Radio System User Group — Minutes

Radio System User Committee Minutes June 4, 2026 Draft minutes pending committee approval. The Radio System User Committee meeting was called to order by Chairman Bob Ramthun in the Ozaukee Sheriff’s Office Lobby Conference Room of the Justice Center of Ozaukee County, Port Washington. Roll call was taken, and the following committee members were present: Jim Albrinck and Rick Nelson. Others in attendance: Matthew Karpinski, Ozaukee Central Fire Department; Jeff Vahsholtz, Cedarburg Fire Department; Austin Winkler, Ozaukee County I.T.; Shawn Anderson, Ozaukee County Radio Services; John Mesich, Ozaukee County Radio Service; Joe Debour, Port Washington Fire Department; Brandon Boettcher, Port Washington Fire Department; Capt. Chad Eibs, Ozaukee Sheriff’s Office. Joe Laurin and Josh Borden were absent. 1. Call to Order at 2:32 p.m. 2. Per Chairman Bob Ramthun, the meeting was properly noticed, and the agenda was adopted. 3. Approval of November 06, 2025, Minutes. Motion by Rick Nelson, seconded by Jim Albrinck, to accept the minutes as presented. Motion carried unanimously. 4. Public Comments/Correspondence/Communications Shawn Anderson from the Oz Radio Service introduced his assistant, John Mesich 5. Vacant Fire Department Representative Rick Nelson advised that Matthew Karpinski, interim Fire Chief for Ozaukee Central Fire Department, had been approved by the County Board to fill the vacant position. Matt was appointed to the committee and took his position. 7. Vacant Police Representative Bob Ramthun reported that the vacancy has been mentioned to the police chiefs several times, but there has been no response. There was no other new information 7. Radio Back-Up Procedure. There was a discussion of who has the authority to activate the backup procedures if needed. Dispatchers can implement the procedure if needed. There was also discussion as to who gets notified of the procedure's activation. There was a question about whether the Mutual Aid Channels were programmed in the dispatch consoles, and Shawn advised that they were. 8. Fire Service Portable Radio Shoulder Mic Replacement Update Matt stated he has been reaching out to GennCom to get pricing and determine whether there are any quantity discounts. 9. Radio Template Status Update Matt and Shawn stated they were fixing an issue with how systems or zones are changed and more testing will be done. The programming of the revamped radio templates for the new radios is still in progress 10. Update on Radio Services, Condition of the Radio System, Planning for the Future of the Radio System The radios are fine for now. The Core of the system should be replaced at some point in the future; it has an expected life of about 5 years. A new Core is approximately $300,000. There was additional discussion regarding the future and planning for replacement/updating the physical radios, both mobile and portable, as they reach the end of life in the coming years. Public Safety, especially Fire and EMS, are entering budget cycles in which the planned replacement of radios, especially portables, requires careful planning. With increased call volume, Fire and EMS radios are used more frequently, like Law Enforcement radios. With this in mind, these radios will need to be replaced on a regular basis, as with Law Enforcement. Users need to know whether the County could assist with the purchase of replacement radios, as it is a county-wide system, and municipalities are limited by funding sources under State Law. County Supervisor Rick Nelson suggested that the Users Group present to the County Board a letter outlining our needs, signed by the Chiefs of Fire, EMS, and Police, along with Municipal Officials. Matt Karpinski agreed to draft a letter for this purpose and submit it to the Users for approval prior to the September 24th Users meeting. All present agreed on this initial approach. 11. Status of Harrington Beach No changes, and it will be turned on once the new templates are active. 12. MABAS Update Matt Karpinski stated there were no updates 13. Washington County Update Shawn Anderson reported no updates at this time 14. Set Next Meeting Date and Time The next meeting is set for Sept. 24th, 2026, at 2:30 p.m. 15. Adjournment There being no further business, a motion by Rick Nelson, seconded by Matt Karpinski, to adjourn the meeting at 3:27 p.m. Motion carried unanimously. CC: County Clerk Radio User Group