Rock Island Today

Rock Island County Emergency Telephone System Board met Oct. 7.

Here are the minutes provided by the board:

BOARD MEMBERS PRESENT: Beswick, Gault, McCloud, McMaster, Meyers, Ramsey, Seiver, VanKlaveren

BOARD MEMBERS ABSENT:

OTHERS PRESENT: Chris Johnson, Derek Radosevich, Milan Police Department; Steve Regenwether, Jerry Sottos, Moline Fire Department; Clint Whitney, Amber Dennis, Coal Valley Police Department; Summer O’Leary, Moline Police Department; Scott Ryckeghem, Margo Sparbel, Stacy Houzenga, QComm; Chelsea Noe, Robert Anderson, Rock Island Arsenal; Kirk Pattison, Rock Island Police Department; Tom Helbing, FirstNet; Dora Villarreal, Megan Higgins, State’s Attorney’s Office; Stacey Bollinger, SECC; Jim Uskavitch, Wayne Mooney, Christine Cary, Bi-State Regional Commission

1. Approval of the September 2, 2025 Minutes. VanKlaveren moved that the minutes of the September meeting be approved as presented. McCloud seconded, and the motion was approved.

2. Financial Reports. Cary distributed the October Accounts Payable totaling $97,753.95. She noted the Nearmap subscription is included and 75% of the cost will be reimbursed to ETSB in the spring. The listing also reflects per diem and mileage for the IPSTA conference. The following financial report was presented:

POOL Balance: $ 496,000.00

Checkbook Balance: $ 110.88

PFM LT Investments: $ 2,954,000.00

BH LT 9-Month CD: $ 500,000.00

TOTAL Monies: $ 3,950,110.88

Sept Surcharge: $ 150,672.89

3. Budget Amendment. Cary reported that the Board is 50% through the fiscal year and has expended 29.5% of the approved budget. Mid-year receipts are on track, and year-to-date expenditures remain under budget; however, she noted spending will normalize in the second half of the year when the largest obligations occur, and year-end results are expected to align closely with the budget. Cary requested a budget amendment to transfer $5,000.00 from the ArcGIS Training line item to the Supplies line item to better reflect current operational needs. VanKlaveren moved to approve the transfer of $5,000.00 from ArcGIS Training to Supplies, Meyers seconded. The motion carried by voice vote.

4. PSAP Reports.

a. County – Meyers reported they are fully staffed.

b. Rock Island – Pattison reported that they are fully staffed with one scheduled to finish training in two to three weeks.

c. QComm – Ryckeghem reported they are at 21 TCs. One is currently in training, and another completed training on September 12 and is operating independently. He noted one trainee left due to personal reasons. Three additional candidates are currently undergoing background checks and will be added to staff upon completion.

d. Arsenal – Noe reported they are still at six. Although approval was granted to hire additional staff, a hiring freeze remains in place. She also noted that due to the government shut down, they are currently working without pay. She stated she is focused on maintaining staff morale during this time.

e. SECC – Bollinger reported that, unfortunately, over the past year they have had several resignations. He noted that staffing continues to be a challenge and one that is experienced throughout the industry.

5. Secondary PSAP Reports.

a. AMT EMS – No Report.

b. Medic EMS – Andorf responded via email there was nothing to report.

6. ETSB Oversight – Gault asked about the ETSB’s responsibilities regarding performance of a 911 system and whether they are specifically only responsible for funding and providing equipment. Seiver explained that ETSB can set expectations and standards, such as dispatch protocols, but operational decisions are made by each PSAP. He noted it is a grey area when responsibilities overlap. Seiver added that while the ETSB holds authority for 911 operations through the Illinois State Police, PSAPs are also individually authorized. Gault asked if the ETSB could enforce expectations by withholding funding. Seiver stated that would be difficult, as it could impact the delivery of the 911 service. He stated that other than stating expectations and standards, we don’t have any teeth in the day-to-day operations. Beswick recalled this had been discussed previously, with the consensus being that each PSAP manages its own operations while meeting established standards. Seiver concluded that any compliance issues should be self reported to the Illinois State Police.

7. Technical Report.

a. Open CentralSquare Tickets – Mooney reported ongoing work with Robert from CentralSquare on observation, logging, and reporting. After Houzenga promptly reported a CAD issue, CentralSquare collected data and identified a needed server messaging protocol upgrade that should significantly improve performance; they will schedule the upgrade and advise on timing. CentralSquare noted this fix has been in use for three years, and most CentralSquare Pro agencies have already received it. Mooney went on to say crash counts remain low, tickets are being reviewed daily, and no impact to dispatch has been observed. Seiver expressed concern that despite working on crash issues since spring, this fix had not been mentioned, which undermines confidence. Houzenga added that the ticket she opened in March, CentralSquare repeatedly blamed our network despite our vetting. The limited visibility into their configuration of our system prevents us from independently troubleshooting. She noted that while Robert has been helpful, low crash counts may reflect dispatcher workarounds rather than resolution. Mooney has not yet received a timeline for the upgrade; Seiver asked that he press for a date this week. Regarding escalation, Seiver reported John Kelly advised leveraging the issue in contract negotiations and contacting him if CentralSquare was unresponsive. The Board agreed that Seiver will ask Kelly to engage CentralSquare’s corporate council and schedule a summit meeting between CentralSquare and the ETSB executive team prior to renewal.

b. Network Outage – Mooney reported that a network outage occurred with Geneseo Communications on September 25, impacting internet service and administrative phone lines for approximately two hours. The outage was traced to a network misconfiguration. He noted the incident highlighted our need to explore additional redundancies and options for aggregating multiple service providers to improve resilience.

c. Skydio – Mooney stated they met with Skydio, Moline, and Twin State Technical Services to discuss potential integration support between vendors and CentralSquare. Twin State is confident in their ability to assist and is preparing a quote for services.

d. IT Hire – Seiver reported that Schipper informed him the interview process for the new hire has been completed, and an offer has been extended. Seiver noted a response has not been received, but if the offer is accepted, onboarding is expected to take place later this month or early next month.

e. RICOMM Computers – Mooney reported the CAD computers at RICOMM experienced overheating issues, resulting in the need to replace them.

f. CJIS – Mooney reported they have been meeting with Factor on a weekly basis to review products and ensure they meet essential requirements as we go through the documentation.

6. Other Business.

a. CentralSquare Contract – Seiver reported that an updated quote was received for CentralSquare Pro renewal. He noted that CentralSquare has offered several incentives to encourage moving forward with the cloud; however, the renewal process has been convoluted. Although $30,000.00 in implementation fees were removed, the overall quote still increased by more than $14,000.00. The cloud quote would be approximately $100,000.00 more than the standard renewal, even when factoring in the 4-5% annual increase. O’Leary stated she could not confidently make a recommendation due to her concerns with some of the language in the contract. Seiver expressed that he believes the cloud quote should be removed from consideration, and Ramsey agreed. Gault advised proceeding with caution, and noted a subscription model could be more manageable from a budgeting perspective, which is one reason they originally chose CentralSquare Pro. Ramsey added that the RFP process will help clarify the financial structures of other CAD vendors. Bollinger commented that SECC has been satisfied with Tyler, and that the company is responsive to its customers. Seiver asked Bollinger to explore the possibility of RICO ETSB operating under SECC, which had been discussed as an option in the past. Houzenga added that Bloomington has invited the group to visit and review their Tyler CAD configuration as well.

b. CESSA – Cary reported that two of the county’s PSAPs, QComm and RICO, have been selected to be part of the first cohort for CESSA implementation. She stated there will be a meeting with the state on October 15 at 1:00 p.m. and invited any Board members interested in attending to let her know, so she can share the meeting link. Houzenga reported that the CESSA implementation date has been moved to July 2027. She noted that many preparatory steps have already been completed over the past two years. Moving forward, the focus will be on designing a co responder model that deploys the appropriate resources based on defined criteria. She acknowledged concerns expressed by the EMS Coordinator and Medical Director, but stated these may be resolved through a clearly defined process. She added that the primary challenge will be ensuring confidence in the 988 system, which will be incorporated into the law. Gault, who serves on the Regional Advisory Committee for CESSA Region Two, commended Houzenga for her leadership and extensive work in developing protocols for Rock Island County. He shared that Brenda Hampton, the lead on the State Advisory Committee, was highly impressed with how well Rock Island County had positioned itself to begin implementation, even ahead of the pilot programs. Gault concluded by thanking Houzenga for her dedication and efforts in moving the project forward.

c. ImageTrend Arsenal Fire & Integration for all Fire Agencies – Houzenga reported that Arsenal Fire has expressed interest in integrating with our software. She explained that the API opens the opportunity for non-system users to be integrated and would like to explore if any other agencies would be interested. Seiver agreed it was worth exploring.

d. RACOM – Tabled.

7. Public Comment. None.

8. Adjournment. The meeting adjourned at 11:30 a.m. The next monthly meeting is scheduled for Tuesday, November 4, 2025, at 10:00 a.m. at the Rock Island Police Department.

https://www.rockislandcountyil.gov/AgendaCenter/ViewFile/Minutes/_10072025-1010