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closePuyallup to provide neighbor with services
Bonney Lake partnership could lead to regional dispatch center
Chris Albert
The cities of Puyallup and Bonney Lake are negotiating for Puyallup to take over police dispatch services for Bonney Lake.
“(The arrangement) will do nothing to reduce the level of staffing to Puyallup calls,” said Puyallup City Manager Gary McLean.
Bonney Lake Police Chief Mike Mitchell said they have decided to move forward with a partnership with Puyallup because of service capabilities.
“It’s a system with better and more reliable coverage,” Mitchell said.
Previously, Bonney Lake had contracted its dispatch services through the city of Sumner, but those services were not renewed. Sometime in the beginning of April Puyallup will take over those services.
Until the negotiations are complete, Puyallup will take over Bonney Lake dispatch services provisionally, McLean said.
One added element is Bonney Lake’s interest in making the transition from using VHF radio dispatch to 800 MHz services, which provided clearer radio communication and a larger communication area. Puyallup has already started implementing use of an 800 MHz system. Currently, Puyallup has an 800 MHz tower on South Hill and is installing one in Edgewood.
“This may be a step toward a regional communication center,” McLean said. “Any arrangement would have to benefit all communities involved.”
The system allows for better coverage. They are targeting a 97 percent coverage area for Puyallup with the new system, while the old system only allows for about 65 to 70 percent coverage. So with the old system there are holes within the city where radio communication is limited.
It catches most blind spots the city might have had, said Ron Tiedeman, Puyallup’s Information and Technologies director.
“The clarity is going to be so much better,” he said. “It will be night and day.”
The system allows for better communication coverage and interoperability among multiple public safety services. Puyallup could also assist in the cost for Bonney Lake to move toward an 800 MHz system. Puyallup has already secured federal appropriations and some of those funding sources could assist Bonney Lake, whether it’s directly or through more attractive grant proposals.
“We should be able to work with them to defray some of those costs because it helps all the communities when we work together,” McLean said.
In most cases, agencies that are in control of funding sources encourage other agencies to work together and consolidate services, McLean said.
Either way, Puyallup is looking at about six months before making a final transition to the 800 MHz system. In the meantime, both systems will be used while any additional configurations are worked out, Tiedeman said.
Currently, the Bonney Lake Police Department provides service about 16,000 residents within the city limits and Puyallup service to about 35,000.
The level of service should not decrease for either jurisdiction, both McLean and Mitchell said.
Part of the negotiations include Bonney Lake paying for any increased staffing that is needed and dedicating a dispatcher to just Bonney Lake calls.
Under, Bonney Lake’s contract with Sumner they had a dispatcher who processed calls from Sumner and Bonney Lake.
When Mitchell was hired as chief of police, one of the things he wanted to address was better radio communication.
Jurisdictions are moving toward 800 MHz systems and at some point it will be mandated, he said.
“I wanted to be prepared and plan to move forward and be ahead of the game so to speak,” Mitchell said.
Partnering with Puyallup is a way to do that, he said. The creation of regional communication centers for emergency responders is something the area continues to see, he said. When he worked in Snohomish County they had moved to two regional communication centers.
“It makes it so much easier if you can talk on the radio,” Mitchell said. “It makes sense in the emergency management scenarios too.”
In the South Sound area, Puyallup and Tacoma have been at the front of making that conversion.
“Puyallup is a leader in this,” Mitchell said. “The more people you have involved the better your chances are.
“Two people speak louder than one and four or five people speak louder than two.”