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HomeMy WebLinkAboutCC RESO 15,275RESOLUTION NO. 15,275 RESOLUTION OF 'nu. CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF NATIONAL CITY APPROVING AN EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT POLICY STATEMENT WHEREAS, due to the concern of an impending catastrophic earthquake in California, and because of the potential,for other types of local emergencies, disaster preparedness has become a field of its own in municipal government; and WHEREAS, in order to establish the City's commitment to lessening the potential personal injury, death, and property loss resulting from a local emergency, fulfill the City's commitments to State and County mutual aid agreements, and develop a community united in being prepared for threats to its health, safety and welfare, it is deemed appropriate for the City Council to adopt an Emergency Management Policy Statement. NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED by the City Council of the City of. National City that the City Council hereby approves and adopts that document entitled "Emergency Management Policy Statement," a copy of which is attached hereto as Exhibit "A". PASSED and ADOPTED this 21st day of April, 1987. George . Waters, Mayor ATTEST: Ioe Campbell, City Clerk APPROVED AS TO FORM: George H. Eiser, III -City Attorney EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT POLICY STATEMENT PREFACE Due to the concern of an impending catastophic eathquake in California, Disaster Preparedness has become a field of its own in municipal government. Utilizing the Integrated Emergency Management System (IEMS) as its foundation, the old concepts of civil defense have been revised, updated and improved upon. Concepts of all - hazard planning, hazard/vulnerability analysis, shortfall assessment, multi -year functional planning, mitigation and preparedness have required municipal governments to decide the degree with which they will deal with the potential or probability of a hazard or threat to their community. The days of just preparing a plan are over. Not only must you have a plan, but all parties are expected to know it and be able to function in the part they play in it. The City of National City has been given notice that there exists a real threat to the safety of its citizens from earthquake. The City is revising and updating it's "Plan" to deal with this threat. The following Emergency Management Program is presented to establish a policy statement to and for the people who live and/or work in the City of National City. The purpose of this program is to: 1. Establish the City's commitment to lessening the potential personal injury, death and property loss resulting from a local emergency; 2. Fulfill the City's commitments to State and County Mutual Aid Agreements; and 3. Develop a community united in being prepared for threats to it's health, safety and welfare. EMERGENCY MANAGMENT PROGRAM The proposed Emergency Management Program consists of the following parts: 1. Adoption of Emergency Management Policy. 2. Recruitment of a National City Disaster Council. 3. Development of goals and objectives for a five (5) year program. 4. Presentation of a five (5) year program for City Council review, revision, adoption and implementation. DISASTER COUNCIL The success or failure of emergency plans have been dependent upon the participation of all of the parties involved in the preparation of the plan. Establishment of a Disaster Council made up of representatives from all segments of the Community has expedited accomplishment of preparedness. Establishment of a Disaster Council is provided for by Chapter 2.48 of the Municipal Code. EXHIBIT "A" Page 2 The intent and purpose of this Disaster Council is to: 1. Provide for the preparation and carrying out of plans for the protection of persons and property within the City in the event of an emergency, the direction of the emergency organization, and the coordination of the emergency functions of this City with all other public agencies, corporations, organizations and affected private persons. (National City Municipal Code, Chapter 2.48.) 2. Obtain commitment of the respective agencies. 3. Provide a forum for the persons responsible for the day-to-day operation of disaster response agencies to maximize the concept of networking and team work. 4. Develop specific goals and objectives that can be mutually supported to provide for the preparation for, mitigation of, response to, and recovery of the real and potential threats and hazards to National City and its citizens. The following membership is recommended: 1. Mayor to act as Chairman. 2. City Manager to act as Vice -Chairman. 3. Fire Chief, Police Chief and Public Works Director. 4. Representatives from the following organizations: a. American Red Cross, South Bay Service Center b. National City and Sweetwater School Districts. c. Paradise Valley Hospital. d. San Diego County Office of Disaster Preparedness. Other groups, organizations and agencies can and may act as advisors to the Disaster Council, so as to limit the number of voting members to ten (10) or less. It is also recommended that the City Attorney act as an advisor and that the City Clerk or her representative act as recorder for the meetings. FIVE YEAR PROGRAM By utilizing input of the City, businesses and residents, a Program is more comprehensive and able to do what is expected - reduce the negative impacts of a local emergency. By organizing the Program in a five (5) year Goals and Objectives format, the Program can provide specific, measurable results with the benefits of long term planning, that is, dividing a big undertaking into managable units. Another benefit to having the whole community involved in the Program, is that there is less resistance to implementation because it is everyone's Program. The foundation for a five (5) year program is a training and exercise schedule which provides for a systematic training and exercise program to maximize the value and utility of the National City Disaster Plan. This is a part of a continuous circular process of planning. Page 3 This process involves preparing for specific hazards utilizing the following steps: 1. A specific hazard is identified and a general overview of its affect on National City is prepared from which a basic plan is developed. This plan identifies what type of actions will be required to prepare for, mitigate, respond to, and recover from such an event. 2. Specific City Departments are identified as responsible for dealing with specific functions or actions for which they develop checklists and standard operating procedures to fulfill their responsibilities. 3. Each Department conducts training to familiarize their staff with their specific assignments and trouble shoot the checklists and standard operating procedures to insure that all activities have been sequentially identified and assigned. 4. A City-wide table top training session is conducted to bring all the affected Departments and other involved parties together to rehearse and trouble shoot the plan to again identify if certain actions or activities have been left out. 5. A field exercise is conducted to test the effectiveness of the plan and the preparedness of the personnel involved. 6. A critique is held to review and evaluate the plan's completeness and recommend modifications and other constructive comments to improve the plan. 7. The plan is modified from this feedback and the process starts again. In order to focus on the hazard that presents the highest probability and the most severe potential impact to National City, the following schedule of training and exercises is proposed: 1988 Earthquake 1989 Hazardous Materials Incident 1990 Commercial Aircraft Crash 1991 Winter Storms and Flooding 1992 Medical Multi -Casualty Incident This does not include the planning that should be on -going with hazards which may only involve specific Departments and the scope of which may not involve the mobilization of the entire City. (i.e. a large fire, or a police hostage incident.) An isolated event, such as a power failure, would be included in the earthquake plan thus providing the City preparation for two (2) events, one more probable with less severity and the other a disaster. A more specific and detailed schedule will be prepared upon adoption of a five (5) year Goals and Objectives Program by the National City Disaster Council, subject to the support of the National City City Council for implementation via the City Manager. Page 4 IMPACT OF PROGRAM Projection of the impact that the proposed Emergency Management Program would have on City resources of personnel, time and money cannot be made at this time. The level of implementation on the City's part would, of course, be dependent upon the actual commitment of resources applied to the Program. Generally though, programs that involve the private business sector and local citizens are not wholly dependent upon City resources. Donation of private resources and time volunteered are usually available if the City provides the personnel to coordinate the community's participation. EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT POLICY STATEMENT It is requested that the City Council adopt or amend the following Emergency Management Policy Statement: The National City City Council hereby supports and commits to: 1. The establishment of a Disaster Council representing the people who live and/or work in National City, and comprised of representatives from the City, local disaster service agencies, medical services, schools, local businesses and residents to develop a community united in being prepared for threats to our health, safety and welfare. 2. The adoption and implementation by the City Manager and City Staff of a Five (5) Year Emergency Management Program as recommended by the above Disaster Council and approved by the City Council, utilizing City resources of personnel, time and money.