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HomeMy WebLinkAbout02/20/1996 Adjourned Joint Meeting 447 CITY OF YAKIMA, WASHINGTON FEBRUARY 20, 1996 ADJOURNED JOINT MEETING CITY OF YAKIMA, UNION GAP AND YAKIMA COUNTY The City Council met on this date at 7:30 a.m., in the ESD #105 Administration Building Conference Center, 33 South 2nd Avenue, Yakima, Washington, for a Joint Meeting with the Yakima County Commissioners and the City of Union Gap. Council Members present were Mayor Lynn Buchanan, Clarence Barnett, Henry Beauchamp, Ernie Berger, John ,Klingele, Bernard Sims, and John Puccinelli (present after 7:45 a.m.) City Staff members present were City Manager Zais, Assistant City Manager Rice, John Hanson, Director of Finance & Budget, Al Chronister, Fire Chief, Don Blesio, Chief of Police, Marketa Oliver, Administrative Assistant to the City Manager, Bob Desgrosellier, Senior Engineer, Mike Vowell, Police Department Lieutenant, and Deputy City Clerk Skovald. Yakima County Commissioners present were Bettie Ingham, Bill Flower, and Jim Lewis. Yakima County staff members present were Dick Anderwald, Planning Director, Dan Hesse, Director of Public Works, Dema Harris, Director of Administrative Services, Don Thompson, Director of Emergency Services, and Lane Roberts, Yakima County Undersheriff. Union Gap Council Members Bill Ackerman, Phil Salzman, and Bud Laidler were in attendance. Union Gap Staff members present included Paul Burlingame, City Manager and Kathleen M. Holscher, Assistant City Manager. Commissioner Lewis opened the meeting and made introductions. Briefing on Emergency Preparedness Don Thompson described the Emergency Management Program and reviewed key elements utilized during the recent flooding disaster. The Emergency Center and Emergency Management Program involves all entities within Yakima County and also a total involvement of volunteers. He referenced the local agreement for the Yakima County program which includes plan development, promotion of training, conducting a public information program, and the maintenance of a special operations center. Mr. Thompson reviewed the goals of emergency disaster management. The key to effective coordination of disaster response is the availability of complete, timely, accurate information. He described the Emergency Operations Center (EOC) which provides a fixed location with communications from which policy decisions are made, emergency information is provided to the public and requested distributions of responses are coordinated. He listed all the groups within the Emergency Operation Center, including Policy, Operations, Public Concern, Finance, Logistics, Public Information, Plans, and Disaster Analysis. He then focused on the Policy Group whose purpose is to provide direction and control for EOC operations, set priorities and establish strategies /missions per situation and available resources. The Policy Group makes policy decisions and proclaims emergencies as needed. The Policy Group develops and disseminates public information, keeping the EOC and appropriate jurisdictions (i.e., county, state, cities, and special districts) informed. The Policy Group also provides direction for recovery operations (i.e., FEMA and the Corps of Engineers) and demobilizes the EOC. Mr. • 448 Joint City /County /Union Gap Meeting February 20, 1996 Thompson explained how the EOC is operated and the communication coordination between field Incident Command Station (ICS) and the policy groups. He also reviewed the concept of operations including state, county, and city operations center. He enumerated ten key factors for a successful Emergency Operations Center (EOC) including communications and situation analysis, centralization, clearly stated EOC purpose, scope and policies; specific EOC tasks; adequate staff and good organization; necessary EOC support items such as computers and charts; effective layout (with set -up guides); operational checklists for key EOC staff; maintenance training and exercising; and commitment and teamwork. Mr. Thompson then reviewed what is needed for a successful emergency management program including executive support and participation; mandatory training time and participation; and multiple agency /department acceptance. Mr. Thompson reported that the emergency system has been activated six times within the last ten years with three times being within the last three months. There was discussion about the cooperative assistance received from the various state, federal and multiple agencies. He thought it worked very well and everyone did a fantastic job. City Manager Zais explained the FEMA funding expectation is about 60 %, a more accurate figure than the 75% originally estimated. Commissioner Lewis congratulated Mr. Thompson for his organization's effort and coordination and also the volunteers who worked so hard. Al Chronister, Fire Chief, provided information about emergency response procedures. The Fire Department has a mutual aid sequence of actions to implement during minor incidents all the way up to a major catastrophe, and also coordinates with the State Mobilization effort. He also explained the Emergency Broadcast System access process. It was noted that the EBS list needs to be updated. Lane Roberts, who works in the Sheriff Operations Center, explained the various activities that take place during an emergency and described the cooperative effort put forth during the recent flooding emergency, particularly the Fire Departments' efforts throughout the County. He encouraged the officials to recognize the need for incident training because many people have a limited background in disaster training. There was discussion about road blocks and the volunteers who manned them. Sheriff and police reserves participated along with civilians who volunteered. Mr. Thompson explained the EOC is a pool of resources and frequently turned to Fire Districts' and Fire Departments' incident command centers and emergency operation centers. This worked extremely well when the roads washed out and stranded the Nile area. Also participating in the EOC was the County and State Road crews who did a marvelous job reopening the roads. The effectiveness is due to training of which more is needed within the region. Lt. Mike Vowell, Yakima Police Department, also described the well organized efforts demonstrated by the Fire Department and the EOC. All agencies cooperated to serve the community during evacuation, phoning, security tasks and also within the established command posts throughout the City. Even though there is the informational system effort and the emergency management process, emergencies do affect the system; there is definitely a need for more training and more active participation. Council Member Puccinelli felt the EOC system was very effective, particularly road information coordination. This was very helpful for 2 Joint City /County../,Union Gap Meeting 4 February ry 20, 1996 those who were not directly, involved in the flood relief effort. Council Member Beauchamp asked, despite how well things went, what areas need more preparation and training on the part of the policy makers. Al Chronister explained that a critique of the situation will be done including training, logistical and management problems. The State Patrol Incident Command Agency for hazmat has proven to be an excellent resource. The presentation concluded with discussion about the need for more emergency training. Status of I -82 Project Denny Covell, I -82 Coordinator, introduced Brad Stein, Project Manager with CH2M Hill; Eilert Forsch, WSDOT; and Steve Nettie, Paving Construction Manager, who were all available to 'answer questions about the I -82 Project. Brad Stein provided copies of the report and then presented a brief overview of Stage 1 of the project, particularly the progress since June. There have been a few scope revisions to address drainage problems as a result of the effects of an old solid waste site. Mr. Stein reported that after discussions with the Department of . Ecology, other property will be needed for wetland mitigation areas for the project. He also reported that all of Stage 1 can be built within existing resources. Denny Covell reported that two ownerships of Right -Of -Way settlements will affect the costs. He also indicated that Fair Avenue is behind schedule due to the weather. Referencing photographs of Stage 1A, he explained the flying bridge construction sequence schedule. Stage 1B • The Engineers expect the TAR Off -Ramp to open on time; however, water and weather conditions could postpone it. The Lincoln /B Couplet was put into Stage 1B from Stage 1A, due to excessive costs with HUD. Stage 1A and 1B are scheduled to be completed in June 1996. However, Stage 1C will depend on the wetland mitigation temporary alignment issue. John Hanson recapped revenues and expenditures of the project as of December 31, 1995, including contributions from the City, County, and the State. These revenue and expenditures reports will be provided throughout the end of the project. Valley Mall Boulevard Status Paul Burlingame explained the Valley Mall Extension will be from I -82 to 3rd Avenue, 3rd Avenue to 16th Avenue, and possibly extend up to Washington Avenue to Ahtanum. The STP grant application has been submitted to the state. There was discussion concerning possible effects of the project on the Airport Master Plan Runway Expansion, and possible National Guard construction possibilities at the Airport. 3 4 :50 Joint City /County /Union Gap Meeting February 20, 1996 The meeting adjourned at 9:00 a.m. READ AND CERTIFIED ACCURATE BY: �J/� / / ' ' ? COUNCIL �:E DATE :_ 1._ A .4 Auto i nAkillin i - - 0 CIL U'i:ER . DATE ATTEST: CITY CLERK / YNN : a AN, MAYOR Minutes prepared by Deputy City Clerk Skovald. An audio and video tape of this meeting are available in the City Clerk's Office. 1 4