CITY COUNCIL: Policy Direction Regarding Enhancement to Citywide Emergency Preparedness Plan

Meeting Date: October 7, 2008
Prepared by: George E. Rawson

City Council
Agenda Item Summary

Name: Receive report and provide policy direction regarding enhancement to the citywide emergency preparedness plan.

Description: The City Council has requested an update on the status of the City’s emergency preparedness plan. The information contained in this report will be used to initiate discussion and policy direction regarding the ongoing enhancement of the City’s emergency plan.

Overall Cost:
City Funds: Unknown at this time, pending policy direction – refer to staff report for more details.

Staff Recommendation: Staff recommends the City Council discuss the strategies proposed by staff to enhance the city’s emergency preparedness plan. Staff requests comments and policy direction from Council for future action.

Important Considerations: Disaster plans, both general and specific, require regular updating to remain effective. This assessment of the City’s plan will ensure a coordinated effort is under way to identify best practices related to emergency preparedness.

Decision Record: None

Reviewed by:

______________________________ _________________
Rich Guillen, City Administrator Date


TO: MAYOR McCLOUD AND COUNCIL MEMBERS
THROUGH: RICH GUILLEN, CITY ADMINISTRATOR
FROM: GEORGE E. RAWSON, PUBLIC SAFETY DIRECTOR
DATE: SEPTEMBER 23, 2008
SUBJECT: RECEIVE REPORT AND PROVIDE POLICY DIRECTION
REGARDING ENHANCEMENT OF THE CITYWIDE
EMERGENCY PREPAREDNESS PLAN
RECOMMENDED MOTION:
Provide policy direction concerning the scope of work to enhance the City’s emergency response capabilities.

BACKGROUND:
One of the City Council goals for 2008 requires the City Administrator to review the City’s disaster response capabilities and enhance its emergency response plan. The City Administrator gave the Director of Public Safety the task to research, identify, and propose initiatives to fulfill this goal. Before discussing future enhancements to the City’s emergency plan, it is important to know what plans and/or actions already have been accomplished. The following information summarizes City actions concerning preparation for a major emergency, including compliance with Federal emergency management mandates.

􀂾 Federal Mandate NIMS: Following the 2001 terrorist attacks, the Federal government issued a response mandate related to disaster management. This mandate, known as the National Incident Management System (NIMS), provides a consistent nationwide template to enable Federal, State, and local governments and private-sector and nongovernmental organizations to work together effectively and efficiently to prepare for, prevent, respond to, and recover from domestic incidents, regardless of cause, size, or complexity, including acts of catastrophic terrorism. State, County and local governments must adopt NIMS as a condition for Federal preparedness assistance. In addition, all local emergency personnel with a direct role in emergency preparedness, incident management or response must complete NIMS training. In August 2006, the City Council adopted a Resolution approving NIMS as the official regulatory guidance for emergency response. Consequently, appropriate City staff completed the required NIMS training course. Many employees have completed NIMS training and more employees are scheduled for additional NIMS training in 2008-09.

􀂾 Federal Mandate DMA 2000: This federal mandate, entitled the Disaster Mitigation Act 2000 (DMA 2000), required local governments to develop a Local Hazard Mitigation Plan (LHMP). Failure to do would result in the loss of Federal funding eligibility, including grants, in the event of a disaster. In October of 2007 the City Council adopted a Resolution approving Carmel’s LHMP as part of the County of Monterey Multi Jurisdictional Hazard Mitigation Plan. On January 23, 2008, the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) officially certified the City of Carmel-by-the-Seal in compliance with DMA 2000.

􀂾 CERT (Community Emergency Response Team) training classes – In 2004 the Fire Department began the CERT program to educate the public about disaster preparedness for hazards that may affect the area and train them in basic disaster response skills. Ten classes were held with more than 200 graduates. These graduates now have the knowledge and understanding to remain self-sustaining for the first few days following a significant event.

􀂾 Seismic Retrofit – In 2006 the Fire Department’s seismic retrofit project was completed. The fire station is now safer for both personnel and equipment should an earthquake occur.

􀂾 Self Contained Breather Apparatus (SCBA) – In 2007 the City acquired a grant to purchase a new in-house air compressor. The former portable compressor was mobile and had to be shared with other fire departments pursuant to a Joint Powers Authority. The compressor was not capable of fully pressurizing the Carmel Fire
Department SCBA cylinders. The new compressor has mitigated all of these issues. It is housed in the Fire Department and can fully pressurize the SCBAs and is exclusively available to Carmel fire fighters on a 24/7 basis. The City now is able to be self-sustaining with this critical emergency equipment.

􀂾 Fire Department Generator – FY 08-09 City funds were appropriated to replace the existing antiquated generator with a new state-of-the-art generator that will fully power the Fire Department in the event of an outage. Preparations are now under way to have this generator installed in 2008.

􀂾 Evacuation Route Map – A map depicting which streets will serve as evacuation routes was prepared and presented to the City Council during the September 12, 2006 regular meeting. This map will be incorporated as part of the city’s new Emergency Operations Plan.

􀂾 Fire department radio equipment – The City acquired a grant to buy new mobile and portable radios for the Fire Department. These new radios are compliant with new FCC narrow banding and preserve Fire Department interoperable communications with allied public safety agencies.

􀂾 Tsunami county plan and inundation map – Staff participated in the Monterey County Tsunami working group which worked to finalize the Monterey County Operational Area Tsunami Incident Response Plan, dated June 2008. Carmel-by-the-Sea is referenced in the plan (Annex H), and the plan is referenced in the new draft Emergency Operations Plan, which will be used in future City EOC activations.

􀂾 Red Cross liaison: The city’s Emergency Operations Plan includes a position for Red Cross representation to be physically present in the EOC. It is essential for Red Cross to work side by side with EOC management to coordinate sheltering, assistance, and press releases. The Red Cross has various sites already identified and agreements in place to use these sites for sheltering.

STAFF REVIEW
Staff is working on several projects to further enhance the City’s emergency preparedness. A list of these projects, their objectives, and an estimate of completion date are listed below. Staff is seeking policy direction concerning the scope of work related to any one or more of these projects. In addition to these projects, staff invites suggestions regarding other strategies that would enhance the City’s emergency preparedness.

EOP (Emergency Operations Plan) updated: The existing EOP is being updated to ensure compliance with Federal and State guidelines. This plan will be presented to City Council for adoption before the end of this calendar year and will include detail on how regional assistance is acquired to assist the City manage emergencies. Evacuation - The update will include a beach evacuation plan and an evacuation route map for partial of Citywide evacuation. The plan also specifies how mutual aid
for regional resources is activated.

Non-ambulatory residents – A partial list of known non-ambulatory residents is being compiled, in cooperation with the Carmel Foundation. This list, and other sources of information, will be used to assist residents with special needs.

NIMS (National Incident Management System) & SEMS (Standardized Emergency Management System) training: A Citywide training schedule has been finalized to ensure all essential City personnel complete the necessary NIMS and SEMS training.
The training is ongoing throughout 2008-09.

EOC (Emergency Operations Center) Training: Staff assigned to the EOC will participate in a training exercise planned for early 2009. Tabletop Exercises (TTX), training, and one EOC activation occurred in 2008. The 2009 exercise will continue to incorporate NIMS and SEMS protocols as part of the overall training experience.

TAC (Temporary Assistance Center)/EOC Generator Project: Plans are under way to replace the existing EOC generator with a new generator. The new generator will have more capacity so that it can fully energize the EOC, Police Department, Public Works Department, and the Carmel Youth Center (CYC) as a new addition. The CYC was identified as an ideal location to operate a Temporary Assistance Center (TAC). The TAC would function as a resource center to provide information, care, and support to residents needing assistance. Local Red Cross representatives are interested in this project, and view the TAC as an excellent location to receive, stage, and manage displaced residents who may need shelter. The TAC also has a fully operational kitchen that could be used by volunteers and/or a service organization for meal preparation.

Telephone Emergency Notification System (TENS) – Earlier this year, the City Council approved the City to partner with the County of Monterey in applying for a state grant to purchase a telephone emergency notification system. The grant was approved and the County recently purchased this system, which will be available to the City of
Carmel-by-the Sea. The TENS system proved itself to be an invaluable resource for facilitating mass evacuations during the recent statewide wildland fires. In the final months of 2008, this system will be programmed and should be capable of being
operated by City staff.

NGEN (Next Generation) Radio Project: New Federal regulations require changes be made to public safety radios. Monterey County took the lead to implement these changes, and all cities in the County must participate in this project in order to preserve and enhance interoperable communications. As a participant, Carmel-by-the-Sea has allocated capital funds in the FY 08-09 and FY 09-10 budget to pay for costs associated with this project.

Carmel Foundation Generator Project - The Carmel Foundation is in the final stages of installing a new generator to keep the Foundation functional during power outages. The Foundation serves many local senior citizens in and around the area, and the new generator will operate the lights, heating, and kitchen.

Citizen Volunteer Assistance Program (CVAP) – An opportunity exists to develop a citizen volunteer assistance program to serve as an additional resource to disaster management. These volunteers could be trained and used for a variety of tasks including, but not limited to, notifications, evacuations, telephone support, and other critical support tasks related to emergency management. Meetings occurred earlier this year with members of the former St. Bernards, some of whom expressed interest in becoming volunteers.

Library Disaster Plan – The Library is drafting a disaster preparedness plan to identify critical tasks and what roles must accomplished during an emergency, and by whom. This plan will guide and facilitate specific actions the Library will perform to mitigate and operationally recover from events such as a fire or earthquake. Once the plan is finalized and approved, the staff will begin training.

Disaster Preparedness Education - Although CERT training is still available by nearby allied fire departments, more effort must be devoted to community outreach. This effort may include an annual disaster preparedness class presented by staff, and/or outreach efforts such as providing written information to all City residents.

FISCAL IMPACT:
The fiscal impact will vary depending on policy direction. Many of the projects referenced in this report are funded in the FY 2008/09 – 2010/11 budget.
The EOC Generator is estimated to cost $ 201,000. The capital improvement budget allocates $40,000 to be spent in FY 2010/2011 for design. The remaining $161,000 must be included in future budget discussions. A grant application was submitted to the U.S. Department of Homeland Security to pay for the new EOC generator. Unfortunately, the City just learned that it was not awarded this grant since other, much larger, competing jurisdictions received preference for funding.

SUMMARY:
The information contained in this report is intended to assist City Council provide policy direction related to our City’s emergency response capabilities. Staff will focus time and effort to complete the necessary tasks to enhance our level of disaster readiness.