the 2-1-1 line that could certainly direct the caller appropriately. He recognized the need to educate the public about this new service, so they can easily differentiate between the two.

The Bureau Manager indicated that there is a co-ordinated access for youth services and questioned whether Dr. Cushman was looking at this as part of the 2-1-1 service. Dr. Cushman responded by stating 2-1-1 is a portal of entry where a caller can be routed to the right agency. He advised that he has a video of how the service operates in Atlanta, which shows how the calls are routed. Maureen Grant, Manager, Telecom Network Group, OCRPS stated that it will be important to liaise with these agencies, to ensure a process is set up to downstream calls appropriately.

With respect to the service the Region already provides with its 560-1335 24-hour line, Dr. Cushman estimated that 80% of those calls are from people seeking information about garbage collection; however, he was confident that 80% of the questions in Ottawa-Carleton are not related to garbage collection. Councillor Cantin questioned whether there was a way to bolster what the Region’s 24-hour call centre currently delivers, as opposed to bringing in 2-1-1 service. Dr. Cushman believed people would be more receptive and more apt to use a 3-digit number as opposed to a 7-digit telephone number. He also saw 2-1-1 as more of a metamorphosis of the current 24-hour information service.

Doug Brousseau was confident the United Way would get permission from the CRTC to provide this service and stated that what the Board must consider is whether or not it wants to get involved and take advantage of this new service. When questioned how long it would take for 2-1-1 to be in operation, Dr. Cushman stated that to bring the various agencies together will be time-consuming and he estimated it would be several years before 2-1-1 could be implemented.

Inspector Bordeleau was interested in finding out what kinds of calls 2-1-1 has been getting in the United States. He agreed the availability of this service would reduce a tremendous burden on 9-1-1 with respect to the number of inappropriate calls. When questioned who will co-ordinate this project, Dr. Cushman advised that in light of the United Way’s proposal to the CRTC, staff would like to convey to the Transition Board that offering 2-1-1 service would be a good opportunity for the new City of Ottawa.

Staff Sergeant Gallant asked whether the 2-1-1 call takers will be trained to recognize a call that should be routed to 9-1-1 instead of a supporting agency. For instance, he did not want the call-taker to confuse a call for help for the police with a call for a number of an abuse shelter. Dr. Cushman responded to his concerns by advising that there is software for the people to be trained and there are protocols to follow. He explained that the key to triage is knowing what is an emergency. When questioned whether it will be technically feasible to downstream a 2-1-1 call to 9-1-1, Dr. Cushman confirmed the technology would be available. Ms. Jenkins advised that 9-1-1 service is for direct dialed calls, not calls transferred from other services. 2-1-1 would require a separate infrastructure added at customer cost. She suggested a policy be established that would be followed that stipulates how emergency calls received via 2-1-1 should be processed.

Doug Brousseau proposed that the Board endorse the concept of 2-1-1 service. Chair Kemp agreed, adding that it would make the whole system work better from an emergency service and community service perspective.

Dr. Cushman stated that when staff bring this proposal to the Transition Board, having someone from the Management Board to speak to the issue of the interface between 2-1-1 and 9-1-1 would also be helpful. Chair Kemp advised that he would be comfortable speaking to the Transition Board at that time.

7. CIVIC ADDRESSING - UPDATE

- Co-ordinator, 9-1-1 Management Board report dated 24 May 00

Don Brousseau, Project Leader, Naming and Numbering Charter, Ottawa Transition Board provided the following comments:

Councillor Cantin questioned whether the Project Team has determined what the ideal solution is for street naming. Mr. Brousseau advised that they are encouraging the municipalities to go with a completely new street name. If the name cannot be changed, they would look at other alternatives such as Osgoode Main Street, Stittsville Main Street. Some of the criteria they are working with includes minimal disruption and minimal cost and that must be weighed in terms of how many people might be affected. The historical name of the street also has to be considered. The target date for completion of this is a recommendation to the Transition Board in July and a policy report to follow shortly thereafter.

Councillor Cantin reiterated previous concerns raised by the Board and the Sub-committee on Civic Addressing which dealt with the issue of a continuous street which had varying names. He recognized this as a particular issue for 9-1-1 if someone is not sure of their whereabouts when they call. He believed these issues must be addressed for public safety. Mr. Brousseau agreed this is a valid point and stated the Project Team is attempting to sort that out with the emergency services.

Keeping in mind that PERS is slated for implementation by June 2001, Mr. Brousseau confirmed that the Project Team will ensure that those street names which are duplicated in the same municipality, are changed by 1 January 2001.

With respect to representation on the GNB, Don Brousseau advised that he will be reporting back to the Transition Board and if the Board provided some names from the various emergency services, he would put them forward for consideration.

Doug Brousseau emphasized that when this issue is brought to a head, the emergency services need to be involved in order to make the case to move to PERS. There will be consequences if street names are not changed. Chair Kemp agreed and indicated that the Cumberland Fire Chief, Gord Mills, will be speaking on behalf of fire departments across the RMOC at the upcoming public sessions.

H. Massender expressed her willingness to co-ordinate the representatives from ambulance at the public meetings. She believed it was important to involve a paramedic as well, because of their role in emergency services. She agreed to put forward the name of a representative accordingly.

Inspector Bordeleau questioned whether there should be representation from the Bureau as well as Police and Don Brousseau suggested it would be best to have one combined from the OCRPS to keep the membership smaller. An information session will be provided to all representatives to ensure they are brought up-to-date on the background, criteria, et cetera. The Bureau Manager agreed to co-ordinate the representative from the OCRPS.

R. Maxwell inquired what the status was of the other components related to the civic address issue, i.e., location of numbers, visibility of addresses, et cetera. Don Brousseau confirmed these will be part of the final package brought forward.

1. Year 2000 Program report for the FOURTH quarter of 1999

- Director, Year 2000 Program memorandum dated 16 Feb 00

The Board agreed that the annual Children’s Awards would be scheduled to take place the same day as the Board’s next meeting, if possible.

Friday, 6 October 2000

 The meeting adjourned at 12:25 p.m.

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CO-ORDINATOR CHAIR