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HER PEER.[1. CALL SESSION TO ORDER]
IT'S AT SIX O'CLOCK, CALLED THE CITY COUNCIL WORK SESSION ORDER FOR THURSDAY, OCTOBER 12TH, 2023.BUT ROLL CALL COUNCILOR THOMPSON.
UH, GORDON COUNCILOR WILCOTT, AND CUSTOMER KOHLER HERE.
[3.1. Emergency Management Overview and Community Preparedness Discussion (Bill Zito) ]
FIRST ITEM, EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT OVERVIEW AND COMMUNITY PREPAREDNESS DISCUSSION.ALRIGHT, MR. T COUNCIL MEMBERS, MR. IB, UH, GOOD EVENING.
UH, BILL ZITO, THE EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT COORDINATOR.
TONIGHT, WE'RE GONNA GO THROUGH A COUPLE OF, UH, ITEMS HERE.
FIRST THING I'M GONNA DO IS TAKE THE OPPORTUNITY TO KIND OF, UH, BRIEFLY GIVE YOU, UH, I WANNA CALL IT A ONE OH ONE ON EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT, BUT REALLY A MORE OF A STATE OF WHERE WE ARE AND WHAT WE'RE DOING, UH, AND THINGS THAT YOU NEED TO KNOW ON HOW WE'RE OPERATING OR HOW WE'RE GONNA OPERATE IN EMERGENCY.
UM, SO I'M GONNA, YOU ALL HAVE A COPY OF THE SLIDESHOW.
UH, BUT YOU'D LIKE TO TAKE NOTES OR WHATEVER THAT'S THERE FOR YOUR CONVENIENCE.
SO THE SECOND THING WE'RE GONNA GO INTO ONCE I GET THROUGH THIS IS, UH, REVISIT THE TASK FORCE EMERGENCY PREPAREDNESS TASK FORCE AND WHERE YOU ALL WANT TO GO, UH, IN TERMS OF KEEPING THAT A FORMAL TASK FORCE COMMITTEE OR BOARD, OR, UH, CREATING A EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT SUPPORT GROUP, IF YOU WILL.
AND WE'LL GET INTO THAT IN DETAIL GOING FORWARD.
THAT'S THE TWO ITEMS WE'RE GONNA COVER TONIGHT.
UH, ALRIGHT, SO BASIC, UH, DEFINITION AND KIND OF AN ILLUSTRATION OF WHAT IS EMERGENCY AND DISASTER MANAGEMENT, RIGHT? UM, YOU KNOW, WE OPERATE ON FIVE, UH, PILLARS, IF YOU WILL.
UM, YOU KNOW, WE ARE, I SAY WE, THE EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT COMMUNITY IS KIND OF THE EVERYTHING, THAT RESPONSE OR EVERYTHING THAT THE POLICE AND FIRE DEPARTMENT DON'T DO OR DON'T HAVE THE ABILITY TO DO, RIGHT? THEY FOCUS ON THE RESPONSE PIECE OF THIS.
UM, SOME OF IT IS, UH, OR SOME OF WHAT THEY DO IS ON THE PREVENTION SIDE, BUT WHEN YOU INCLUDE MITIGATION, PREPAREDNESS, AND RECOVERY, IT'S NOT SOMETHING THEY TYPICALLY HAVE THE BANDWIDTH OR THE, UH, REALLY THE SKILL SETS TO FOCUS ON.
SO THAT'S WHERE EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT MANAGEMENT PROFESSIONALS COME IN AND PROGRAMS COME IN.
WE BUILD A COMPREHENSIVE, UH, PROGRAM FOR A JURISDICTION THAT LOOKS AT IN DETAIL AND PLANS FOR ALL OF THESE OTHER ASPECTS.
SO, YOU KNOW, YOUR FOUNDATION IS HAZARD IDENTIFICATION AND RISK ASSESSMENT.
UH, THAT BUILDS INTO THE OTHER PREVENTION, MITIGATION, PREPAREDNESS, RESPONSE AND RECOVERY.
AND THEN YOU GET INTO THINGS LIKE CONTINUITY AND RISK MANAGEMENT PROGRAMS THAT START BUILDING THAT VERY COMPREHENSIVE PROGRAM THAT DOES A COUPLE THINGS FOR YOU.
ONE, IT ENABLES THE COMMUNITY TO RESPOND AND WILL RECOVER A LOT FASTER, MINIMIZES THE IMPACT ON THE JURISDICTION.
SO THAT'S BASICALLY WHAT EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT IS IN A NUTSHELL.
UH, ALL RIGHT, SO COUPLE GOVERNING LAWS AND REGULATIONS.
UH, THE FEDERAL LEVEL, YOU HAVE THE ROBERT T. STAFFORD ACT, AND THIS IS WHAT KIND OF GOVERNS ALL OF THE EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT GRANTS, THE PUBLIC ASSISTANCE, INDIVIDUAL ASSISTANCE, UM, MITIGATION GRANTS, ALL THOSE THINGS ARE COVERED UNDER THE STAFFORD ACT.
AND THEN YOU GO INTO TEXAS CODE, UH, TITLE FOUR, CHAPTER FOUR 18, UH, WHICH GIVES US OUR TEXAS REGULATIONS, IF YOU WILL.
THAT'S WHERE WE UNDERSTAND THAT THE MAYOR IS THE ACTUAL DIRECTOR OF EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT IN THE CITY, UM, FOR LEGALITY TERMS, RIGHT? SO IT'S LIKE YOU'RE THE MAYOR, RIGHT? BUT THEN YOU'RE ALSO THE EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT DIRECTOR.
I'M THE DIRECTOR OF EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT AS A DEPARTMENT, BUT ON THE EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT COORDINATOR UNDER YOU, RIGHT? SO THERE'S A DISTINCTION THERE.
AND THEN OF COURSE, THE WILLIAMSON COUNTY AND CITY OF FEDERAL ORDINANCES.
ALL RIGHT? SO I WANTED TO KIND OF GO THROUGH WITH YOU ALL THE PLANS, EMERGENCY SUPPORT FUNCTIONS, AND ANNEXES THAT WERE REQUIRED TO WRITE.
OKAY? UM, THE ONLY LEGAL REQUIRED DOCUMENT IS THE EMERGENCY OPERATIONS BASE PLAN, IS WHAT WE CALL IT.
WHAT THE BASE PLAN DOES IS ESSENTIALLY IDENTIFIES WHO IS RESPONSIBLE FOR ALL OF THE EMERGENCY SUPPORT FUNCTIONS.
THERE'S 15 EMERGENCY SUPPORT FUNCTIONS THAT GO INTO THIS, AND I'VE, YOU KNOW, YOU CAN SEE 'EM ONE THROUGH 15 THERE, TRANSPORTATION.
WHAT I'VE DONE IS ON THE SIDE, KIND OF GIVE YOU AN INDICATION OF WHO IS RESPONSIBLE FOR THAT E S F, MEANING, WHO WILL ACTUALLY DO THAT FUNCTION IN AN EMERGENCY.
UH, WE'RE WORKING WITH THE I S D BECAUSE THEY HAVE ALL THE BUSES, RIGHT? SO WE'RE DOING AN I L A WITH THEM TO TRY TO MAKE SURE THAT'S ALL LOCKED IN.
UM, COMMUNICATION AND TECHNOLOGY, SOME OF THAT'S IT DEPARTMENT, BUT A LOT OF THAT IS WILCO, EMERGENCY COMM OR COMMS. WE DON'T HAVE 9 1 1 WITHIN OUR JURISDICTION, SO WE RELY ON THAT.
UH, PUBLIC WORKS AND ENGINEERING, THAT ONE'S OBVIOUS.
EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT IS OBVIOUSLY ME.
UM, MASS CARE, EMERGENCY ASSISTANCE HOUSING, HUMAN SERVICES.
E SF SIX IS THE, UH, AMERICAN RED CROSS, WILLIAMSON COUNTY, CITIES AND HEALTH DISTRICT, AND WILCO, E M S COMBINED.
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IN THAT, UH, LOGISTICS MANAGEMENT AND RESOURCE SUPPORT, UH, THAT IS PUBLIC WORKS RIGHT NOW.WE DON'T REALLY HAVE A BIG LOGISTICAL APPARATUS IN THE CITY OF HU THIS POINT.
UM, BUT THEY WOULD HAVE TO COVER DOWN ON WAREHOUSING, YOU KNOW, AND ORDERING LARGE QUANTITIES OF LOGISTICS, UH, WHERE WE SEARCH AND RESCUE, UH, THAT'S OBVIOUSLY E S D OIL AND HAZARDOUS MATERIALS OR HAZMAT, UH, IS OB IS E S D NUMBER THREE.
ALSO, THIS ONE, 11 IS A LITTLE TRICKY.
ANIMALS, AGRICULTURE AND NATURAL RESOURCES, IT'S ON HU PD BECAUSE OF THE ANIMAL CONTROL PIECE OF THIS.
OBVIOUSLY, THEY DON'T HAVE ALL OF THOSE ASPECTS COVERED.
SO IT'LL BE A JOINT EFFORT THROUGH OTHER, UH, ASSETS, WHETHER IT BE THE COUNTY OR STATE LEVEL, UH, BASED ON WHAT OUR NEEDS ARE.
UH, ENERGY DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC WORKS.
AGAIN, WE DON'T OWN OUR OWN ELECTRIC COMPANY HERE, RIGHT? IT'S ENCORE, UH, BUT THEY ARE THE DIRECT CONTRACT WITH THOSE ENTITIES.
UM, PUBLIC SAFETY AND SECURITY IS OBVIOUSLY HUD, O P D, LONG-TERM COMMUNITY RECOVERY.
THIS IS FINANCE, IT'S ME, AND IT'S ALSO COUNCIL, RIGHT? SO THIS IS ALL THE FINANCIAL STUFF THAT WE, YOU KNOW, HAVE TO SPEND ON RECOVERING, WHETHER IT'S, YOU KNOW, HOW MUCH ARE WE GONNA SPEND ON DEBRIS REMOVAL? HOW ARE WE GONNA DO THAT? WE KIND OF JUST WENT THROUGH THAT AS AN EXAMPLE.
UM, BUT THE LONG-TERM RECOVERY PIECE IS A COLLECTIVE EFFORT.
UH, EXTERNAL AFFAIRS, THAT'S COMPS, RIGHT? THAT'S HOW WE DO OUR PUBLIC INFORMATION, UH, HOW WE COMMUNICATE TO THE PUBLIC, UH, THE MEDIA, MANAGING THE MEDIA, ET CETERA.
AND THEN WE GET INTO ANNEXES ALERT, WARNING, CONTINUITY OF OPERATIONS, UH, WHICH IS A VERY CRITICAL ASPECT.
UM, BUT THAT'S WHERE WE'LL HAVE TO DEFINE ALL OF OUR ESSENTIAL FUNCTIONS AS A CITY.
SO WHETHER THAT'S ESSENTIAL GOVERNMENT FUNCTIONS OR GOVERNING FUNCTIONS THAT THE COUNCIL HAS, THE MAYOR HAS, AND THEN CITY STAFF NEEDS DEPARTMENT.
WHAT ARE OUR CRITICAL SERVICES THAT WE HAVE TO PROVIDE NO MATTER WHAT THE EMERGENCY? AND THEN HOW ARE WE GONNA DO THAT? SO, WHAT'S PLAN A, B, AND C, ESSENTIALLY? SO FOR NUMBER SIX, THEY'RE ALSO ESSENTIAL TO REACH OUT TO THE I S D BECAUSE THEY HAVE THE LARGEST BUILDINGS IN ALL THE TOWN, AND IT'S SURROUNDED ON ALL, THROUGHOUT ALL THE NEIGHBORHOODS AND EVERYTHING.
SO IT SEEMS LIKE THAT'S A MISSED PIECE.
NO, WE'RE ACTUALLY WORKING WITH THE, WE'RE DOING A FACILITIES I L A RIGHT NOW THAT ESSENTIALLY CAPTURES WHATEVER THE RESOURCES THE I S D HAS THAT THEY CAN PROVIDE IN AN EMERGENCY, THEY'RE GONNA BE WILLING TO DO SO.
SO WHETHER THAT'S FOR SHELTERING OPERATIONS, UTILIZING MAYBE A GYM, UH, WHETHER IT'S OUR E O C, WHICH IS ACTUALLY ONE OF THEIR FACILITIES WE'RE GONNA BORROW.
THEIR TRANSPORTATION FACILITY TRAINING ROOM IS GONNA BE OUR E O C.
RIGHT NOW, IT'S THE ONLY FACILITY IN HUDU THAT HAS A BACKUP GENERATOR, HAS SHOWERS, HAS A KITCHEN, UH, AND HAD ENOUGH SPACE TO HOUSE EVERYBODY THAT WOULD BE IN THE EMERGENCY OPERATION CENTER RESPONDING TO A DISASTER.
SO WE'RE RELYING ON THE I S D FOR MORE THAN JUST BUSES.
WE'RE ALSO LOOKING FOR OTHER ENTITIES AS WELL.
SO PART OF THIS IS, YOU KNOW, BUSINESSES, FAITH-BASED, FAITH-BASED ORGANIZATIONS, WHOEVER'S WILLING TO COME TO TABLE WITH A RESOURCE, UH, YOU KNOW, UH, A SUPPLY OR A FACILITY, WHATEVER THEY CAN BRING TO THE TABLE TO HELP, UH, WE'LL, WE'LL DO SOME KIND OF AGREEMENT WITH THEM AND USE THEM IF WE NEED TO IN A DISASTER.
AND THAT'S PART OF THE WHOLE COMMUNITY APPROACH.
AND EVERYBODY'S A STAKEHOLDER, RIGHT? SO WE'RE GONNA GET INTO A LOT OF THAT PART OF IT AS WE GET INTO THE MEMO AND WHAT WE'RE TRYING TO DO WITH THE VOLUNTEER SIDE OF THINGS.
UH, SO CONTINUE ON WITH ANNEXES, UM, VOLUNTEER AND DONATION COORDINATION.
SO ALL THE BASIC APPARATUSES THAT WE HAVE TO DO, WE HAVE TO HAVE A PLAN WORK, RIGHT? UM, AND REGARDLESS OF THE FACT THAT ONLY ONE IS LEGALLY REQUIRED, AND THAT HAS TO BE APPROVED BY, UM, BOTH THE STATE AND THE FEDERAL LEVEL, TTO AND FEMA, ALL OF THESE NEED TO BE DONE, AND ALL OF THEM WILL BE DONE.
WE HAVE QUITE A BIT OF 'EM WRITTEN UP.
THE CHALLENGE IS THE TIME IT TAKES TO GET EVERY STAKEHOLDER THAT'S, THAT HAS A RESPONSIBILITY IN THERE TO VET WHAT THE LANGUAGE IS AND WHAT THEY ARE OR NOT ABLE TO DO, RIGHT? SO ONCE WE HAVE THAT COMPREHENSIVE PACKAGE, IT'LL GO TO COUNCIL AND FOR YOU, SIR, FOR YOUR SIGNATURE, AND THEN WE WILL, WE'LL PUBLISH THAT.
SO WE'RE MAKING A LOT OF PROGRESS.
WE'VE HAD A LOT OF MEETINGS AND A LOT OF WORK DONE.
IT'S JUST ALL THE FINE TUNING AND GETTING THOSE MEETINGS TO HAPPEN.
UM, SO I THINK THAT'S BASICALLY IT HERE.
UM, THERE ARE ANY QUESTIONS ON WHAT PLANS WE HAVE TO WRITE AND WHAT IT TAKES TO KIND OF PUT THAT TOGETHER.
ALL RIGHT? SO MAIN PRIORITIES AND FOCUS AREAS AND DELIVERABLES, RIGHT? SO, NUMBER ONE, WHEN I APPROACH THINGS, I LOOK AT IS WHAT, WHAT DO I NEED TO ACCOMPLISH THE MISSION TOMORROW, RIGHT? OR TONIGHT, OR HOW FAST, YOU KNOW, WHAT IS THAT CRITICAL NEED THAT WE'VE GOTTA HAVE READY TO GO IF SOMETHING HAPPENS, UH, IN THE NEXT WHATEVER? UM, THE EMERGENCY OPERATION CENTER IS THE KEY PIECE OF THAT, RIGHT? SO IF WE HAVE A MAJOR DISASTER HERE, UH, WE HAVE TO HAVE SOME TEAM PUT TOGETHER TO BE ABLE TO START WORKING THROUGH, UH, THAT DISASTER, RIGHT? BUT LAST TIME WE HAD THE ICE STORM, IT WAS ME.
AND SO IMMEDIATELY WE START BUILDING THAT
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OUT.SO WE'LL GET INTO SOME OTHER SLIDES THAT SHOW YOU WHAT THAT LOOKS LIKE.
BUT WE ESSENTIALLY NOW HAVE A TEAM IDENTIFIED THE SELECTIONS HAVE BEEN MADE FOR WHO'S GONNA BE IN WHAT POSITIONS.
I'VE WRITTEN AN S O P, UH, AND WE'RE GONNA TRAIN TO THAT S O P AND THEN CONTINUE TRAINING ON SCENARIOS AND SITUATIONS, ET CETERA.
THERE'S ALSO A MANDATORY REQUIREMENT NOW FOR ALL OF THE FOLKS ON THE E O C SUPPORT TEAM AND ALL THE LEADERSHIP STAFF TO TAKE AT LEAST FIVE OF THE INDEPENDENT STUDY COURSES.
FEMA, UM, PUTS OUT, THEY CAN GO ONLINE, TAKE 'EM FOR FREE, BUT THERE'S FIVE OF 'EM THEY HAVE TO TAKE.
UH, AND THEN WE'RE GONNA MOVE ON TO ADVANCED, UH, TRAINING, UH, THAT GETS INTO INCIDENT COMMAND SYSTEM, ET CETERA.
SO WE WILL WORK TOWARDS GETTING A PROFESSIONAL E O C.
UM, WE ARE IN THE VERY CRAWL STAGES RIGHT NOW, OF COURSE, RIGHT? BUT WE'RE GONNA GET THERE, UH, AND IN EXERCISES, RIGHT? SO THE MANTRA IS, YOU KNOW, YOU DEVELOP YOUR PLAN, YOU TRAIN THE PLAN, AND THEN YOU EXERCISE THE PLAN.
YOU FIGURE OUT WHAT'S WRONG, YOU DO THE A A R AFTER ACTION REVIEW, AND YOU GO BACK THROUGH THAT CYCLE AGAIN.
UM, PLANS AND COORDINATION OR PLANS AND PLANNING, COORDINATION.
SO THESE ARE JUST SOME OF THE ENTITIES THAT I HAVE TO, UH, COORDINATE WITH.
OBVIOUSLY ALL HUDDLE DEPARTMENTS, UH, WILLIAMSON COUNTY EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT, WILLIAMSON COUNTY, E M S, EMERGENCY COMMUNICATIONS, UH, WILLIAMSON COUNTY HEALTH AND, UH, CITY OR CITIES AND HEALTH DISTRICT, UH, ALL THE NON-PROFIT ORGANIZATIONS.
AMERICAN RED CROSS, SALVATION ARMY, YOU NAME IT.
UM, LOCAL BUSINESSES AND VOLUNTEERS.
WERE STARTING TO CHIP AWAY AT THAT.
I'M GONNA MEET WITH THE CHAMBER OF CONGRESS OR CONGRESS CHAMBER OF COMMERCE TOMORROW, UH, AND START TALKING TO THEM.
UM, TATU, TEXAS DIVISION EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT, FEDERAL EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT AGENCY, UH, C**K CAP, UH, CAPCO IS CAPITAL AREA, A CONSORTIUM OF GOVERNMENTS.
THE HOMELAND SECURITY SIDE OF THAT, I GO TO THEIR MEETINGS.
WE'RE TYPED IN FOR SEVERAL ITEMS, WHETHER IT BE REGIONAL NOTIFICATION SYSTEM, WHETHER IT BE SITUATION REPORTS, REQUEST FOR ASSISTANCE, ALL THAT'S TIED TO CAP.
AND THEN CAT RAC IS THE MEDICAL SIDE.
SO CAPITAL, CAPITAL AREA TRAUMA REGIONAL ADVISORY COMMITTEE.
UH, THEY DO THE MEDICAL RESPONSE SIDE OF, OR THE MEDICAL COMMUNITY RESPONSE FOR MAJOR DISASTERS.
UM, AND THE NEIGHBORING JURISDICTIONS, YOU KNOW, TALKING TO OUR NEIGHBORING EMCS OR FIRE CHIEFS, WHATEVER THEY HAVE IN PLACE TO MAKE SURE THAT WE'RE, YOU KNOW, IN LOCKSTEP AND, AND HELP EACH OTHER MUTUALLY IF, IF NEEDED.
SO THIS IS SOMETHING THAT WE HAVE TO HAVE IN ORDER TO, UH, DO HAZARD MITIGATION GRANTS, RIGHT? SO I'LL GIVE YOU AN EXAMPLE OF A HAZARD MITIGATION GRANT.
WE IN THE CITY OF HUDU DON'T HAVE A LOT OF GENERATORS ON BUILDINGS RIGHT NOW.
SO IF I WANT TO SHELTER PEOPLE, UH, AND I NEED TO MAKE SURE HVAC IS GOING, OR THEY HAVE POWER, RIGHT? UM, THERE'S ONE OR TWO BUILDINGS.
UH, WHICH CAPACITY TO HOUSE AND SLEEP PEOPLE IN HERE IS NOT REALLY REALISTIC.
WE DON'T HAVE THE HYGIENE ABILITY AND ALL THAT THAT GOES WITH IT.
SO WE CAN MAYBE USE THIS AS A WARMING CENTER, RIGHT? OR, OR A COOLING CENTER DURING A STORM OR A POWERHOUSE.
BUT TO HOUSE PEOPLE IN AN ACTUAL BUILDING, LIKE A GYM, UM, OR EVEN LIKE T S T C, I'VE TALKED TO THEM, NONE OF THEM HAVE GENERATORS.
SO THAT'S ALL GONNA BE DEPENDENT ON WHETHER THEY ACTUALLY HAVE POWER OR NOT.
OR WE HAVE TO FIND A LOCATION OUTSIDE OF HU.
SO WHEN WE HAVE A HAZARD MITIGATION PLAN, I CAN APPLY FOR GRANTS TO SAY, OKAY, THIS BUILDING X HAS BEEN DESIGNATED AS EMERGENCY SHELTER FOR HUDA, BUT IT DOESN'T HAVE A GENERATOR AND WE NEED THAT GENERATOR, OR IT NEEDS THIS UPGRADE ON, YOU KNOW, SHOWER FACILITIES OR SOMETHING LIKE THAT.
AND FEMA CAN GIVE US A GRANT FOR THAT PURPOSE.
UM, SO THAT'S THE IMPORTANCE OF THIS IS RIGHT NOW WE DO NOT HAVE ONE.
WE ARE UNDER THE COUNTY'S HAZARD MITIGATION PLAN.
THEY LET THAT EXPIRE LAST YEAR, AND THEY ARE IN THE PROCESS RIGHT NOW OF RENEWING IT.
WE ARE GONNA BE A PART OF THAT.
IT'LL ONLY COST US A COUPLE THOUSAND DOLLARS RATHER THAN A HUNDRED THOUSAND DOLLARS IT COSTS TO HAVE A CONSULTANT COME IN AND DO THAT PLAN FOR YOU.
THE GOOD NEWS ABOUT THAT IS IT'S USUALLY GIVEN RIGHT BACK IN THE GRANT FIRST GRANT YOU GET, RIGHT? SO THE COUNTY WILL GET ALL THAT MONEY BACK.
WE MAY NOT EVEN HAVE TO PAY THAT COUPLE THOUSAND DOLLARS TO BE ON THERE PLAN, BUT IN A YEAR OR TWO, I'M GONNA COME TO YOU IN A BUDGET AND ASK FOR MONEY TO GET OUR OWN CONSULTANT, TO HAVE OUR OWN PLAN SO THAT HUDA'S TAKEN CARE OF HUDA.
AND WE WILL GET THAT MONEY BACK IMMEDIATELY WITH THE FIRST GRANT.
BUT WE HAVE TO BE UNDER ONE OF THOSE APPROVED MITIGATION PLANS IN ORDER TO APPLY FOR GRANTS THAT, ANY QUESTIONS ON THAT? DOES IT MAKE SENSE? UM, EVENT ACTION PLANS.
SO THIS IS SOMETHING WE'RE NOW DOING FOR ALL MASS GATHERINGS.
SO 4TH OF JULY, UM, YOU KNOW, A LOT OF THE BIGGER EVENTS THAT WE HAVE, IF THERE ARE SEVERAL THOUSAND PEOPLE OR MORE, WE'RE DOING A FORMAL INCIDENT COMMAND SYSTEM, UM, EVENT ACTION PLAN.
AND THAT'S NOT SOMETHING WE'VE DONE IN HU BEFORE.
UH, THE POLICE WERE KIND OF DOING AN OPERATIONS PLAN, BUT THEY WEREN'T REALLY DOING, UM, YOU KNOW, AN INCIDENT COMMAND SYSTEM ASSIGNMENT TO, YOU KNOW, THIS IS, IT BASICALLY ASSIGNS TASKS TO EACH ENTITY THAT'S RESPONSIBLE FOR WHATEVER SAFETY HAS ALL THE SAFETY INFORMATION IN THERE.
UH, AND IT'S SIGNED OFF BY EVERYBODY AND EVERYBODY HAS A COPY.
SO THAT'S SOMETHING WE'RE DOING NOW, AND I THINK THAT'S A A PLUS.
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OPERATIONS, OBVIOUSLY.BUDGET, EXECUTION AND THEN WINTER STORM TOMORROW, RECOVERY.
SO WE ARE STILL TECHNICALLY IN RECOVERY FROM WINTER STORM TOMORROW.
SO THE ICE STORM COSTS US ABOUT 240 SOMETHING THOUSAND DOLLARS ROUGHLY.
UM, ANN AND I AND HER WHOLE TEAM ARE WORKING WITH FEMA RIGHT NOW TO GET THAT MONEY REIMBURSED THROUGH A PUBLIC ASSISTANCE GRANT.
UH, BUT IF ALL GOES WELL OR CONTINUES TO GO WELL, WE WILL GET 75% OF THE COST SHARE OF THAT EXPENDITURE BACK.
SO WE'RE LOOKING AT ABOUT 190 SOMETHING THOUSAND DOLLARS BACK TO US IF WE GET EVERYTHING THAT WE NEED TO GET.
WE'VE GOT A FEW MORE DOCUMENTS TO TIGHTEN UP.
IT MIGHT TAKE A LITTLE WHILE, BUT I THINK WE'LL BE OKAY WITH THAT.
SO THAT'S A KEY PIECE OF WHAT EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT DOES AS WELL, RIGHT? IT HELPS, UM, THE RECOVERY PART, TRY TO RECOVER SOMEBODY'S FUNDS, AND WE'RE ABLE TO DO SO BECAUSE AN EMERGENCY DECLARATION WAS FILED BY THE PRESIDENT.
SO THAT'S NOT ALWAYS GONNA BE THE CASE.
BUT WHEN THAT IS THERE, THOSE PUBLIC ASSISTANCE GRANTS ARE AVAILABLE, WE'RE GOING AFTER THAT.
UM, AND THEN CRISIS COMMUNICATIONS IS OBVIOUSLY THE OTHER PIECE, AND WE'RE GONNA GET INTO MORE OF THAT.
SO, ALRIGHT, SO I THINK IT'S IMPORTANT TO MAKE SURE EVERYBODY'S CLEAR ON THE EMERGENCY ALERT SYSTEM.
SO WHAT WE CALL THIS IS THE REGIONAL NOTIFICATION SYSTEM.
WHAT THE PUBLIC KNOWS THIS AS IS WARREN CENTRAL TEXAS, THAT'S THE PUBLIC FACING NAME OF IT.
SO IT'S A SUBSCRIPTION BASED SERVICE THAT ANYBODY CAN SIGN UP FOR TO GET ALERTS LIKE, HEY, A TORNADO WARNING, OR WHATEVER THE CASE MAY BE.
YOU DO NOT HAVE TO SUBSCRIBE TO THAT TO GET MESSAGES, RIGHT? THE ROUTINE MESSAGES WILL NOT COME TO YOU IF YOU'RE NOT SUBSCRIBED.
BUT I HAVE THE ABILITY, AND NOW ALLISON, OUR COMMS DIRECTOR, HAS THE ABILITY TO GO INTO THE SYSTEM AND FORCE A MESSAGE INTO PHONES, TELEPHONES ON THE WALL, WHETHER THAT BE, YOU KNOW, THE OLD SCHOOL PHONES, UH, WIRELESS EMERGENCY ALERTS THROUGH YOUR, ANYTHING CONNECTED, ANY DEVICE CONNECTED TO THE INTERNET, UH, OR CELLULAR TVS, ET CETERA.
THAT'S THROUGH THE IPOS SYSTEM OR INTEGRATED PUBLIC ALERT AND WARNING SYSTEM.
SO ESSENTIALLY WHAT THAT MEANS IS WHEN THERE'S AN EMERGENCY, I CAN THEN GO IN AND SAY, HERE'S A POLYGRAM OR AROUND A MAP OF HUDU.
HERE'S THE MESSAGE, AVOID THIS AREA.
OR HERE'S WHAT I NEED YOU TO DO OR EVACUATE HERE.
WHATEVER THAT IS, I CAN TARGET HU SPECIFICALLY.
AND ANYBODY WITHIN THAT AREA OR THAT COMES INTO THAT AREA LATER WILL GET THAT MESSAGE, RIGHT? SO WE HAVE THAT ABILITY TO OVERRIDE AND REACH ALL THOSE OTHER DEVICES, STEREO IN YOUR CAR, ALL THAT IF WE SELECT THE IPAS BUTTON.
SO THAT IS OUR MODERNIZED WAY OF TELLING PEOPLE TO TAKE SHELTER OR TO AVOID THIS ROAD, OR TO DO WHATEVER WE NEED THEM TO DO.
AND THAT'S WHAT WE WILL USE, UH, DURING AN EMERGENCY.
ALRIGHT? WE'RE GONNA TALK ABOUT THIS IN OUR NEXT PIECE.
SO, SO I DON'T WANNA DWELL ON IT, BUT THE COMMUNITY PREPAREDNESS, UH, ASPECT OF THIS, AGAIN, WHOLE COMMUNITY APPROACH.
IT TAKES THE ENTIRE COMMUNITY IN A MAJOR DISASTER TO RECOVER, RIGHT? AND TO RESPOND.
AND SO WE WILL, WE ARE GOING TO BUILD A, WHAT I WOULD CALL A, UM, A VOLUNTEER APPARATUS LIKE NONE OTHER.
ALL RIGHT? AND I, I'M GONNA MAKE THAT CLAIM BECAUSE I'M JUST TELLING YOU, AND I'VE HAD THIS STATEMENT MADE TO ME BY THE STATE LEVEL THAT WE ARE DOING IT LIKE NOBODY ELSE IS GONNA DO IT.
UM, MOST ORGANIZATIONS WILL START OFF WITH CERT TEAM, RIGHT? OR COMMUNITY EMERGENCY RESPONSE.
TEAM CERT IS SOMETHING THAT HAS TO BE QUALIFIED THROUGH TRAINING.
THEY HAVE TO GO TO SCHOOL, THEY HAVE TO GET QUALIFIED, AND THEY HAVE TO CONTINUALLY RECERTIFY TO BE A CERT QUALIFIED PERSON BECAUSE THEY'RE GONNA DO BASIC FIREFIGHTING.
THEY'RE GONNA DO BASIC, UM, SEARCH AND RESCUE.
THEY HAVE TO BE EQUIPPED WITH P P E OR PERSONAL PROTECTIVE EQUIPMENT, AND THEY HAVE TO BE, UH, WITH BACKPACKS AND ALL KINDS OF STUFF THAT THEY NEED.
WE'RE GONNA GO THE OTHER DIRECTION, AND WE'RE GONNA ADDRESS OUR IMMEDIATE NEEDS WITH VOLUNTEERS FIRST, AND WE'RE GONNA GET INTO THAT.
BUT STATE OF TEXAS EMERGENCY ASSISTANCE REGISTRY REQUIRES US TO DO WELFARE CHECKS ON PEOPLE REGISTERED IN A POWER OUTAGE OR A MAJOR EMERGENCY.
WE'VE DONE THIS BEFORE IN THE STORM.
THE PROBLEM IS WE HAD 20 SOMETHING PEOPLE ON THAT ROSTER.
BY THE TIME I GET DOWN TO ALL THE PHONE CALLS AND CONTACTED WHO I COULD, WE ONLY HAD ABOUT SEVEN PEOPLE LEFT TO GO PHYSICALLY CHECK ON.
THAT WAS ABLE TO BE ACCOMPLISHED BY, YOU KNOW, A COUPLE POLICE OFFICERS TO GO CHECK ON BECAUSE IT REQUIRES POLICE, FIRE, OR MEDICAL, OR VETTED VOLUNTEERS TO GO DO THOSE WELFARE CHECKS AND KNOCK ON A DOOR.
AS WE PUSH THIS PROGRAM AS WE SHOULD, AND IT GROWS TO A THOUSAND, COUPLE THOUSAND PEOPLE, THE THE REQUIREMENT TO PHYSICALLY GO CHECK ON THAT BECOMES REALLY HARD, REALLY QUICK.
UH, SO WE'RE GONNA HAVE TO BUILD THAT CAPACITY OUT.
SO THAT'S A FOCUS AREA OF OURS.
AND AGAIN, I DON'T WANNA GO TOO DEEP ON THIS NOW BECAUSE WE'RE GONNA TALK ABOUT THIS IN THE NEXT PART IN THE MEMO, BUT, UM, WE ARE GONNA BUILD OUT WHAT I HOPE IS GONNA BE A VERY ROBUST VOLUNTEER, UH, PROGRAM THAT'S ABLE TO DO SHELTERING OPERATIONS, STEER WELFARE CHECKS, POINT OF DISTRIBUTION MANAGEMENT, UM, UH, PRELIMINARY DAMAGE ASSESSMENTS FOR HOMES AND BUSINESSES, UH, SUPPORT TO E O C WITH, UH, HAM RADIO AND, AND
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SCRIBES.AND A NUMBER OF THINGS THAT, AGAIN, GOING BACK TO THE MENTALITY OF WHAT DO I NEED TO OPERATE TOMORROW IN THE STORM OR IN A MAJOR DISASTER, I WANT TO HAVE THAT CAPACITY NOW, RATHER THAN A FEW PEOPLE THAT ARE DEDICATED ENOUGH TO GET SEARCH AND RESCUE QUALIFIED, ET CETERA, RIGHT? SO THAT'S KIND OF THE, THE MENTALITY AND, AND WHERE I'M GOING WITH THIS.
AND, UH, I THINK WE'RE GONNA HAVE A VERY SUCCESSFUL PROGRAM.
ALRIGHT, SO E O C, ACTIVATION AND COMMUNICATION.
SO I JUST KINDA WANNA QUICKLY RUN THROUGH THIS.
SO THE E O C WILL BE ACTIVATED IN ONE OF TWO WAYS.
TIER ONE IS TYPICALLY YOUR PUBLIC SAFETY APPARATUS, RIGHT? SO IT'S THE OPERATIONS SECTION, AND I'LL SHOW YOU AN ILLUSTRATION IN A MINUTE, WHAT THAT LOOKS LIKE.
BUT IT'S ESSENTIALLY FIRE POLICE, PUBLIC WORKS MYSELF AND COMMUNICATIONS, RIGHT? THOSE ARE THE THINGS THAT ROUTINELY IF WE HAVE AN ICE STORM OR A BIG WINTER STORM SNOWSTORM, UH, EVEN A, YOU KNOW, A A FAIRLY DECENT SIZED EMERGENCY, EVEN A TRAINED DERAILMENT, FOR THE MOST PART, IT'S GONNA BE THAT PART OF IT.
NOW, IF IT'S A MAJOR TORNADO THAT'S LEVELS HALF OF HUD, OR IF IT'S A HUGE HAZMAT ISSUE WITH A TRAIN DERAILMENT, WHICH WE'LL GET INTO THAT LATER, BUT, OR, OR AN AMTRAK MASS CASUALTY TYPE OF THING, UH, THOSE ARE THE THINGS THEY'RE GONNA ACTIVATE THE ENTIRE E O C FOR.
ALRIGHT? AND WE'LL BE 24 7 UNTIL THAT GETS TO A POINT WHERE IT'S STABILIZED.
UM, BUT WHEN WE DO ACTIVATE, WHETHER IT'S TIER ONE OR TIER TWO, HERE'S SOME OF THE WAYS WE COMMUNICATE.
WE ALERT THE TEAM THROUGH WHATSAPP.
THERE'S A CHANNEL JUST FOR ACTIVATION, AND THEN THERE'S A CHANNEL FOR, UH, WHAT WE CALL THE EM COALITION.
SO JUST, UH, KEY STAKEHOLDERS, UH, LEADERS THAT, YOU KNOW, NEED TO KNOW WHAT'S GOING ON RIGHT NOW KIND OF THING.
UM, THERE'S TEAMS, CHANNELS SET UP FOR EVERY SECTION IN E O C FOR THE LARGER E O C APPARATUS.
UH, AND THEN, UH, BEYOND THAT, I'VE SET UP TEAMS, CHANNELS FOR OUR VOLUNTEER GROUPS AND SOME OTHERS GOING FORWARD.
UH, RADIO COMMS WERE FIRST RESPONDERS.
UH, THE R N SS WE JUST TALKED ABOUT HOW WE'RE GONNA COMMUNICATE TO THE PUBLIC.
WE'LL ALSO USE SOCIAL MEDIA AND WEBSITE, UH, TO CAVEAT THOSE EMERGENCY MESSAGES AND REINFORCE HAM RADIO FOR, UH, I SHOULD HAVE SPELLED THIS OUT, THE WILLIAMSON COUNTY AMATEUR RADIO EMERGENCY SERVICES.
THAT IS THE HAM RADIO OPERATORS THAT HAVE VOLUNTEERED TO BE PART OF THE EMERGENCY SERVICES ASPECT OF THAT.
AND WHAT THEY DO IS EVERY SINGLE STORM, THEY ACTIVATE SKYNET AND ALL OF YOUR MEDIA, ALL OF YOUR EMERGENCY MANAGERS, UH, ALL THESE FOLKS ARE ON THIS SKYNET OR ON THE N W SS NATIONAL WEATHER SYSTEM CHAT, WATCHING WHAT THEY POST PALE ONE INCH AT THIS LOCATION, AND THEN ALL OF A SUDDEN YOU SEE IT ON THE BOTTOM OF THE SCREEN OF YOUR NEWS STATION THAT YOU'RE WATCHING TV THAT'S COMING FROM THESE HAM OPERATORS.
UM, AND SO WHAT I'M GONNA DO IS TRY TO GET AT LEAST A COUPLE OF THESE FOLKS IN THE E O C AS A BACKUP AND REDUNDANT COMMUNICATION IF ALL HELL GOES TO, YOU KNOW, WHATEVER.
UM, WE HAVE THAT ABILITY AS WELL.
UH, ROUTINE OPERATIONAL SITUATION BRIEF, UM, MAYOR, YOU SAW THIS, UH, DURING THE ICE STORM, WE'LL HAVE A SITUATION BRIEF ONCE A DAY THAT RUNS THROUGH ALL THE DEPARTMENTS OR THE E O C FACILITY, UM, OR, UH, I SHOULD SAY E O C STAFF.
WE'LL BRIEF OUT ON EVERYTHING THAT'S GOING ON, RIGHT? COMPLETE SITUATION REPORT.
UM, SO WE'LL HAVE THAT AND ANY OTHER ADDITIONAL AS NEEDED.
UH, WEB E O C IS SOMETHING THAT CAP COG CONTROLS, THAT'S WHERE WE DO, UH, STATE, UH, TEXAS, UH, ASSISTANCE REQUESTS OR STAR REQUESTS FOR RESOURCES AND ASSETS THAT WE DO NOT HAVE IN OUR CITY THAT WE NEED.
NOW, UH, THAT'S, THAT IS FOR ANY QUESTIONS ON THAT? ALL RIGHT.
SO THIS, REAL QUICKLY, THIS IS KIND OF WHAT IT LOOKS LIKE FOR THE E O C.
SO WE HAVE FOUR READINESS LEVELS, RIGHT? LEVEL ONE.
SO YOUR MAXIMUM READINESS LEVEL FOUR IS NORMAL CONDITIONS.
AND WE WILL ELEVATE, ESPECIALLY ON KNOWN EVENTS, UM, I WILL ELEVATE THEIR READINESS LEVEL BASED ON WHAT I PREDICT IS, IS COMING, RIGHT? IF IT'S, WE KNOW WE'RE GONNA GET ICE ON MONDAY, YOU KNOW, ON SUNDAY, I'M TELLING THEM, HEY GUYS, TIER ONE, YOU'RE PROBABLY COMING TO SIT WITH ME UNTIL THIS THING'S OVER.
RIGHT? UH, SO THAT'S BASED ON THE SITUATION, WHAT WE KNOW.
IF WE DON'T KNOW WHAT'S HAPPENING AND SOMETHING MAJOR HAPPENS, WE AUTOMATICALLY JUMP TO WHATEVER TO THE APPROPRIATE LEVEL.
UM, THIS IS SET UP, I'M GONNA COME OVER HERE REAL QUICK AND JUST KIND OF WALK THROUGH.
I HAVE SET THIS UP AS THE INCIDENT COMMAND SYSTEM DOCTRINE.
UM, RIGHT? AND THE REASON I'VE DONE THAT, NOT EVERY E O C WILL DO THAT.
SOME WILL DO IT AS A, UM, WHERE THEY ALIGN IT AS DEPARTMENTS ARE ALIGNED WITHIN
LIKE LET'S JUST SAY, YOU KNOW, I JUST PUT ALL THE PLUG ALL THE DEPARTMENTS IN HERE AND THEY DO THEIR BUSINESS AS USUAL AS A DEPARTMENT.
UM, I CAN DO IT AS AN I C S AND I CAN DO IT SEVERAL OTHER WAYS.
BUT THE REASON I'M DOING I C S IS BECAUSE IN A SMALL JURISDICTION LIKE CUDO, WHILE THE, AND I'M GONNA GET INTO THIS IN THE NEXT SLIDE IN MORE DETAIL, BUT THERE'S A DIFFERENCE BETWEEN INCIDENT COMMAND, E O C, RIGHT? AND, UM, MAC, RIGHT? SO THERE'S THREE GROUPS INCIDENT.
[00:25:01]
O C DOES NOT, IS NOT DESIGNED TO HANDLE THE TACTICAL INCIDENT, RIGHT? SO IF A TRAIN DERAILS OUT HERE, THE E O C IS NOT SUPPOSED TO BE THE ONES DEALING WITH THE ON THE GROUND, UH, TACTICS, RIGHT? AND SOLVING THAT PROBLEM ON THE GROUND.OUR JOB IN THE E O C IS TO GET THAT INCIDENT COMMANDER ON THE GROUND RESOURCES AND SUPPORT THEM AND TAKE CARE OF THE MEDIA AND PROVIDE, UM, THE PUBLIC THE INFORMATION THEY NEED TO KNOW BASED ON WHAT THE TACTICAL SITUATION IS.
BUT OFTENTIMES IN SMALL JURISDICTIONS, THE E O C BECOMES THE IC, EVEN THOUGH IT'S NOT SUPPOSED TO, RIGHT? LIKE GIVEN AN ICE STORM.
WE'LL USE THAT EXAMPLE OVER AND OVER AGAIN DURING THE ICE STORM, I WAS THE INCIDENT COMMANDER, RIGHT? BECAUSE THERE'S NOT AN ISOLATED ONE INCIDENT WHERE THAT FIRE CHIEF IS GONNA GO DO, RIGHT? SO EVERY FIRE THAT THERE IS MM-HMM.
TYPICALLY IT'S A LAW ENFORCEMENT OFFICER THAT'S GONNA BE THE INCIDENT COMMANDER.
BUT IF I NEED TO BE, I CAN BE THE INCIDENT COMMANDER UNTIL THEY CAN GET THAT MORE ESTABLISHED.
THIS MIRRORS AN INCIDENT COMMAND, AND SO I CAN PLUG AND PLAY THAT, RIGHT? AND THEN I CAN ALSO PULL THEIR RESOURCES, SOME OF THEIR RESOURCES IF NEED BE, IF WE'RE GONNA BE THE IC AND PLUG THEM IN WHERE THEY WOULD BE NORMALLY AT THAT LEVEL.
THAT'S KIND OF WHAT, SO WHAT YOU HAVE HERE IS THE COMMAND SECTION.
THAT'S ME, THE E O C DIRECTOR, THE PIO O WE HAVE A SAFETY OFFICER.
IF WE NEED LIAISON OFFICERS, WE'LL PLUG ONE IN THERE AND THEN CHAT ONE IF NEED BE.
I'M THE DIRECT LINK TO THE MAT GROUP, WHICH I'M GONNA SHOW YOU IN A MINUTE.
AND THAT IS ESSENTIALLY THE COMMAND SECTION.
THEN YOU HAVE WHAT WE CALL THE FLOCK FINANCE, LOGISTICS, OPERATIONS AND PLANNING.
THIS IS YOUR TIER ONE, BASICALLY, RIGHT? THIS IS YOUR FIRST RESPONDERS, YOUR POLICE, UH, HAVE A POLICE OR A LAW ENFORCEMENT ENTITY, A FIRE ENTITY, PUBLIC WORKS ENGINEER, UH, ALL THAT KIND OF STUFF HERE.
THESE GUYS ARE FOCUSED ON WHAT DO WE NEED IN THE FUTURE? LOGISTICS IS OBVIOUSLY WHAT LOGISTICS IS, RIGHT? AND THEN FINANCE DOES WHAT THEY, WE TRACKING ALL THE PAPERWORK AND FINANCE, RIGHT? SO THAT'S ESSENTIALLY WHAT THAT LOOKS LIKE.
I'VE GOT SOME, THERE'S SOME COLOR CODING ON HERE.
WE'RE WORKING ON THE I STAT FOR THE HOMES AND BUSINESSES.
WE ALREADY HAVE ESTABLISHED A P STAT TEAM.
SOMETHING ELSE NOBODY ELSE IS DOING IS PUBLIC ASSISTANCE, WHICH WE'RE GOING THROUGH RIGHT NOW.
ALL THE INFRASTRUCTURE DAMAGE OR ANYTHING WE HAD TO SPEND AS A CITY, THOSE DAMAGES TO OUR BUILDINGS, ROADS, ET CETERA, HAVE TO BE ASSESSED AND PLUGGED INTO A PUBLIC ASSISTANCE, UM, TOOL, RIGHT? SO WE BUILT TWO TEAMS AND TRAINED THEM OUT ON THE TOOL THAT THE STATE REQUIRES TO BE ABLE TO DEPLOY AND GO DO OUR INFRASTRUCTURE ASSESSMENTS RIGHT AWAY.
AND WE'RE GONNA DO THE SAME THING FOR BUSINESSES AND AND HOMES.
SO THAT'S THE PRIMARY STRUCTURE OF THE PRIMARY SHIFT.
SECONDARY SHIFT IS, YOU KNOW, KIND OF YOUR NIGHT SHIFT.
I DON'T REALLY WANNA CALL 'EM DAY AND NIGHT 'CAUSE YOU NEVER KNOW WHEN A DISASTER'S GONNA HIT, BUT THAT'S THE BACKUP SHIFT OF OBVIOUSLY WE DON'T HAVE ENOUGH PEOPLE TO HAVE TWO ROBUST, UM, YOU KNOW, SHIFTS, BUT WE'LL MAKE DO.
AND THEN HERE'S YOUR MAT GROUP.
SO THE MAC OR OTHER NAME IS YOU, UH, EXECUTIVE LEADERSHIP TEAM.
SO THIS IS HEAD UP BY YOU, SIR, THE EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT DIRECTOR, WHICH IS THE MAYOR.
YOU'LL HAVE A LEGAL ADVISOR, LAWYER AND THE CITY SECRETARY FOR DOCUMENTATION.
AND THEN WE'RE GONNA HAVE THE POLICE CHIEF, THE FIRE CHIEF, THE CITY MANAGER, AND THE SCHOOL SUPERINTENDENT.
SO YOU'LL HAVE ALL YOUR DISTRICTS AND JURISDICTIONS WITHIN HU COVERED, UM, FOR ANY, UH, DECISION MAKING WHERE IT COMES TO THAT LEVEL, RIGHT? THIS WOULD TYPICALLY ONLY STAND UP IN A TIER TWO SITUATION, A LARGE, YOU KNOW, VERY LARGE DISASTER.
UM, AND THEN I WILL BE YOUR LIAISON TO THE E O C AND YOUR ADVISOR IN THAT CAPACITY.
SO YOU COULD STAND THIS UP ANYTIME YOU WANT, UM, IN ANY DISASTER YOU WANT.
YOU CAN MAKE ME STAND UP THE E O C ANYTIME YOU WANT.
UM, I WILL TYPICALLY GIVE YOU THE ADVICE ON WHAT WE SHOULD OR SHOULDN'T DO, UH, AS YOUR COORDINATOR.
BUT, UM, THAT IS YOUR PURVIEW TO DO SO.
BUT THIS GROUP RIGHT HERE, THE PURPOSE OF THIS GROUP IS TO DO POLITICAL COORDINATION, UH, AND TO DO ANY POLICY GUIDANCE AND OBJECTIVE SETTING FOR US, RIGHT? SO HOW YOU WANT US TO OPERATE, HOW YOU WANT, WHAT BURN RATE YOU WANT US TO HAVE OR AUTHORIZE FOR EXPENDITURES, DEPENDING ON THE, THE SCOPE OF THE INCIDENT, UH, THOSE DECISIONS WILL COME OUT HERE.
SO YOU GIVE GUIDANCE BY EXECUTE THE RESOURCE COORDINATION AND THE INCIDENT COMMAND EXECUTES THE TITLE.
ANY QUESTIONS ON THAT? ALL RIGHT.
THIS IS WHAT THEY CALL THE PLANNING PEAK.
THIS IS ESSENTIALLY A GUIDELINE FOR THE E O C OR THE INCIDENT COMMAND TEAM, UH, TO GO THROUGH, RIGHT? IT'S JUST A, A, A GRAPH THAT KIND OF SHOWS YOU THE LEG OF THE P IS THE INITIAL INCIDENT.
AS YOU GATHER INFORMATION, YOU START TO ASSESS AND FIGURE OUT WHAT'S GOING ON, AND THEN YOU GET INTO AN ACTUAL PLANNING CYCLE.
AND THAT JUST GOES ON EVERY OPERATIONAL PERIOD.
[00:30:01]
OPERATIONAL PERIODS ARE EVERY 12 HOURS, BUT IT CAN BE CHANGED TO WHATEVER THE INCIDENT COMMANDER, UH, WANTS IT TO BE.SO, ALL RIGHT, I KIND OF ALREADY TOUCHED ON THIS, UH, THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN AN INCIDENT COMMAND OR UNIFIED COMMAND VERSUS THE E O C VERSUS THE MAC, RIGHT? SO JUST THINK OF ONE AS THE TACTICAL SITUATION, BOOTS ON THE GROUND, E O C AS THE RESOURCE PROVIDER COORDINATOR AND THE MAC GROUP AS THE POLICY GUIDANCE, YOU KNOW, LEADERSHIP LEVEL, UM, ORGANIZATIONS.
RIGHT? UM, IS THERE ANY QUESTIONS ON IT? I THINK THAT'S PRETTY CLEAR, UNIFIED.
THIS MIGHT BE A LEGAL ONE, BUT OKAY.
YOU GOTTA ACT QUICK AND OBVIOUSLY THE MAYOR IS THE HEAD OF THIS.
SO I GUESS, SO OBVIOUSLY WE HAVE TO HAVE, WHAT, 48 HOURS TO CREATE A QUORUM OR POST FOR A QUORUM TO POSSIBLY HAVE A MEETING WHERE OTHER PEOPLE ARE INVOLVED.
I GUESS, I GUESS, IS THAT SOMETHING, MY QUESTION IS, IS, IS THAT SOMETHING I, I MEAN, I GUESS IT COULD BE BE DONE, BUT I GUESS YOU'RE LOSING TIME BECAUSE OBVIOUSLY DOES, DOES HE HAVE TO STILL ABIDE BY LIKE TOMA? HE CAN'T CALL ON OTHER COUNCIL MEMBERS TO BE LIKE, HEY, WE'RE IN THIS SITUATION.
WHAT DO YOU THINK? UM, I NEED SOME ADVICE.
YOU KNOW, THIS IS STRESS ME OUT, WHATEVER.
LIKE, CAN HE LEAN ON US AS COUNCIL MEMBERS WITHOUT THE TONE OF THINGS OR, YOU KNOW, WE HAVE TO CALL THE COUNCIL MEETING, RIGHT? SO THIS IS WHY BILL'S SO IMPORTANT, BECAUSE I DON'T HAVE, I JUST, IT IS, WE LEARNED THIS IN YURI, WE WERE MISSING A PART FOR A PUMP AND WE COULDN'T GET OUR WATER TO COME BACK ON UNTIL WE HAD TO PUMP AND IT WAS LOST AT U P S WAREHOUSE.
AND WHAT THEY TOLD WARREN AT THE TIME WAS, IS YOU CAN USE YOUR POWERS AND WE CAN BREAK INTO THE U P S WAREHOUSE AND WE CAN GO GET THE PART OURSELF.
WE, YOU HAVE THESE EXTRAORDINARY POWERS FOR SEVEN DAYS MM-HMM.
BUT THEN YOU GOTTA BE CAREFUL WHAT YOU DO.
'CAUSE WHAT WE SAID THEN WAS YOU CAN BREAK IN LEGALLY, BUT YOU HAVE TO DEAL WITH REPERCUSSIONS OF THAT COURSE AFTERWARDS.
AND SOMEONE MAY SAY, WELL, ALL YOU HAVE TO DO IS JUST CALL THE PHONE NUMBER ON THE DOOR.
WHY'D YOU GUYS, YOU KNOW, KICK IN THE DOOR? MM-HMM.
SO IT'S ONE OF THOSE THINGS WHERE YOU CAN DO ANYTHING YOU WANT FOR SEVEN DAYS AND THEN THE COUNCIL HAS TO APPROVE ANY EXTENSION.
BUT THAT'S WHY BILL'S IMPORTANT BECAUSE I DON'T KNOW OF ANY MAYOR THAT WOULD HAVE THE EXPERTISE TO MAKE PRETTY DRAMATIC DECISIONS WITHOUT RELYING ON ALL THE CITY STAFF.
AND, AND THAT'S WHY THIS IS SET UP THE WAY IT'S SET UP.
SO, AND, AND I'M NOT GONNA SPEAK ALL THE LAWYERS SPEAK, BUT
SO IF YOU DECLARE AN EMERGENCY, RIGHT? SO YOU ACTUALLY DO AN EMERGENCY DECLARATION, WHICH IS YOUR RIGHT TO DO, OR A DISASTER DECLARATION THAT GOES UP TO THE GOVERNOR AND YOU KNOW, FURTHER ON IF NEED BE FOR ASSISTANCE, RIGHT? IF YOU DECLARE THAT EMERGENCY, YOU HAVE CERTAIN POWERS FOR SEVEN DAYS.
AFTER SEVEN DAYS, IF IT NEEDS TO BE EXTENDED, THE COUNCIL HAS TO COME TOGETHER AND VOTE ON THAT EXTENSION TO KEEP THOSE POWERS IN PLACE, RIGHT? AND AUTHORITIES FOR SPENDING.
SO HE HAS SOME EMERGENCY SPENDING AUTHORITIES MM-HMM.
HE HAS THE AUTHORITY TO, UH, CONTROL PRICE GOUGING, THINGS OF THAT NATURE.
HE CAN LOCK CERTAIN PRICES DOWN LIKE FUEL AND THINGS OF THAT, UH, SORT OF THING.
SO, BUT, BUT THEN ALSO MEANS IT'S NORMALLY 72 HOURS NOTICE FOR A MEETING, BUT THERE IS AN EMERGENCY PROVISION FOR SOMETHING THAT'S A TRUE EMERGENCY THAT NEEDS IMMEDIATE COUNSEL ACTION.
IT WAS IT LIKE TWO HOURS OR SOMETHING? OR ONE HOUR? YEAH, IT'S TWO HOURS.
BUT SAME LIKE AS, AS, BY THE WAY, HI MARK ALARA, ARE YOU THE ATTORNEY? YOU CALL ME DOTTIE TODAY.
UM, BUT UM, YES, IT IS, IT'S TWO HOURS.
THAT IS KIND OF ANSWERED DIRECTLY YOUR QUESTION OF HOW TO INVOLVE KIND OF THE COUNCIL IN IT.
YOU CAN CALL THESE TRUE EMERGENCY MEETINGS, WHICH AS KIND OF THE MAYOR ALLUDED TO, THOSE ARE THE SORT OF THINGS THAT AFTER THE EMERGENCY SIT DOWN, THAT'S WHEN PEOPLE START TO LOOK BACK AT WHAT YOU DID AND MAKE SURE THAT IT WAS ALL RIGHT.
YOU KNOW, NOBODY'S GONNA QUESTION, NOBODY'S GONNA QUESTION WHETHER OR NOT THAT TWO HOURS DURING THE TIME, DURING THE ACTUAL EMERGENCY TO GET THINGS DONE.
OKAY? IT'S JUST GONNA BE KIND OF IN THE AFTERMATH WHEN YOU'RE LIKE, HEY, DID YOU NEED TO BREAK THAT GLASS EVEN THOUGH YOU BROKE THAT GLASS? MM-HMM.
AND ONCE WE GET PAST THE EMERGENCY ASPECT AND GET INTO THE RECOVERY PIECE OF IT, THEN YOU ALL ARE GONNA BE DECIDING ON COLLECTIVELY ON EXPENDITURES AND ALL THAT STUFF.
AND I DON'T, I THINK, TELL ME IF YOU FEEL DIFFERENTLY, BUT LIKE WHEN WE HAD THE LAST ICE STORM, I FORGOT WHAT IT WAS CALLED, MA MA MARA, BUT I DIDN'T, HEY BILL, WE NEED TO GO DO THIS.
I THINK YOU CAME AND SAID, HEY, I NEED YOU TO FILL OUT A SUCH AND SUCH FORM ON T IM AND SUBMIT IT.
AND SO I, I'M NOT THE PERSON THAT'S GONNA BE OUT THERE MAKING DECISIONS.
THE ONLY WAY I THINK THAT HAPPENS IF LIKE SOMETHING HAPPENS AND YOU GUYS WERE MEETING HERE DURING THE DAY AND A TORNADO TOOK OUT CITY HALL, AND THEN TO ME, IT, I WOULD STILL FORGET ABOUT QUORUMS IN MY MIND IF SOMETHING MAJOR HAPPENED, UH, TO ME YOU DEAL WITH THAT WITH THE COUNTY ATTORNEY LATER BECAUSE THE CITY AND THE PEOPLE ARE TO CITY IS THE MOST IMPORTANT.
[00:35:01]
IT'S A PRETTY BIG DEFENSE.IF THE COUNTY ATTORNEY WANTS TO GO AFTER THE CITY COUNCIL HOWTO, 'CAUSE FIVE OF 'EM ARE LEFT OVER AND THEY MET ILLEGALLY BECAUSE THEY HAD NO WAY OF POSTING THINGS, AND IT WAS A MAJOR, YOU KNOW, RAILROAD TOOK OUT THE SOUTH SIDE OF TOWN, THEN IT'S ONE OF THOSE THINGS, I DON'T THINK ANYBODY'S GONNA COME AFTER US BECAUSE THE NATIONAL HEADLINES, AND THAT WOULD BE PRETTY CRAZY.
AND THEN THE PENALTY IS REALLY NOT THAT BIG OF A PENALTY.
SO IT'S NOT LIKE YOU HAD PUT LIFE AT RISK JUST SO YOU TECHNICALLY FOLLOW SOMETHING WHEN REALLY YOU NEED AN ANSWER RIGHT AWAY AND YOU DIDN'T KNOW HOW TO POST IT ON, BECAUSE IF THE SECRETARIES ARE GONE, I, I DON'T KNOW HOW TO POST ON THAT WEBSITE AND I DUNNO HOW TO, IT'S A LOT OF EFFORT.
IT'S A LOT OF EFFORT TO GET IT, TO GET IT DONE THIS.
BUT I THINK THE RULES ARE THERE SO THAT YOU DON'T HAVE SOMEONE JUST GO, IT WAS AN EMERGENCY, THAT'S WHY WE MET.
AND THEN THEY ENDED UP TALKING ABOUT PARK EQUIPMENT OR SOMETHING.
UM, IT IS TRUE EMERGENCY, IT'S GOTTA BE SPECIFIC TO THE, THE ACTUAL EMERGENCY EVENT, RIGHT? I THINK WE HAD SOME OUT IN THE COUNTY WHERE THEY GOT A HOBBY LOBBY OPEN UP ON A SUNDAY AND STUFF LIKE THAT, THAT THEN THAT GOES BACK WHERE PEOPLE QUESTION LATER, SHOULD YOU REALLY BEEN HAVING A BUSINESS OPEN UP ON A SUNDAY TO GET FABRIC OR PUT THAT AWAY UNTIL MONDAY
AND THAT'S WHY YOU PRE COORDINATE A LOT AHEAD OF TIME.
SO ANY OTHER QUESTIONS ON THIS? I KNOW THAT WAS KIND OF, MAYBE IT WAS LONG-WINDED, BUT I THOUGHT IT WAS KIND OF FAST FURIOUS.
UM, WE COULD DEEP DIVE INTO ANY PART OF THIS ANYTIME YOU'D LIKE.
I'M HAPPY TO COME BACK AND DO THAT, BUT I JUST WANT TO KIND OF GIVE YOU A KIND OF A STATE OF WHERE WE'RE AT.
I THINK WE'RE, UH, WE'RE MAKING GOOD PROGRESS.
I'VE BEEN A ONE MAN SHOW, SO THINGS ARE SLOWER THAN I'D LIKE 'EM TO BE.
UM, BUT WE'RE HEADING IN THE RIGHT DIRECTION.
I'VE GOT NOTHING BUT COMPLIMENTS FROM THE ENTITIES ABOVE US SAYING THAT WE'RE DOING IT THE RIGHT WAY.
SO I THINK WE'RE ON THE RIGHT TRACK, AND I WANT TO THANK YOU ALL FOR THE SUPPORT, UH, AND THE BUDGET TO, YOU KNOW, HELP ME GET AN ASSISTANT IN HERE AND ALL THE EQUIPMENT WE NEED.
SO WE'RE DOING GREAT THINGS AND YOU'RE GONNA HAVE A GREAT PROGRAM HERE.
I MEAN, YOU NEED SOMEONE TO BE YOUR E O C FOR YOUR SECOND, YOUR SECONDARY TEAM.
OTHERWISE, IT'S THAT GUY RIGHT THERE.
SO, UM, MOVING ON TO PART TWO.
WE HAVE ABOUT 10 MINUTES OR MAYBE LESS HERE, UM, TO REVISIT THE EMERGENCY PREPAREDNESS TASK FORCE.
UH, THERE'S A MEMO IN FRONT OF YOU, I EXPECT YOU TO OBVIOUSLY READ IT NOW.
UM, I'M JUST GONNA KIND OF WALK THROUGH THIS.
ESSENTIALLY BOTTOM LINE UP FRONT IS THE EMERGENCY PRO, UH, PREPAREDNESS TASK FORCE, UH, SUNSETTED IN JUNE.
YOU ASKED FOR, UH, BEFORE ANY DECISION ON DISBANDING THEM, UH, FOR THEM TO COME AND BRIEF.
UH, IN AUGUST, THE CHAIRMAN OF THE TASK FORCE CAME IN AND DID THAT.
UH, SUBSEQUENTLY, HE THEN RESIGNED FROM, SINCE THAT POINT.
UH, THE REST OF, UH, OF THE REMAINING MEMBERS OF THE TASK FORCE HAVE CONTINUED TO MEET WITH ME.
AND WE'VE KIND OF OPERATED IN MORE OF A, UH, I WOULD CALL IT EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT, UH, SUPPORT GROUP FUNCTION, RIGHT? AND WHAT WE'RE TRYING TO DO IS FOCUS ON COMMUNITY PREPAREDNESS AND COMMUNITY, UM, RESPONSE READINESS, IF YOU WILL, RIGHT? UM, I DON'T WANNA STRAY TOO FAR OFF THE MEMO, BUT THERE WERE SOME CHALLENGES WITH THE TASK FORCE, THE FORMALITIES OF IT.
UM, MY RECOMMENDATION, AGAIN, AS A BOTTOM LINE UP FRONT IS THAT WE KEEP IT INFORMAL.
UH, THE CHALLENGES THAT THE FORMAL ASPECTS CREATE, UH, KIND OF CREATED SOME INEFFICIENCIES, BUT REALLY DIDN'T GET A LOT DONE AS A TASK FORCE AT THE END OF THE DAY.
UH, THERE BECAME A LOT OF POLITICAL CHALLENGES IN THAT TASK FORCE.
AND IF WE'RE NOT USE UTILIZING THIS ENTITY TO CREATE BUDGET RECOMMENDATIONS OR POLICY RECOMMENDATIONS OR RESEARCH FOR THE COUNCIL TO COME BACK TO YOU, AND WE'RE REALLY BUILDING A EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT COMPONENT, WHICH IS THE VOLUNTEER COMPONENT.
I THINK IT'S BETTER SERVED TO BE A SUPPORT GROUP OF VOLUNTEERS THAT ARE COORDINATING THE EFFORT TO BUILD OUT THIS APPARATUS.
WE'RE TALKING ABOUT UNDER MY GUIDANCE, WHICH I HAVE THE PURVIEW ON THE HOLISTIC PROGRAM.
UM, AND I'M GONNA MAKE SURE THAT THEY'RE DOING THESE THINGS IN CONJUNCTION WITH WHAT THE PROGRAM IS MEANT TO ACHIEVE, RIGHT? SO THAT'S THE BOTTOM LINE UP FRONT.
UH, IF YOU TAKE A LOOK AT THE MEMO, THERE'S, UH, PROS AND CONS I'VE LISTED OUT, UH, IN TERMS OF, YOU KNOW, A FORMAL BOARD COMMITTEE OR ADVISORY BOARD, WHATEVER YOU WANNA CALL IT, TASK FORCE VERSUS JUST THIS INFORMAL ENTITY.
UH, OBVIOUSLY THE REPORTING TO YOU PIECE, UH, LET ME JUST START WITH THE PROS.
UM, YOU KNOW, THEY DEVELOP AND REVIEW AND MAKE RECOMMENDATIONS TO COUNCIL, UH, COUNCIL MEMBERS APPOINTED AS A LIAISON AND DIRECTLY INVOLVED.
THE DOWNSIDES TO THAT ARE IT'S BUREAUCRATIC AND THEREFORE LESS EFFICIENT.
UH, DUE TO THE FORMAL PROCESSES SUBJECT TO TOMA THAN THE TEXAS OPEN MEETING ACT, UH, IT REQUIRES AN APPOINTMENT OF A CHAIR VERSE GUIDED AND MANAGED BY THE EMERGENCY MANAGER, UH, WOULD BE LESS ACTION ORIENTED AND MORE ADVISORY IN NATURE, WHICH IS NOT THE PURPOSE OF WHAT WE'RE DOING WITH THAT GROUP RIGHT NOW.
UH, IT WOULD NOT PROVIDE THE EMERGENCY MANAGER WITH AN EFFECTIVE SUPPORT GROUP TO BUILD CAPACITY, UH,
[00:40:01]
SUBJECT TO PUBLIC SCRUTINY AND POLITICS AND HARDER AND SLOW TO REPLACE MEMBERS AS THEY COME AND GO.I THINK, UM, PROS FOR THE INFORMAL SIDE, YOU KNOW, IT'S LED BY ME AND I JUST STATED WHY, UH, MORE COLLABORATIVE AND TEAM ORIENTED.
IT'S LESS BUREAUCRATIC, MORE NIMBLE, UH, EASIER TO RECRUIT, WHICH I'M, I'M HAVING FOLKS COME UP TO ME EVERY DAY WANTING TO BE PART OF IT.
UH, SO IT'S GONNA GROW QUICKLY.
UM, IT CAN MEET MORE FREQUENTLY.
WE'RE ALREADY DOING TEAMS MEETINGS.
UM, YOU KNOW, I'VE GOT A GROUP BUILT FOR THEM.
WE EMAIL, WE TALK ON TEAMS, WE TALK ON THE PHONE.
I GET TEXTS ALL THE TIME BECAUSE IT'S MORE INFORMAL.
WE CAN HAVE THAT FLEXIBILITY AND GET THINGS DONE LIKE THIS.
UM, WE'RE ALREADY WORKING THIS WAY.
UH, AND, AND THE FOLKS THAT ARE LEFT OVER FROM THE TASK FORCE, IF YOU WILL, I WON'T SAY LEFT OVER, UM, THAT'S NOT THE RIGHT WORDS.
THE REMAINING, THE REMAINING TASK FORCE MEMBERS ARE MOTIVATED, THEY'RE REINVIGORATING.
AND WHAT WE'RE DOING IS ALIGNING THEIR NOT ONLY PASSION, BUT THEIR SKILL SETS WITH A CERTAIN PIECE OF THIS THAT WE'RE BUILDING, RIGHT? SO IT'S MORE MOTIVATING FOR THEM.
LIKE, I'LL GIVE YOU AN EXAMPLE, DONNA, WHO USED TO WORK AT THE, UH, H RESEARCH, YEAH, H R C, SHE IS GONNA BE DOING OUR V*G AND COAD, WHICH IS VOLUNTEERS, UM, ACTIVE IN DISASTERS AND THEN, OR I'M SORRY, UM, VOLUNTEER ORGANIZATIONS ACTIVE IN DISASTER AND COEDS, WHICH ARE COMMUNITY ORGANIZATIONS ACTIVE IN DISASTERS.
SHE'S RECRUITING BASED ON HER NETWORK OF FOLKS.
SHE KNOWS THE BUSINESSES AND THE FAITH-BASED ORGANIZATIONS.
AND WE'RE GONNA START BRINGING THEM TO THE TABLE AND HAVE LIKE SUMMITS AND CONVERSATIONS ABOUT WHAT THEY CAN DO DURING A DISASTER.
SHE'S HIT HEADING THAT UP AND ALREADY PUT TOGETHER A LARGE GROUP, UH, OF CONTACTS FOR THAT.
UH, WE'VE GOT MARCUS AND WE'VE GOT MATT SELBY AND THERE'S DAMAGE ASSESSMENT TEAMS. AND SO WE CAN KIND OF WALK THROUGH REAL QUICKLY.
UM, THE, THE PEOPLE YOU HAVE, MARCUS HAS BEEN ALL UP AND DOWN IN DIFFERENT STATE GOVERNMENTS.
UM, BUSINESS BACKGROUND, YES, SIR.
MATT'S ACTUALLY, I THINK HE WAS A LIEUTENANT, BUT I DON'T, HE GOT PROMOTED IN THE LIBERTY FIRE DEPARTMENT.
SO HE'S YEAH, HE'S IN THE FIRE MARSHAL'S OFFICE NOW.
AND THEN KAT'S GOT MORE OF A, UM, A DETAILED KIND OF, I KNOW SHE'S REAL BIG ON THE NOTES AND THE PROCESSES AND THINGS LIKE THAT.
AND THEN I THAT'S THE LAST ONE.
SHE WANTED TO BE THE, THE ONE THAT'S LIKE IN TOUCH WITH THE, THE COMMUNITY, THE INDIVIDUAL PREPARED STUFF.
YEAH, THAT'S THE ORIGIN SHE GOT ON IT WAS BECAUSE OF HER MASTER INJURY.
SO SHE'S GONNA BE THE ONE HELPING ME PUT TOGETHER PREPAREDNESS, FAIRS, THINGS OF THAT NATURE, WHICH WE ARE GONNA DO ON ONE NOVEMBER AND CONJUNCTION WITH THE TOUCH OF TRUCK.
AND SO THEY'RE VOLUNTEERING TO HELP ME SET UP A BOOTH TO HAND OUT INFORMATION, THINGS OF THAT NATURE.
UM, SO THE, THE MAIN ITEMS THAT WE'RE FOCUSED ON RIGHT NOW, I'VE MENTIONED STEER, STATE OF TEXAS EMERGENCY ASSISTANCE REGISTRY, BUILDING OUT TEAMS. THE GOAL IS TO HAVE EACH NEIGHBORHOOD HAVE A TEAM TO BE ABLE TO WALK TO THAT NEIGHBOR'S HOUSE AND KNOCK ON A DOOR AND MAKE SURE THEY'RE OKAY FOR A CALL FOR HELP, RIGHT? UM, IT'S GONNA TAKE A WHILE TO GET THERE, BUT WE HAVE FOLKS THAT ARE PASSIONATE ABOUT DOING THAT AND WE'RE GONNA GROW THAT OUT.
UM, THAT'S A CRITICAL PIECE BECAUSE THAT STATE REQUIRED, OR THAT STATE LAW REQUIRED WITHIN 24 HOURS TO DO THAT PHYSICAL CHECK IF YOU CAN'T REACH 'EM BY PHONE OR EMAIL OR WHATEVER.
UM, THE OTHER PIECE IS THE OAG COAD PIECE, BRINGING IN BUSINESSES AND ORGANIZATIONS AND THEN SHELTER OPERATIONS AND POINTS OF DISTRIBUTION, RIGHT? WE CANNOT RUN A SHELTER WITHOUT VOLUNTEERS.
SOMEBODY'S GOTTA BE THERE TO HELP, YOU KNOW, WITH FEEDING AND, AND CHANGING OUT LINEN AND WHATEVER, HELPING PEOPLE THAT NEED IT.
AND SO WHAT WE'LL DO, I'VE TALKED TO RED CROSS, THEY'LL COME IN AND PROVIDE A SHELTER MANAGER, BUT WE GOTTA PROVIDE THE PEOPLE AND THEN THE RED CROSS WILL TRAIN THEM AND BE PREPARED FOR THOSE SHELTER OPERATIONS.
AND SO PEOPLE WILL WANNA DO THAT.
POINTS OF DISTRIBUTIONS WHEN WE HAVE A LARGE INCIDENT, WE'RE GONNA HAVE A LOGISTICAL SUPPLY POINT ESSENTIALLY, AND WE'RE GONNA HAVE PEOPLE GO IN AND HELP US MONITOR SO IT'S NOT JUST STOLEN BUT PUSHED OUT PROPERLY AND PEOPLE ARE GETTING WHAT THEY NEED AND ASSISTING US WITH THAT.
UH, THE EMERGENCY OPERATION CENTER SUPPORT, AGAIN, TRYING TO GET A COUPLE HAM OPERATORS, BUT ALSO SCRIBES TO TAKE NOTES FOR US AND SIGN PEOPLE IN AND OUT AND TRACK ALL THAT PAPERWORK THAT WE'LL NEED LATER.
UM, WE'RE IN CENTRAL TEXAS AND CI CITIZEN INDIVIDUAL PREPAREDNESS.
THIS IS AGAIN, NOTIFYING PEOPLE ABOUT HOW TO BE BETTER PREPARED, BETTER PREPARED.
WE ARE AS A COMMUNITY, THE MORE RESILIENT WE ARE TO THE EFFECTS OF DISASTER.
AND THEN THE DAMAGE ASSESSMENT PIECE OF IT.
UM, WHAT WE'RE TRYING TO DO IS, THERE'S TWO TOOLS.
THERE'S P STAT OR PUBLIC ASSISTANCE STATE ASSESSMENT TOOL AND I STAT, WHICH IS INDIVIDUAL ASSISTANCE, STATE ASSESSMENT TOOLS.
WE'LL GET THOSE TEAMS SET UP TO GO OUT AND DO INITIAL DAMAGES ON HOMES AND BUSINESSES WHILE WE'RE TAKING CARE OF THE CITY INFRASTRUCTURE.
AND WHAT THAT DOES IS THE FASTER WE CAN GET THAT DAMAGE ASSESSMENT INTO THESE TOOLS, IT GIVES THE STATE AND FEDERAL LEVEL A BETTER PICTURE OF WHETHER OR NOT THEY NEED TO DECLARE THAT LEVEL OF A DISASTER, RIGHT? SO IT'S CRITICAL TO DO THAT AS QUICKLY AS POSSIBLE.
SO IF HAVING THOSE TRAINED TEAMS ARE GONNA BE HUGE, AND THESE ARE GONNA BE PEOPLE THAT LIKE, YOU KNOW, INSURANCE FOLKS AND YOU KNOW, CARPENTERS AND PEOPLE THAT CAN LOOK AT A BUILDING AND GO, YEAH, THAT'S BAD.
TAKE A PICTURE, ASSESS THE DAMAGE AND MOVE ON WITH.
SO THAT'S KIND OF WHERE WE'RE AT.
WE'RE OPERATING INFORMAL RIGHT NOW.
UH, I WOULD PREFER IT THAT WAY.
IT'S, YOU KNOW, OBVIOUSLY IT'S YOUR CALL.
UM, BUT BARRING THE NEED TO HAVE THEM FOCUSED ON ANY SPECIFIC, SPECIFIC POLICY
[00:45:01]
BUDGET OR, YOU KNOW, SOME KIND OF, UM, RECOMMENDATION TO YOU ALL, I THINK IT'S BEST SERVED AS A SUPPORT GROUP IN AN INFORMAL WAY.SO THAT'S, THAT'S KINDA THE BRIEF ON THAT.
SO MY THOUGHT ON THAT WAS, YOU KNOW, YOU SAID NO COUNCIL OVERSIGHT.
WELL IT IS BECAUSE YOU'RE UNDER THE CITY MANAGER UNDER US CORRECTLY AND YOU'RE COMING TO US FOR BUDGET AND STAFF AND I LOOK AT THAT AS MORE DAY-TO-DAY OPERATION OF HOW YOU'RE GONNA MAKE YOUR GROUP, WHICH WE'VE HIRED YOU TO DO.
AND, UH, I THINK THAT'S A GOOD BETTER WAY.
AND I I I I'M IN FAVOR OF US LETTING IT BEING SUNSETTED AND, AND YOU TAKE IT THE WAY IT'S BEEN OPERATING TODAY.
I ACTUALLY PUT THAT IN A MEMO.
BUT MY POINT WAS, THERE ARE PROPORTIONATE LEGAL AUTHORITIES ALREADY OVERSEEING EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT, WHETHER THAT'S CITY MANAGER, THE MAYOR, OR THE COUNCIL.
ALL OF YOU HAVE PURVIEW OVER EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT AND DO THAT OVERSIGHT FUNCTION, HAVING A RESIDENT, YOU KNOW, COUNCIL IF YOU WILL, THAT'S TRYING TO DO THAT FOR YOU.
THEY CAN'T BECAUSE THEY CAN'T BE PURVIEW TO A LOT OF THE STUFF THAT GOES ON IN EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT.
SO IT'S NOT, IT'S REALLY JUST NOT APPROPRIATE FOR THEM TO DO THAT FUNCTION.
NOT THAT I EVER WANT A TERRORIST ACT, BUT I REALLY DON'T WANT, THEY ALSO, YOU MAY HAVE PLANS THEN WE DON'T NEED IT TO JUST BE IN THE PUBLIC OF THIS IS HOW WE WOULD RESPOND TO SOMETHING TO MAKE SOMETHING MORE DANGEROUS.
SO THAT'S, THAT'S ANOTHER REASON WHY I DON'T BELIEVE THAT IF, YOU KNOW, WE CAN HANDLE THIS NOT THROUGH TOMA, THAT'S A GOOD THING FOR THIS INSTANCE IS SOMETHING WHERE I THINK THAT PROTECTS THE CITIZENS.
ALRIGHT, SO I GUESS WE NEED TO HAVE AN AGENDA ITEM COMING UP TO MAKE A FORMAL DECISION WHETHER OR NOT WE DO A TASK FORCE AND CONTINUE OR KEEP IT INFORMAL.
WELL DO WE, I THINK IT'S ALREADY STANDING.
I THINK IT CAN JUST, UM, NO I THINK IT'LL HAVE TO BE A SPECIFIC ONE.
'CAUSE THAT'S JUST A POINTING PEOPLE WE'LL HAVE TO HAVE ONE TO WHERE WE CAN FORMALLY LET PEOPLE KNOW IN MY MIND WHICH WAY WE'RE GONNA GO.
BECAUSE WHAT DON'T WANT TO HAPPEN IS WE JUST LEAVE IT LIKE IT IS AND THEN SOMETHING GOES WRONG.
AND THEN WHEN PEOPLE START FINGER POINTING, FINGER POINTING IT, WELL WE SHOULD HAVE DONE A TASK FORCE.
WHY DIDN'T WE DO THAT? YEAH, I THINK WE'VE SEEN A RECORD VOTE AND UM, AND THEN GO FROM THAT ROUTE.
SO I THINK IT WOULD BE GOOD AT THAT POINT WHEN WE HAVE THAT AGENDA ITEM TO HAVE SOMETHING TO ROLL OUT AND SAY, THIS IS WHAT, THESE ARE THE VOLUNTEER ROLES WE'RE LOOKING TO FILL IN THE COMMUNITY.
THESE ARE ALL THE THINGS WE WANT TO DO WITH THIS.
SO IT'S NOT, IT'S NOT PRESENTED AS WE'RE, WE'RE JUST GETTING RID OF IT.
IT'S HERE'S WHAT WE'RE, WE'RE TRANSITIONING.
AND I'LL SAY TOO, UM, JUST SO YOU ALL KNOW AND PLEASE VERIFY WITH THAT, BUT ALL OF THE FOLKS THAT ARE REMAINING TASK FORCE MEMBERS ARE ON BOARD WITH THIS CONCEPT AND ON BOARD WITH WHAT WE'RE DOING, UM, AND FULLY SUPPORT, YOU KNOW, MAINTAINING WHAT WE'RE DOING RIGHT NOW.
SO IF YOU COULD DO LIKE A, A PRESENTATION BUT MAYBE LIKE IN A 10 OR 15 MINUTE ONE, THAT WAY THE PUBLIC I CAN DO SPECIFIC TO WHAT WE'RE TRYING TO ACCOMPLISH.
AND THEN THAT WAY WE CAN COME UP WITH HOW ABOUT RECRUITING ANYWAY.
'CAUSE I ADULT ONE IS, I ALWAYS LOOK BACK THAT LAST ICE STORM WITH AUSTIN, UH, AND THEN YOU HAD AUSTIN ENERGY AND THEN NEXT THING YOU KNOW, I MEAN, A WEEK LATER THAT'S WHERE EVERYBODY'S PUTTING A BLAME ON SOMEBODY.
AND IT'S FAIR TO, TO ME TO HAVE A UNITED FRONT ON WHAT WE'RE GONNA DO AND THEN WE CAN ALWAYS COME BACK AFTERWARDS AND ASSESS IT AND GO, WELL IT MAYBE WASN'T THE BEST MOVE.
UM, BUT AT LEAST WE ALL AGREE.
OR IF WE DON'T AGREE, WE'RE, WE'RE ABLE TO VOCALIZE IT.
SO ALL ANYTHING ELSE BEFORE WE ADJOURN? I'LL ADJOURNED AT 6:48 PM CAN YOU SPELL.