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.
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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
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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
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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.
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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.
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