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HomeMy WebLinkAboutHCEM Siren MOA with City of Carmel - 2024Hamilton County Emergency Management Outdoor Warning Siren Memorandum of Agreement Page 1 of 3 Overview In Hamilton County, each municipality owns its outdoor warning sirens. Siren owners maintain their systems and rely upon Hamilton County Emergency Management (HCEM) to coordinate the activation of the sirens through a unified radio network. The radio network is controlled by three control points: a radio, an encoder, and a computer. Each control point is owned and maintained as listed below: 1. Primary Site – HCEM located at Hamilton County Public Safety Communications radio tower site near State Road 32 and State Road 37 2. Secondary Site – Noblesville Public Safety Tower site in downtown Noblesville 3. Tertiary Site – Carmel Public Safety Tower site in downtown Carmel Purpose This Memorandum of Agreement defines the understanding between HCEM and the City of Carmel as it relates to activating the outdoor warning sirens owned and maintained by the City of Carmel. This agreement clarifies the collaborative roles and responsibilities of the two organizations. Roles and Responsibilities HCEM and the City of Carmel will work together to activate the outdoor warning sirens as specified in this agreement. Hamilton County Emergency Management 1. Maintain a radio, encoder, computer, and remote desktop connection to the primary activation point at the Hamilton County Public Safety Communications Tower. 2. Federal Signal Software a. Maintain Federal Signal's software and licensing at all three sites. i. Commander (existing base software) ii. CommanderOne (new cloud-based software) b. Maintain the software database. 3. Maintain a case management system to document siren owner points of contact and siren issues. The system will also email documented issues to the city's representative. 4. Provide the City of Carmel with the radio frequency and DTMF codes necessary for siren activation. 5. Conduct weekly testing on Fridays at 11:00 a.m. local time, starting the Friday before the statewide tornado drill and ending on the last Friday in October. 6. Suspend weekly testing when severe or ominous weather is present near the testing time. 7. Maintain 24/7 access to the primary, backup, and tertiary systems to sound the sirens in a reasonable time frame. 8. Activate Storm Operations when a severe thunderstorm or tornado watch is issued to ensure key personnel are prepared to sound the sirens. 9. Activate all the sirens owned by the City of Carmel throughout the city and township when: a. The National Weather Service issues a tornado warning, tornado emergency, or severe thunderstorm warning with the destructive tag that encompasses any part of the City of DocuSign Envelope ID: F0B13522-5D05-4A48-B33D-595F316D344A Hamilton County Emergency Management Outdoor Warning Siren Memorandum of Agreement Page 2 of 3 Carmel or Clay Township. The CommanderOne software will automatically activate the sirens. b. When a public safety official (police or fire) observes a funnel cloud or tornado in or near the City of Carmel or Clay Township. c. When a trained weather spotter observes a funnel cloud or tornado in or near the City of Carmel or Clay Township. d. When requested by an authorized representative of the City of Carmel listed below. i. Mayor, City of Carmel ii. Fire Chief, Carmel Clay Fire iii. Operations Chief, Carmel Clay Fire iv. Planning Chief, Carmel Clay Fire v. Police Chief, Carmel Police vi. Carmel IT 10. Document all activations, indicate if it was an automatic or manual activation, including date, time, reason, and the individual activating the sirens in WebEOC, and notify all WebEOC users of the activation. All documentation shall be maintained for at least seven years. 11. Provide the City of Carmel with at least two contact points for activation: the EOC phone number (317-776-8100) – not a public phone number, radio information, and amateur radio frequencies. a. Primary Point of Contact – Shane Booker, Executive Director, HCEM – 317-716-1706 b. Secondary Point of Contact – Ryan Tennessen, Deputy Director, HCEM – 317-716-1957 c. Tertiary Point of Contact – Shawn Miller, Operations Section Chief, HCEM – 317-385- 1541 12. Maintain a countywide GIS layer with the precise location of each siren in the county and ensure the shapefile is accessible to all municipalities. City of Carmel 1. Continue to own and maintain their outdoor warning sirens and related components to ensure the sirens and siren system can receive the activation signals from the three activation points. 2. Maintain radio repeater at Carmel Tower site. 3. Maintain network connectivity for Hamilton County's remote desktop support. 4. Maintain a radio, encoder, computer, and remote desktop connection to the tertiary activation point at the City of Carmel Public Safety Communications Tower in downtown Carmel. 5. Inform Hamilton County of any changes in outdoor warning sirens or system-related issues, including the relocation or addition of new sirens. 6. Maintain the confidentiality of access, codes, frequencies, and phone numbers. 7. Provide HCEM with at least two contact points for system management. a. Primary Point of Contact i. Name: Todd Luckoski ii. Mobile Phone: 317-710-6145 b. Secondary Point of Contact i. Name: Joel Heavner ii. Mobile Phone: 317-431-7594 DocuSign Envelope ID: F0B13522-5D05-4A48-B33D-595F316D344A Hamilton County Emergency Management Outdoor Warning Siren Memorandum of Agreement Page 3 of 3 8. Provide HCEM with the official positions authorized to request the activation of the sirens (e.g., Carmel Fire Department Operations Chief). 9. Carmel reserves the right to activate or not activate sirens from any of the three sites with 24- hour notice. General Terms and Conditions Now, therefore, HCEM and the City of Carmel jointly agree to the following terms: 1. Terms of this Agreement shall be for five years from the date of execution and renewed automatically for five-year terms. 2. Either party may terminate the agreement by giving 15 days written notice to the other party at any time. 3. Each party agrees to indemnify, defend, and hold harmless the other from any claims arising out of, or in connection to, outdoor warning sirens not being activated for reasons beyond each agency's control. Signatures _______________________________ ___________ Alan Potasnik Date Board Member, Board of Public Works and Safety City of Carmel _______________________________ ___________ Laura Campbell Date Board Member, Board of Public Works and Safety City of Carmel _______________________________ ___________ Sue Finkam Date Mayor City of Carmel _______________________________ February 20, 2024 Shane Booker Date Executive Director Hamilton County Emergency Management DocuSign Envelope ID: F0B13522-5D05-4A48-B33D-595F316D344A 2/21/2024 2/21/2024