The annual WWCIC/WCTC Joint Meeting will be held on Thursday, June 8, 2000 at Hazelmere.  More information will be forthcoming when available.

In the absence of Chairman Steve Mayes,  Vice Chairman Gerry Broerman called the meeting to order at 9:40.  Minutes of the February meeting were reviewed and approved.

FINANCIAL REPORT

Checking Account Balance:                        $2,841.00

Savings Account Balance:                           $1,243.22

OLD BUSINESS

  Washington State Patrol (WSP) Squak Repeater.  Pat Buller stated the parties involved met at the site in February to discuss the problem and try to find a solution.  None of the attempts to control the interference were successful.  WSP’s stance is that NOAH should move, possibly to Gold Mountain.  (OPEN)

  Interference from Nextel.   Wiz reported that Nextel cooperated with the City of Seattle in resolving interference to them.  One way Nextel achieved satisfactory results was by pointing their antennas higher.  They have 30 sites in Seattle and will apply lessons learned to each of them.  Sam Samuelson mentioned that Nextel said in a meeting they would test with lower power and higher antenna tilt at the Bellingham St. Joseph Hospital location; however, they have not returned yet.  A copy of the Nextel System Description was provided to everyone in the meeting.  (OPEN)

  2000 Joint Meeting With Canada.  WCTC announced the meeting will be held on June 8.  They have asked us for agenda items.  Dennis Reanier will hold a subcommittee meeting to discuss the meeting and consider whether we want to request a representative from FCC headquarters. (OPEN)

  Letter of Determination from IRS.   Shirley mailed the Form 1023, Application for Recognition of Exemption to the IRS on March 13. (OPEN)

  Members at Large.  George Bisso and Rich Tiedeman have been selected as the two new Members at Large.  (CLOSED)

Dues Assessment for 2000.  Deferred to the April meeting.  (OPEN)

  Site Standards. Pat Buller is still working on the draft rewrite. (OPEN)

  Suggested Amendments to Constitution and Bylaws.  Rich Tiedeman was not present to discuss his recommendations.  (OPEN)

  Interference Complaint Form.  Alan Robinson was not present. (OPEN)

NEW BUSINESS

There was no new business.

ITEMS OF INFORMATION

  City of Seattle.  Jon (Wiz) Wiswell gave a very informative briefing on the regional Motorola trunking system.  It is owned by four entities, including King County, and is called Smart Zone. He explained how the Smart Zone simulcast system operates with the use of computerized control channels that assign pre-designated channels to talk groups and automatically switches the groups to those channels.  Priorities are set by function—emergency has the highest priority.  This $57 million system experiences 100,000 calls a day.  The highest busy experienced has been 30 out of 13,000 units.

  WSP Items of Interest.  Pat Buller attended the APCO Regional Conference held in Portland.  Topics of discussion included the proposal to add satellite service to the 2.1 GHz band and remove public safety; cross-border issues dealing with TV Channels 60-69; and military usage of 138-144 MHz.   

  FCC Items of Interest.  Mike Rothe reported on the following FCC issues.   Most FCC documents can be found on FCC's web site www.fcc.gov.  If you would like a hard copy, please contact Shirley Perry.

-          Microwave Services.  WTB extended mandatory electronic filing date for microwave licensees to coincide with availability of electronic filing via Internet. (PN DA00-317)

-          CMRS.  On May 27, 1999, four parties filed petitions for reconsideration or clarification of FCC’s Order forbearing from imposing service provider local number portability requirements on CMRS providers until November 24, 2002.  The petitions were denied.  (Order FCC 00-47)

-          6MHz.  FCC created a new class of commercial license called “Guard Band Manager” and voted to prohibit cellular-like services in 6 MHz of guard band spectrum reserved in Ch 60-69 band. 

-          Bell Atlantic agreed to pay $13 million as result of problems fulfilling electronic orders from competitors in N.Y.

-          Cybercrime continues to dominate House and Senate committees.

-          GPS.  A Seattle FCC agent discovered an unlicensed land surveyor GPS system while conducting an unrelated investigation.  A warning letter was issued.

-          RF Exposure.  FCC reminded all licensees and grantees of September 1, 2000 deadline for compliance with regulations regarding human exposure to RF emissions.  Further information may be found at www.fcc.gov/oet/rfsafety. (PN 97948)

-          Unwanted Fax.  Get-Aways, Inc. was fined $85,500 for sending unsolicited advertisements to fax machines.

-          CB.  James Farlow of Thomasville NC was filed $7,000 for violation to CB rules.

The meeting adjourned at 11:50 a.m.

Secretary-Treasurer