Minutes of March 13, 2001 Meeting

Chairman Steven Mayes called the meeting to order at 9:40.  Minutes of the February meeting were reviewed and approved except for the following.  Wiz made note that he was not listed as an attendee.  He was in attendance although his name was not on the sign-in sheet provided.  (Reminder from Secretary Treasurer—please assure you have signed in.  Thanks!)   

FINANCIAL REPORT

Checking Account Beginning Balance, February:                                              $3,040.04

-         No Activity in February                                                                                      0.00

Checking Account Ending Balance, February                                                   $3,040.04

Savings Account Balance:                                                                                $   735.99

Total Bank Balance:                                        $3,776.03

  OLD BUSINESS

Interference from Nextel.   Jack Manon made mention about an article from USA Today dated March 12, 2001 entitled “Cell phones drowning out police radios”.  Nextel was named several times in the article.  The point of interest is that a mainstream media publication has addressed it although industry trade journals have not.  Harlan Ohlson said the Nextel seems to be cooperating with Washington DOT; he cited problems on Mercer Island.   (OPEN)

Suggested Amendments to Constitution and Bylaws.  Members discussed suggested changes to the Constitution and Bylaws.  The following changes were approved:

-         Constitution

n      Article II, Part I(2),  omit “any of all”.

n      Article VI (4).  It was voted to obtain a copy of Robert’s Rules of Order.

n      Article VI (5) (6) and (7).  This wording was mandatory from IRS to comply as a 501(c)(3) organization.

n      Article VII (2)(b), Line 3, Change “unobtainable” to “unavailable”.

n      Article VII (3) (added).  “All selections made by the Executive Council or Chairman shall be ratified by the committee.”

-         ByLaws

n      Article II (3).  Should refer to Article III instead of Article II. 

n      Article IV (1), line 1.  Change “be” to “by”.

n      Article IX (3).  Should state “Minutes of the meeting will be transmitted to members at least one week prior to the upcoming meeting.”

  (CLOSED)

Unsolicited Faxes to WA EMD.  Denny stated that Kris McGowan has contacted FCC/ HQ regarding the faxes EMD is receiving on their emergency fax line and asserted this is the only process available.  She has followed their instructions-- which is to send the faxes to the Enforcement Bureau Telecommunications Consumer Division.  Curt stated they are not receiving as many faxes as before and to close out for now.  If the problem accelerates, he will bring it up again.  (CLOSED)

700 MHz Planning Meetings.   The next meeting is scheduled for March 28 at 10:00 at the Washington State Patrol District Office in Bellevue.  (OPEN)

Joint Meeting 2001. Shirley will follow up on contacts for the meeting location and date.  An agenda will be discussed at the next meeting. Other suggested topics were “web site for IC licensing information and can we establish a link on our web site for IC licensing”, and “220 MHz status”.   (OPEN)

Change in Meeting Location.  For now it looks like we can meet at the Washington State Patrol facility.  John Woodson will confirm this.  Steve said there are other conference rooms that may be available in the I-405 corridor.  He will check more on those if necessary.  (OPEN)

Bulletin Board Line.  Wiz said that no one has checked there since the last meeting.  A motion was made and seconded to shut down the bulletin board.  Wiz will post a notice that it will be shut down.  (CLOSED)

IX on 450 MHz.  Pat Buller said it was a classic case of transmitter on full power.  The problem is being resolved.  (CLOSED)

NEW BUSINESS

There was none.

ITEMS OF INFORMATION

Earthquake.  Steve Mayes pointed out that an earthquake of significant magnitude occurred on February 28 in the southern Puget Sound area.  It caused enough damage and hardship for some counties to be declared as disaster areas.  “Lessons learned” and problem areas were discussed.  Some observations were expressed such as the emphasis on additional training to police and other personnel on the appropriate use of radios during such a disaster.  It was also discussed that the EAS system could have been more effectively used during this real-time situation, both as a training tool and also to inform the public.   The various government agencies and private entities are still getting feedback.

FCC.  Dennis Anderson 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.

1)      The USS Abraham Lincoln will be testing in the vicinity of Everett on March 14-19 in the 800-900 MHz and 1.2-33 Ghz bands.

2)      Public Notice of 2/20/2001 reminds consumers about junk fax prohibition.  To date, FCC has issued 39 citations and issued five fines totaling more than $1.5 million.

3)      Public Notice dated 2/12/2001 announced that WTB intends to stop publishing paper fact sheets effective April 1, 2001.

4)      Local FCC office shut down a pirate in Oroville, Washington.  He tried to escape local officials and was jailed.

5)      Violations/Forfeitures/Contributions.

·        A PCS company, $24,000, for failure to post antenna registration numbers near base of antenna.

·        A tower company, $80,000, for failing to light properly four antenna structures.

·        A tower company, $3,000, for failing to register its antenna structure.

Antiquated Police Radios.   Steve Mayes presented an article from the Seattle Times of November 9, 2000 which reports that police and fire department radios can’t penetrate high rise buildings while cell phones can.

IX to Langley Air Force Base.  Another article from the Seattle Times reports that the University of Arkansas’ new video screen is sending signals that Langley Air Force Base mistakenly picked up as a downed plane. 

The meeting adjourned at 11:35.

Shirley Perry

Secretary-Treasurer