The glaring deficit that raised its ugly head after Hurricane Katrina was the inability for police, firefighters and governments to communicate with one another. At the time, almost every local news outlet did a run down on how their area was doing. However, now that things have calmed down and we're more familiar with the nomenclature and how that relates to safety issues, let's see just how ready Marin really is.
As Richard Clark said on PBS's NOVA recently, the big factor is "inter-operability." Can first responders communicate effectively in a crisis? The CP talked to Marty Nichols, Executive Director of MERA, the Marin Emergency Radio Authority, to find out.

MERA is an intra-county, state-of-the-art, digital radio communication system manufactured by Motorola and should give Marin the very thing New Orleans lacked, the ability for first responders to communicate in a crisis. It's rare, only four big cities had the system when Katrina hit but more are coming on line all the time. MERA was funded in 1998 by Marin County and its municipalities and was operational, though not fully, by 2003.

MERA's website declares; "The radio system is usedÉ in the law enforcement, fire management, emergency medical, road maintenance, transit, public works, local government, and other county-based entities in Marin County. This system makesÉ it possible for members toÉ communicate with each other and within individual departments. It is designed to allow regional or wide area conversations between dispatch centers and mobile units operating throughout the county."

Happily, in regards to the lessons learned in Katrina, Nichols assures us that no single point-of-failure will be able to disable the entire system. Plus there are four levels of security. If one level goes off-line, the system will work around it. There are also a series of generators and back-up emergency generators serviced by PG&E. "We even have a system where the cop on the beat can talk to different segments of the system from a portable unit on his collar."

During original negotiations with Motorola, San Rafael City Manager Rod Gould insisted on several guarantees. With an estimated cost of $23 million this was, after all, one of the most expensive single purchases to be made in twenty years and the previous system was a total failure. He insisted on guarantees regarding workability and replacement parts. Motorola agreed.

"Actually," Director Nichols confirmed, "we dictated the terms. One unique requirement was that from the start the vendor had to guarantee the system do what we wanted it to do and that it would work reliably." There are warranties and guarantees that the system will work and continue to work. "Motorola's guarantee is 97% workability."

There are 17 MERA sites in total, 14 of which are on mountaintops. There's also the prime site and 2 partial sites. These sites, 14 of which are antenna sites, compose the "backbone" of the system and are located throughout Marin and southern Sonoma counties. There are nine sites on the Highway 101 corridor. Serving the northern section, antennas are on Mt. Burdell and Big Rock Ridge. Dollar Hill and San Pedro Ridge serve the San Rafael area. Mt. Tiburon, Mill Valley and Forbes Hill provide coverage in the Southern corridor. For extra fill-in range, antennas are placed on Mt. Tamalpais and the Marin Civic Center.

Outside the Highway 101 corridor, antennas are on Mt. Tam, Mt. Barnabe, and Pt. Reyes Hill in the central region. Bodega Bay Hill services the Dillon Beach and Tomales Bay area and the antenna on Mt. Sonoma covers the north. Dispatchers are located throughout the county at police, fire stations and at the Sheriff's Department in the Civic Center. There are also four microwave relay stations and additional dispatch centers. At the antenna sites besides the transmitters, there are generators, propane tanks and microwave relay dishes. In response to the public's concern of equipment ruining the neighborhood ambiance, equipment firms have disguised some antennae as trees or chimneys.

At this reporting, it looks like the Bolinas peninsula will be covered by an antenna on the Martinelli ranch. It was first thought that the antenna would be placed at the Bolinas Fire Station but because of citizen fears of RF, radio frequency radiation, the Bolinas Fire Department refused to grant a lease to MERA and negotiations started with the ranch. When that antenna goes on-line, the Marin County Sheriff's department will be also be able go on-line. As the Sheriff Department covers the whole county, especially West Marin, it needs ongoing full coverage of its area. When the Sheriff is able to transfer all at once, the system will be 100% up and running.

Other problems appeared on the way. Neighbors on San Rafael Hill complained of interference with TV signals and car alarms and sued to block a 60-foot antenna, claiming San Rafael didn't consider the cumulative radiation effect of dozens of antennae on another tower adjacent to the MERA site. The issue was summed up in the site's ability to pass the Environmental Impact Report. A Marin County Superior Court judge ruled the county's "need for the MERA system outweighed the residents' health concerns" and the San Rafael tower was erected.

Tiburon residents were particularly incensed when Motorola named sites for the tower, two of which were in residential areas. Mount Tiburon and Sugar Loaf neighbors accused MERA of not fully considering alternative sites, such as open space on Ring Mountain and Angel Island. Tiburon refused to grant a permit but a California Court of Appeals determined MERA didn't need a permit. The town council finally approved the Mount Tiburon site but on an interim basis and pledged to find an alternative site.

Current MERA engineer Richard Chuck stated in a San Francisco Chronicle 2002 article that "The MERA system is a state-of-the-art public safety system. As far as we know, there are no health risks. It's not like we're a big FM broadcast station operating at a whole lot more power, continuously."

However, these issues split the community. MERA Director Martin Nichols commented; " Certainly, it's not our desire to create opposition. The people of Marin are a lot safer than the rest of California because of MERA's existence."