 A retaining wall at the Kent Repeater site.
David Mendel, King County Information Technology Emergency Radio Communications Division, Director |
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As we move into the fourth quarter of the year, we continue to work hard to get radio sites finished. Recently, we finished rebaselining the project budget for 2018. What does this mean?
The purpose of rebaselining is to objectively establish a new baseline and to provide the necessary course corrections to the scope, schedule and/or budget for the project. This practice is not uncommon especially on a project of this magnitude. Many thanks to our vendors, budget analyst and scheduling team for the many hours put into completing a very complex body of work.
Although we have made great strides over the last year in various aspects of the project, there are still delays in the project such as site leasing and equipment testing taking longer than anticipated.
Every project has its challenges but we are confident that with our dedicated hard working staff and continued cooperation from our partners we will continue making significant progress each day on our path to deliver a brand new radio emergency radio system to the King County region.
Please be sure to forward this newsletter to your colleagues in your offices and departments. We have provided contact information at the bottom of this newsletter so you can let us know if you would like us to come and talk to your organization or provide us with any feedback. Also please visit our Web site and Twitter page to keep up with more timely information about the Project.
Thank you for your continued support.
 Installing generator cables.
 The permitting process for each radio site can be quite daunting. Here is a snapshot of all the types of permits that may be required on various sites. Each radio site has different permitting needs and every permitting jurisdiction has different submittals/prerequisites. Starting with a King County Department of Permitting & Environmental Review (DPER) Land Use Permit, the application package requires zoning and administrative documents including but not limited to:
Property Information
Affidavit of Application
Parcel Number/Property Tax Account Number
Legal Description of Property
Proof of Legal Lot
Title Report
Geotechnical Reports
Structural Designs
Recorded Access Easement
Plans
Building and Architectural Plans
Site Plan
Geotechnical Reports
Structural Designs
Tower and Foundation Designs
Civil Designs
Wetlands Delineations
Critical Areas Reports
Landscaping Plans
Arborist Reports
Mechanical Designs
Site Information
Residential Clearing and Grading Questionnaire
Soil Health: Achieving the Post-Construction Soil Standard
Clearing and Grading Permit Application Worksheet
Critical Areas Designation (CAD)
King County Flood Hazard Certification form (if applicable)
Permits/Licenses
Permits subject to SEPA, NEPA, including the SEPA Environmental Checklist (ECL)
FAA License
In non-County jurisdictions, the property may be subject to conditions that ensure compatibility with nearby land uses. In this circumstance it will follow a Conditional Use Permit (CUP) process which includes all of the above as well as a public hearing.
Other permits that may be required include (but are not limited to):
• Signage
• Fire Systems
• Electrical
• Mechanical
• SEPA
• Special Use
• Clearing and Grading
 PSERN's awesome Admin III and PSERN team lead for the Annual Employee Giving Campaign, Young Jang puts puts the final touches on a gift basket of emergency essentials.
Each year King County Employees are asked to donate to the Annual Employee Giving Campaign. This year for the 2017 King County Employee Giving Campaign, the PSERN team put together an Emergency Kit themed basket! Employees will have a chance to bid on various items and proceeds will go toward the Employee Giving Administrator to make incredible differences in the lives of people that are in need. " I volunteered to lead the effort this year because I believe in giving back, said Young Jang, PSERN Admin III. "I'm so proud of my team for not hesitating to bring in items for the basket", she continued. The Employee Giving Campaign runs through the end of November.
 Ta-da!
 PSERN Budget Analyst Valerie Ceban working hard on the budget. PSERN Mascot Officer Squelch helped out.
Valerie is no stranger to King County. She started as an intern with the Finance and Business Operations Division, and quickly moved on to supporting the Director’s Office. Prior to joining the PSERN team, she was on Special Duty with the Business Insights Team (BRC), assisting in the delivery of Enterprise Resource Planning Business Intelligence applications. Recently, she led the PSERN team efforts for rebaselining and says it was no easy task!
“Although my previous experience working on operating budgets has been invaluable in re-baselining the PSERN budget, the complexities of a capital expenditure budget, specifically those of our project, have been a learning experience for me", said Valerie. "The key has been implementing past spending patterns in the estimation of future costs (where applicable), as well as predicting increases based on historical averages", she continued.
In her spare time, she has a passion for foreign languages (she speaks 5 currently and working on a 6th) and is an avid traveler. We are so glad to have her on the PSERN team!
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The PSERN team has been conducting outreach meetings with various users to talk about the new system! If you would like us to visit your organization please contact Karla Clark, Communications Manager at karla.clark@kingcounty.gov to set up a meeting.
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"Swap & Drop" when it pertains to in the radio site world is when a crew removes an existing tower first and then builds a new tower. Typically this is done the other way around. |
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 Some of the PSERN gang stopping the daily grind for a pic.
 Some days on the PSERN project are like this!
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