HomeMy WebLinkAbout046 08
'-
cc: :)hef\Y-W' I I Q
{\vA '1 g,Oa
\?ecQ
STATE OF W ASHlNGTON
County of Jefferson
In the Matter of Authorizing an Emergency }
For the Purchase and Installation of a }
Video Arraignment System }
RESOLUTION NO, 1+6~08
WHEREAS, the County's 25 year old arraignment video system that serves both Superior and
District Courts has completely failed; and,
WHEREAS, costs associated with repair of the old system is not practical and would leave the
County with an antiquated, fragile system; and,
WHEREAS, the County Sheriff in cooperation with the Courts is responsible for safe and
cost effective ways to get the arraignment process completed; and,
WHEREAS, Staff of Superior Court, District Court, the Court Clerk, the Sheriff, and the
Central Services Department have met and agreed to the need of a new system; and,
WHEREAS, section 3.55.150 of the Jefferson County Code provides that County purchasing
procedures may be waived for emergencies; and,
WHEREAS, the County Administrator is supportive of this emergency purchase;
THEREFORE, BE IT RESOL VED, that the Board of Commissioners hereby declares that an
emergency exists, waives the regular purchasing procedures and directs the Sheriff s Department
staff to acquire and install arraignment video equipment as quickly as possible to serve safely the
County's Courts.
APPROVEDthis 7thdayof
July
,2008.
JEFFERSON COUNTY
BO F COMMISSIONERS
~ ,I'
7
.fit'..
.,
f: .~ .
v .
,.(" ,; -~ t
, "
, 'l',) 's',' '.t'
, ~
. .
o on Chairm
----?J %<~g:r~<
David~~~mber
,ctP-v ~
JOUustin, Member '-
ATTEST:
~7;J;~J eAC
Deputy Clerk of the Board
JEFFERSON COUNTY
SHERIFF
79 Elkins Road
P0l1 Hadlock, ,VA 98:1:19
(.%0) :j85-,~8:J1
FAX:179-051:1
June 25,2008
Dennis Richards
Interim County Administrator
Jefferson County
Video Arraignment Issues Briefing
Sometime during the administration of Sheriff Leland B. Smith (1979 - 1986), the
County moved the Sheriff's Office and Jail to their current Port Hadlock location.
During that same time period the County funded a video system link between the
Courthouse and the Jail to reduce the costs associated with transporting
prisoners from Port Hadlock to Port Townsend for in custody arraignments and
certain other court related hearings,
After a quarter century of service, it appears the current video system is at the
end of its life, The system has experienced intermittent, but increasingly frequent
failures, The temporary fix for rebooting the system each time it goes down, has
been to send a county employee up into the attic above Superior Court, Once
there, the employee has literally had to walk a narrow wooden plank in the attic
and then disconnecting/reconnecting a cable, Even though this gets the system
working temporarily, it disrupts the Court, Prosecutors, Defense Attorneys, and
Court - Prosecutor - Administrative - Security - Jail Staff, Court records
indicate that over ten years ago, then Judges Howard and Majhan alerted the
Board of County Commissioners that a newly enacted State Supreme Court rule
would require changes to the original video system and that should be budgeted
in 1998,
We have been advised by one of the County's principal communications
contractors (Greentree Communications) that this rebooting process could work
for a while longer, but that we need to either repair the existing obsolete system
or replace it if we wish to continue using the video. The manufacturer of our
current system went out of business a number of years ago, The contractor has
found one company in Washington that services the existing system, We could
repair the existing system with no warranty past 30 days by replacing the one
"dish" that is broken for approximately $5,000, Because that dish has stopped
working, it is quite possible that the second "dish" could stop working anytime, If
we go this route we should replace both "dishes" now for approximately $7,000,
www,jeffersonsheriff.org
. .
Greentree has done research on replacing the system and has suggested
replacing the "dishes" with an IP Ethernet link, This is a licensed microwave
"shot" in the 23 GHz band with a 60 Meg bandwidth "shot" that would be capable
of handling all video traffic, To help offset the cost, the County could eliminate
the costly T1 for telephones between the 2 buildings (Jail and Courthouse) plus
all of the additional bandwidth for future IP based links that might be needed in
the future (email, data, even emergency hot phones) between sites,
It is estimated that the cost for the new equipment is going to be around $35,000
- $40,000, this would include equipment, installation, and the hardware
necessary to use existing analog cameras, The price wouldn't include network
interfacing.
There is also the possibility of incorporating an existing link between the Port
Hadlock Emergency Operations Center and the East Jefferson Fire Rescue
facility on Lawrence Street in Port Townsend as part of the solution. We have
been advised that a "Tsunami Technology" solution could then connect to the
Courthouse.
The technical aspects of this project surpass the capabilities of staff within the
Sheriff's Office, the Courts, or the Clerk's Office, This would need to be done by
either a private contractor, or the County's I.T. staff would need to be directed to
make this a priority project. I do not believe that I.T. currently has the time,
resources, or expertise to accomplish this in the time needed,
On June 26, 2008 a meeting was held in Superior Court, Superior Court Judge
Crad Verser, District Court Judge Jill Landes, Sheriff Mike Brasfield, Superior
Court Administrator Michelle Moore, and District Court Administrator Tracie
Wilburn were in attendance and reviewed the available options, Todd
Oberlander from County IT was also in attendance,
The failure of the system was not anticipated, and none of the Offices listed have
a funding source available to replace the system, All the County Offices that
utilize the existing Video Arraignment system urge a prompt resolution and
emergency funding to accomplish it.
JEFFERSON COUNTY
BOARD OF COUNTY COMMISSIONERS
AGENDA REQUEST
TO:
Board of Commissioners
FROM:
Michael D. Brasfield, Sheriff
DATE:
June 26, 2008
SUBJECT:
Agenda Item Request
STATEMENT OF ISSUE:
Sufficient evidence has been provided to show that an "emergency" exists as defined in RCW
39.04.280(3) and the Sheriffs Office, Superior Court, District Court, Prosecutor and Clerk
jointly respectfully request the BOCC invoke RCW 39.04.280(1)(e) allowing the Sheriffs
Office, Superior Court, District Court, and the Clerk to promptly acquire and install a
replacement Video Arraignment System,
ANALYSIS:
See attached briefing paper.
FISCAL IMPACT:
Sheriffs Office as lead on behalf of the Superior Court, District Court, Prosecutor, and Clerk's
Office: $40,000
RECOMMENDATION:
I recommend that the Resolution be adopted allowing the acquisition and installation a
replacement Video Arraignment System,
REVIEWED BY:
J-~ c;L
County Administrator
9 I
'1 ~ /0 f
Date ( /