Finance Committee - 10/18/2017 Page 9
MOTION CARRIED
From: Dan Kooken, Purchasing Manager
Re: Communication — Memorandum of Understanding between the City of Manchester, City of Nashua
and the Manchester/Boston Regional Airport
MOTION BY ALDERMAN SIEGEL TO ACCEPT AND PLACE ON FILE THE REVISED MEMORANDUM
OF UNDERSTANDING PLACED ON OUR DESKS THIS EVENING
ON THE QUESTION
Mr. Mansfield
Last year the City of Nashua applied for a grant to try to enhance the communications between Nashua and
Manchester and make our systems redundant with each other. Because of the level of the system Manchester
purchased, we were unable to do that and make the two systems work together. Eventually, they will need a
large upgrade to their system to bring it up to where we are at so the two systems will talk together. We are
still hoping that happens in the future, but it is going to be an expensive venture on Manchester’s part.
We looked at different options to provide interoperability communications, number one, and also provide
redundancy to our radio systems, secondly, mainly our dispatch centers. The City of Nashua has two dispatch
centers: the police and fire dispatch centers located at two separate locations. Manchester also has a police
and fire dispatch center located at two different locations. Each of those dispatch centers is connected
together through fiber or through microwave. If one piece of equipment fails, there is a backup system within
each of the entities, whether it be Manchester or Nashua. We still would be able to communicate.
If we had a major catastrophe as either one of these locations, whether it be Manchester or Nashua, police or
fire, where the building was no longer accessible, we don’t have any plan in place to move dispatch
communications anywhere.
Through the grant process we went to the state through Homeland Security funds and applied for a grant to
build a dispatch center. It’s basically a backup dispatch center for both Manchester and Nashua. We looked
for a neutral location where we could still communicate to Nashua and Manchester could still communicate to
Manchester, and a space let’s just say not expensive to operate or owner operate. We found that Manchester
Airport was looking at doing something similar at their site so we began talking with them to determine whether
or not they had facilities for us up there that we could build a communications center.
After several meetings and discussions, Manchester Airports agreed to give both the City of Nashua and the
City of Manchester space at the airport. Through the grant process we are anticipating to be awarded
$300,000 within the next couple of weeks. The City of Manchester is anticipating a similar $300,000. All these
funds would go to build this dispatch center up at the airport. The airport has agreed to give us permission to
be on the property, to be in a secured building, to give us a room, electricity. They have given us tower space,
| shouldn’t say given. They have allowed us permission to be on a tower. There is a concrete structure that
will be able to house the equipment outside next to the tower.
We would be purchasing through that grant dispatch consoles, what they call a K-Core. We have a M-Core in
Nashua. We’d be using a K-Core. It would be programmed for both Nashua, Manchester and Manchester
Airport with all their frequencies and channels in there so if we did have a major catastrophe at any location,
we could just basically pick up and move up there and begin communications again. That’s the purpose of the
grant.
The Airport has been wonderful to deal with, the Airport Authority. There’s been no issues with this
whatsoever. It seems like it would be a great working relationship. We are all looking forward to moving
forward with this.
