The City of Billings has a 10 year Master Contract with Airbus DS Communications for the digital P25 radio system and the 9-1-1 telephone system.  The 2011 Master Contract provides for the design, installation, maintenance, and on-going support for these public safety systems. The new 9-1-1 Center (currently under construction) has been designed to initially accommodate five additional work stations which must be equipped with 9-1-1 telephone consoles. 

As part of the operational and transition planning for the new facility, 9-1-1 Center seeks to equip 12 work stations with 9-1-1 consoles.   The current Sentinel Patriot system is in the process of being decommissioned by the vendor and customers are being migrated to the upgraded Vesta 9-1-1 telephone system.  The timing of such creates an opportunity for significant savings in time and expense as the upgraded system can be installed directly into the new facility, negating the challenge and costs associated with moving a live, mission critical public safety system to a new location.  The 9-1-1 telephone system can be upgraded and expanded should Council approve an amendment to the existing Master Contract between the City of Billings and Airbus DS Communications.  

 


 

City Council may:

• Approve the Addendum to the Master Agreement with Airbus DS Communications and allow a 9-1-1 telephone system upgrade that will provide system and work station expansion in the newly constructed 9-1-1 Center;  or,
• Not Approve the Addendum to the Master Agreement.  City staff would have to engage with Airbus to expand the current Sentinel Patriot system, which has a limited serviceable life and is being decommissioned by the vendor, in order to ensure that 9-1-1 telephone consoles are operational at all positions in the new 9-1-1 facility.
   

The cost to upgrade and migrate to a 12 position 9-1-1 telephone system including a portable command post is $339,925.00 and includes network management and maintenance for the five (5) additional workstations through 2021. $340,000 was approved in the 2018 budge to facilitate this upgrade.  9-1-1 Funds are available and are dedicated for this project.
 

The City of Billings broke ground for the new 9-1-1 facility on July 31, 2017 and expects to take occupancy in mid-2018.  The complexity of transitioning equipment and systems to the new facility without any service interruption cannot be overstated as the community and public safety agencies are absolutely dependent on the functions provided by 9-1-1 and dispatch.

The current 9-1-1 Center has seven work stations and one additional work station is located in the Emergency Operations Center (EOC).  The new facility is being designed to initially accommodate twelve work stations.   Each work station, including the work station in the EOC must be equipped with a 9-1-1 telephone console. 

In 2011, the City of Billings engaged in a ten (10) year contract with Airbus DS Communications to provide a 9-1-1 telephone system and a digital P25 radio system.  As part of that agreement, Airbus provides all maintenance and support for these systems.   Our current Sentinel Patriot 9-1-1 system could conceivably be expanded to twelve (12) consoles at a cost of approximately $160,000.  However, in June 2017, Airbus announced that production of and support for the Sentinel Patriot was being discontinued and that customers were being migrated to the upgraded VESTA 9-1-1 system.  The proposed telephone system upgrade is an addendum to the 2011 Master Contract that the City of Billings has with Airbus DS Communications.

The lateral transition to the upgraded VESTA 9-1-1 system under the current 10-year contract with Airbus allows significant hard and soft cost savings.  Savings in licensing fees alone are estimated to be $80,000.  Functionalities and engineered configurations of the current system can be seamlessly migrated into the VESTA 9-1-1 system saving staff extensive time and effort involved in redesigning system features.  Further, the components of the upgraded system will significantly reduce the complexity of transferring a mission critical system to the new facility with no interruption to 9-1-1 services.  The upgrade will also allow remote call taking in the event of a major emergency or an evacuation of the primary facility, an enhancement not available with our current system. 

9-1-1 services are critical to the health, safety, and well-being of the community and the public expects continuity and consistency in those services.  The challenge and complexity of providing uninterrupted essential services during the move to the new facility are enormous.  The timing is such that the City of Billings has the opportunity to implement this necessary upgrade to coincide with the occupancy of the new 9-1-1 facility.   The proposed telephone system upgrade will allow uninterrupted 9-1-1 and non-emergency telephone operation throughout the cutover to the new building. The 9-1-1 telephone system upgrade was approved in the 2018 budget and available 9-1-1 Funds have been earmarked for this purpose. 


 

Stakeholders include but are not limited to Billings Police Department, Billings Fire Department, Yellowstone County Sheriff's Office, American Medical Response, Yellowstone County Fire Departments, citizens of Billings and Yellowstone County.