Larned City Council meeting at a glance
Here is a brief look at what the Larned City Council did Tuesday evening:
• Presented outgoing Ward 1 Councilmember Carroll Bennett with a plaque for his service to the council and the community. Incoming members of the council, including re-elected council members Kim Barnes, Ward 4; Terry Clark, Ward 2; Mayor William Nusser; Rusty McClendon, Ward 1; and Josh Riedel, Ward 3, were administered the oath of office.
• Reorganized the Council for 2024. Kim Barnes was renewed as council president, and the following banks were designated official city depositories: Equity Bank, BMO, Farmers Bank & Trust, and Fusion Bank.
• In the consent agenda, approved waiving requirements of Generally Accepted Accounting Principles and approved mayoral signature for the letter of engagement for the 2023 city audit and non-auditing services at a rate not to exceed $18,180 by Adams Brown. Non-auditing services include budget planning assistance, preparation of the 2025 budget and other services requested by the city for FY 2024.
• Approved Appropriations Ordinance No. 12 for $701,136.72.
• Heard a presentation by Larned Police Department Capt. TJ Hearn on the state-mandated encryption compliance policy for restricted communications by entities using the 800 mhz system.
• In new business, approved renewal of the interlocal agreement extension for the Pawnee County Neighborhood Revitalization Plan.
• At the request of Councilman Barnes, discussed creating an account for the Larned Fire Department to receive carryover of funds as capital improvement for the department for purchases and expenses. The topic was tabled for further discussion at a future meeting.
• Discussed updates on the downtown streetscape project.
• Heard a staff presentation by Josh Kraisinger, Parks and Cemetery superintendent.
A reception for Larned Fire Chief Leonard Herrman, who is retiring Feb. 3, was held immediately following the council meeting.
LARNED — In its first meeting of 2024, the Larned City Council was presented with its first challenge – that of acquiring all new radios for the Larned Police Department.
It’s a task that will take five years, according to LPD Sgt. TJ Hearn. In an informal presentation to the council Tuesday evening, Hearn explained that the new radios will be necessary to maintain state standards regarding restricted radio traffic among law enforcement and other first-response agencies.
“The FBI criminal justice and information systems policy came down back in 2022 and they have been trying to interpret it ever since,” Hearn noted.
After spending time in meetings with the Kansas Department of Transportation in December, Hearn said that while the mandate has gone into effect, the state has provided a grace period for agencies to move toward compliance over the next 4-5 years, he said.
“What it’s going to mean for us is that any criminal justice information, such as criminal history reports, warrants, vehicle registrations and driver’s licenses, a lot of the stuff that we run, is going to have to be on encrypted channels. That went into effect immediately, but we don’t have to have it done immediately.”
Currently, the LPD’s radio stock doesn’t meet the new requirements, he said.
“Right now, we have none that will be in compliance with the state,” he said. “We’re going to need 8-9 radios, so that we have an extra in case one has to go in for repair or replacement due to damage.”
The new radios with encryption capability aren’t cheap, he noted.
“These new radios that we’re talking about, they cost about $10,000 depending upon the accessories you add, including the ability to talk on the VHF system,” he said.
The VHF currently has paging, fire department and EMS personnel communications, and also the 800 system.
The radios also provide GPS, with the ability to track officers at any point in the field, and also the ability to prioritize communications while in pursuit.
“It will sound an alarm to our dispatch center and isolate their traffic so it goes to priority over any other traffic. It sends all that information to all the other officers who have those same radios.
“I’m not asking for any money tonight; I’m just going to lay out a plan for you guys and let you know what we’re dealing with and looking at,” he said.
“So, we are going to have to start planning for it as a PD, not only because it affects our compliance. We are going to need radios that are capable of talking on those frequencies.
“Most of the agencies we are working with are moving toward encryption. Edwards County is moving its personnel and fire folks to encryption channels. Barton County is already starting to do so and KHP is slowly transitioning,” he said.
Support services
The 800 system would require a tower that supports the county. The last quote for a tower was about $1.6 million. “In a very short timeframe, it’s gone up almost double,” Hearn said.
Dispatch supervisor Vanessa Feldman noted that the city’s most recent command center purchase already includes encryption capability.
“Some of the older stuff we’ll have to start cycling out,” she said. Feldman noted that funding for dispatch will come from 911 funding accounts, but “it’s good to get a plan started for the next 4-5 years.”
Hearn hopes that his purchase proposal over the next five years would top out at about $70,000, with $40,000 for handhelds and $30,000 for in-car units for the department’s six-vehicle fleet.
“We’ve also gone to the County Attorney’s office and he’s promised us some money from the Diversion Fund,” Hearn said.
“What we’re looking at is probably getting a couple of those radios this year, trade out some that are out of service. We are hoping to get a couple per year, maybe to spend about $40,000 in hand-held radios. After that’s completed, we’ll look at getting car radios,” he said.
The current car radios aren’t encryption capable.
“We have six cars in service at the moment. They are a little bit cheaper, maybe about $5,000 per radio.
“Eventually, we are looking at getting our fire folks over and our EMS folks. It is an ever-evolving project,” he said.
