Earmark goes to high-tech equipment
After many months of research and
strict adherence to federal regulations, Whitefish fire chief
Thomas Kennelly and police chief Bill Dial have narrowed down their
choices for equipment to be purchased with a $900,000 federal
earmark lined up by Democratic Sen. Jon Tester.
The city got the money after it had
already sold bonds backed by tax-increment financing (TIF) revenue
to finance the new Emergency Services Center off Baker Avenue. As a
result, the money can’t be used to pay for construction of the new
building.
The city is required to come up with
$300,000 in matching funds to get the entire $900,000, city manager
Chuck Stearns told the Whitefish City Council at its Jan. 3
meeting. About half of the city’s share could come from money left
over from construction. The rest could come from the city’s healthy
TIF fund.
About $350,000 of the $1 million in
purchases outlined by Kennelly and Dial would go for communication
equipment and software that will enable the center to completely
back up Flathead County’s new 911 dispatch center in event of an
emergency. About $250,000 will pay for a solar-powered hot water
system to melt snow at the center, along with architectural fees
and other building costs.
Kennelly’s list for the fire department
includes 25 thermal imagers at $4,300 apiece capable of locating
remaining hot spots at a fire or injured people hidden from view.
The department currently has two large thermal-imaging units. The
proposal is to provide each firefighter with a small, compact
thermal imager, Kennelly said.
Other items on the fire department’s
list include 13 Panasonic Toughbook computers at $5,046 apiece, 15
vehicle locators with software at $400 apiece, 14 mobile radios at
$4,556 apiece and 20 portable radios at $3,783 apiece.
Dial’s list for the police department
includes three Toughbooks, a $21,838 digital-voice logging system,
two portable radios, one mobile radio, five $2,233 desk-set radios,
a $3,295 photo ID system, a $69,094 field-based reporting system
that includes 10 in-car terminals and five hand-held Bluetooth
units, a $3,250 bar-code scanning kit, a $4,000 paper shredder,
four infrared camera-binoculars at $4,500 apiece, one $13,000
hand-held thermal-imaging scope, a $1,117 crime-scene investigation
cart, a $4,112 roll-up storage container, a $2,099 generator and
$16,305 in underwater communications equipment for rescue
operations.