CC Minutes - 04/27/05 WS - Laserfiche WebLink

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Fire and Emergency Medical Services Department (Fire/EMS) used ICS as a rule. He stated that until NIMS was adopted, even the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) did not have a clear way of inter-connecting with another jurisdiction's organizational model. He stressed that this did not change how the City addressed emergencies locally. Ms. Taylor asked if there was any assurance that all of the chain of command would not simultaneously be on vacation. Mr. Solin responded that typically such people appointed a person to act in capacity. In response to another question from Ms. Taylor, City Manager Taylor assured her that all of the people who could be given this level of responsibility were well-acquainted with the emergency plan. Ms. Taylor asked if all possible emergencies and how they would be responded to had been considered. Mr. Solin replied that staff had conducted a number of exercises, most recently a simulated terrorist event at the Moshofsky Center. He added that City emergency staff had also done an unannounced emergency drill several years earlier and every key executive manager had arrived at the Sheldon Emergency Center within 30 minutes. In response to another question from Ms. Taylor, Mr. Solin stated that the system in place was good for any significant event. Ms. Taylor asked if staff had considered what would happen if the dams upstream broke and two hospitals were located by the river. Mr. Kelly commented that the relationship between the City Councilors and the City Manager was unclear in the emergency management plan. He felt some checks on the City Manager's power should be clearly delineated. Mr. Kelly said he reviewed his notes from 1999 and had been dismayed that two clarifications he requested were not in the plan. He stated that the City Manager at the time had agreed to incorporate them in the plan. He did not think either clarification changed any philosophy but he wanted them in the document nonethe- less. He explained that the council had asked that the City Council and Mayor be included in the list of entities to be immediately notified in the case of an emergency and he did not see this wording in the document language. Mr. Solin assured Mr. Kelly that such notification was in the plan, though not in the specific section Mr. Kelly was referring to. He clarified that when the Public Information Officer (PLO) or City Manager was notified, one of their first responsibilities was notification of the Mayor and City Council. He indicated that the wording could be included in the section Mr. Kelly called out. Continuing, Mr. Kelly stated that the council had also specifically requested that wording be included to allow the City Council to repeal a City Manager's declaration of a state of emergency. He acknowledged that such wording was in an annex. Mr. Pap~ recalled that many discussions about emergency responses had been held prior to the year 2000. He agreed that the specific language cited by Mr. Kelly should be included in the main body of the document. He felt that in an emergency, people might not take the time to refer to annexes and appendices. MINUTES--Eugene City Council April 27, 2005 Page 2 Work Session