City Council Committee of the Whole · Monday, July 13, 2026 · City Council Digest

3. AGENDA ITEMS

Emergency Management Training 6:35 PM COM 0284

25 min · Jared Schneider, Emergency Manager Please note, the remainder of the meeting · packet pp.5–255

Topics: Public Safety

▶ Watch from 0:20 Open packet at p.5 ↗

Staff report:

Provide emergency management training to the City Council followed by a tabletop exercise to give the City Council practice with various emergency management scenarios.

Emergency Management Tabletop Exercise 7:05 PM Facilitated by: Jared Schneider, Emergency Manager COM 0293

90 min

Topics: Public Safety

▶ Watch from 0:26

1315 segments .txt ↗

0:00 ↗ What was that?

0:01 ↗ >> It's 6:30.

0:01 ↗ >> It is 6:30.

0:09 ↗ >> Welcome everyone. I, Council Member

0:12 ↗ Mars, start the July 13th committee the

0:14 ↗ whole meeting to order at 6:30 p.m.

0:16 ↗ Council members Adair and Nichols have

0:18 ↗ excused absences this evening. Tonight,

0:20 ↗ our second agenda item is an opportunity

0:22 ↗ for us to practice some hypothetical

0:24 ↗ emergency management scenarios by doing

0:26 ↗ a tabletop exercise. For that portion of

0:28 ↗ the meeting, we will be moving to the

0:30 ↗ tables along the floor. Given that the

0:32 ↗ virtual portion of the meeting will end

0:34 ↗ after the first item on the agenda,

0:36 ↗ COOM0284,

0:37 ↗ emergency management training, at

0:39 ↗ approximately 7 p.m. The recording will

0:41 ↗ also stop at that time. Anyone from the

0:43 ↗ public who is here in the room is

0:45 ↗ welcome to stay and observe.

0:47 ↗ Public comment. Members of the public

0:49 ↗ may address council at this time in

0:50 ↗ person or virtually. There are two

0:52 ↗ public comment opportunities at

0:53 ↗ tonight's meeting. There's a general

0:55 ↗ public comment opportunity now at the

0:56 ↗ beginning of the meeting or you can make

0:58 ↗ comments after the presentation and

1:00 ↗ council question and answer period on

1:02 ↗ the first agenda item emergency

1:03 ↗ management training. Those who signed up

1:05 ↗ in advance to make comments will be

1:07 ↗ called on first. If you are joining us

1:09 ↗ virtually and would like to make

1:10 ↗ comments, please raise your virtual

1:11 ↗ hand. If you are on the phone, press

1:13 ↗ star three. If you have joined by

1:15 ↗ computer or smartphone, look for a hand

1:17 ↗ icon or send the host a chat message. If

1:19 ↗ you are in the room and did not sign up,

1:20 ↗ I will ask for other speakers before

1:22 ↗ closing this portion of the meeting.

1:23 ↗ You're invited to address the council

1:25 ↗ regarding matters that are directly

1:26 ↗ related to Isiqua's programs, projects,

1:28 ↗ services, or events. Comments related to

1:30 ↗ political campaigns, or ballot

1:31 ↗ propositions are not permitted. Please

1:34 ↗ direct the comments to the whole council

1:35 ↗ and not individuals. While this is not a

1:37 ↗ question and answer session, we will

1:39 ↗ contact you to follow up if needed. When

1:41 ↗ recognized, unmute your microphone for

1:43 ↗ virtual attendees or move to the lecture

1:45 ↗ in for in-person attendees. State your

1:48 ↗ name in relationship to the city. Speak

1:50 ↗ clearly and pause frequently. Limit

1:52 ↗ comments to five minutes. Personal

1:54 ↗ attacks, obscene language, derogatory

1:55 ↗ remarks, and distracting conduct such as

1:57 ↗ shouting, booing, clapping, or stomping

1:59 ↗ feet is discouraged. If a speaker is out

2:02 ↗ of order, I will caution the member and

2:03 ↗ remind them of the city's rules of

2:04 ↗ conduct. Clerk, can you identify uh if

2:07 ↗ anyone has signed up to speak?

2:09 ↗ >> No, no one has signed up to speak and in

2:11 ↗ fact uh we do not have any members of

2:12 ↗ the public with us in the audience nor

2:14 ↗ with us virtually at this time.

2:17 ↗ >> Well, there we go. Uh but to clarify,

2:20 ↗ council member Joe is with us uh by

2:22 ↗ phone for your awareness.

2:24 ↗ >> Great. All right. With that, we'll move

2:26 ↗ to agenda item COM 0284, emergency

2:29 ↗ management training, presented by Jared

2:31 ↗ Schneider, our emergency manager.

2:38 ↗ All right, let's pull my slides. Give me

2:41 ↗ one moment. All right, perfect.

2:46 ↗ Okay.

2:48 ↗ All right. Good evening, council. It's

2:51 ↗ uh always a pleasure to get to talk to

2:53 ↗ you. Um especially tonight speaking

2:55 ↗ about something near and dear, of

2:56 ↗ course, to me, which is emergency

2:58 ↗ management. Um training um elected

3:01 ↗ officials, making sure you all know your

3:03 ↗ role in our disasters and emergency

3:06 ↗ response. um to really just create a

3:08 ↗ cohesive city um response to to whatever

3:13 ↗ you know um life has in store for our

3:16 ↗ city. So um with that the uh I wanted to

3:20 ↗ key up just um what we're going to be

3:22 ↗ learning today, the key principles that

3:23 ↗ we're going to go over. And so as I

3:25 ↗ mentioned uh elected officials uh you

3:27 ↗ all play a critical role in how the city

3:30 ↗ uh manages our emergencies, right? Uh so

3:32 ↗ this presentation will equip elected

3:34 ↗ officials on the key principles of one

3:37 ↗ ensuring continuity of government, two

3:39 ↗ utilizing emergency authorities, three

3:41 ↗ collaborating to improve our emergency

3:43 ↗ response and recovery. Uh defining

3:46 ↗ responsibilities, right? Making sure we

3:47 ↗ all know our lanes if you will, and then

3:50 ↗ of course uh reviewing lessons learned

3:52 ↗ from other jurisdictions who've gone

3:53 ↗ through major disasters uh in their own

3:56 ↗ right. And so um with that we're going

4:00 ↗ to start really from just the beginning

4:02 ↗ which is what is emergency management?

4:05 ↗ What role does it play within our city?

4:08 ↗ Um what are some of the foundations for

4:10 ↗ it in law? Um so there are two major

4:14 ↗ laws that um RC in the RCW and WAC that

4:18 ↗ really require the foundation of a local

4:20 ↗ emergency management organization. And

4:22 ↗ within those two laws, it directs uh

4:24 ↗ them to establish a plan to respond to

4:26 ↗ emergencies. I'll talk about what that

4:28 ↗ plan is in just a moment. Um but for our

4:31 ↗ own uh IMCC uh code, right, our own is

4:34 ↗ squa code, it identifies the mayor uh to

4:37 ↗ serve as the chief executive during

4:38 ↗ emergencies. And so I'm pulling those

4:40 ↗ two out because those are very key laws

4:42 ↗ when it comes to emergency management.

4:44 ↗ Now the plan that is established by our

4:48 ↗ local emergency management office is our

4:50 ↗ comprehensive emergency management plan

4:52 ↗ or CMP. Within that document, it

4:55 ↗ establishes uh the roles, the

4:56 ↗ responsibilities of the mayor, the

4:58 ↗ council, departments, and our many

5:00 ↗ partners when it comes to emergency

5:02 ↗ response. So to back things up just a

5:04 ↗ little bit too, um there is one system

5:08 ↗ that every fire department, police

5:11 ↗ department, city, county, state, all the

5:13 ↗ way up to the federal government uses

5:15 ↗ for emergency response here in the

5:18 ↗ United States. And so that is identified

5:20 ↗ under the National Incident Management

5:22 ↗ System, NIMS as an acronym. And we like

5:25 ↗ every other jurisdiction use that system

5:28 ↗ to respond and manage our emergencies.

5:31 ↗ So, we'll be going into a little bit of

5:34 ↗ uh some of the fundamentals of what

5:35 ↗ comes with that system. We won't explore

5:38 ↗ a full instant command system training.

5:40 ↗ Um, again, we're only going to pick out

5:41 ↗ the pieces really that do pertain uh to

5:44 ↗ elected officials and again what what

5:46 ↗ your role is within uh emergencies. So,

5:50 ↗ emergencies um they do extend beyond

5:53 ↗ just response, right? So um on the right

5:56 ↗ you'll see in this slide a uh what we

5:58 ↗ call the continuum of emergency

6:00 ↗ management. So um beyond response right

6:04 ↗ there is recovery, mitigation and

6:06 ↗ preparedness. And so just to speak to a

6:08 ↗ little bit of those um recovery is of

6:11 ↗ course you know recovering from a

6:12 ↗ disaster after it happens. Um that is

6:15 ↗ sometimes an overlooked element of

6:17 ↗ emergencies especially uh community

6:19 ↗ defining ones right where serious

6:21 ↗ numbers of homes are lost and people are

6:23 ↗ left with trauma etc etc right a

6:25 ↗ recovery is something uh that doesn't

6:27 ↗ always get the attention but is often

6:29 ↗ times uh something that jurisdictions

6:31 ↗ spend the most time uh working on uh

6:34 ↗ related to emergencies mitigation is

6:36 ↗ making disasters uh less bad if you will

6:39 ↗ for the future right so whether it's

6:41 ↗ infrastructure improvements um

6:43 ↗ development of new programs uh to to

6:46 ↗ support our uh residents or our

6:47 ↗ community. Um that is really reducing

6:50 ↗ the long-term impact. Preparedness is

6:52 ↗ speaks to not only our community members

6:54 ↗ knowing what to do and how to be

6:56 ↗ prepared for our many emergencies, but

6:58 ↗ also for our own uh city government to

7:01 ↗ make sure that we're ready to uh

7:03 ↗ respond. And of course, response is

7:04 ↗ pretty straightforward, right? when

7:06 ↗ whatever thing happens um we are we are

7:09 ↗ responding to it uh accordingly as

7:11 ↗ identified in our comprehensive

7:13 ↗ emergency management plan. So that's

7:16 ↗ really emergency management um in a

7:19 ↗ broad nutshell. It's um authorities and

7:21 ↗ how it is established within our city

7:24 ↗ and here in Washington.

7:27 ↗ So um I want to draw some lines first

7:30 ↗ and talk about roles, right? So um

7:33 ↗ within that plan we have roles and

7:35 ↗ responsibilities identified. So two

7:38 ↗ terms that you're going to hear not only

7:39 ↗ in this training but also in the

7:41 ↗ exercise tonight is instant commander

7:43 ↗ and emergency operations center. Um

7:46 ↗ effectively the things that these that

7:48 ↗ these people are doing and that this

7:50 ↗ institution is doing is it's leading our

7:52 ↗ emergency operations. It's directing

7:54 ↗ tactical response, coordinating uh

7:57 ↗ resources, providing situational

7:59 ↗ awareness and communication to the

8:02 ↗ public. So situational awareness kind of

8:03 ↗ being internally amongst other

8:04 ↗ responding entities and agencies, but

8:06 ↗ communication of course out to uh the

8:09 ↗ community at large. Um making sure that

8:11 ↗ they're aware of what's ever happening

8:12 ↗ and then really implementing our

8:14 ↗ emergency plans as we've written them up

8:16 ↗ in kind of that preparedness uh time of

8:18 ↗ the continuum.

8:21 ↗ um to break down what the role of

8:23 ↗ elected officials is are in an emergency

8:26 ↗ is uh first we're going to take a look

8:27 ↗ at the mayor. Um so the mayor is

8:30 ↗ ultimately uh they have the executive

8:32 ↗ leadership right of the city. So that is

8:35 ↗ their uh role identified within our

8:37 ↗ comprehensive emergency management plan.

8:40 ↗ Um they also have the ability to declare

8:43 ↗ uh a local emergency and exercise

8:45 ↗ emergency powers. Um, if you're

8:48 ↗ unfamiliar with some of those things

8:49 ↗ that uh get waved or uh or those

8:52 ↗ emergency powers, a couple examples of

8:55 ↗ them are uh the most common is like

8:56 ↗ waving uh competitive procurement

8:59 ↗ requirements, right? In an emergency, we

9:01 ↗ need things quickly and we don't always

9:03 ↗ have time to go through uh the full

9:05 ↗ process that we would have otherwise,

9:07 ↗ right, to procure these emergency life

9:10 ↗ safety uh resources. It helps us with

9:13 ↗ the immediate expedential of funds. Um

9:16 ↗ it helps with mutual aid unlocking uh

9:18 ↗ resources from other jurisdictions. Um

9:20 ↗ other things that can often be times

9:22 ↗ waved is like emergency overtime and

9:24 ↗ like normal leave approvals right for

9:26 ↗ city staff and uh also permitting.

9:29 ↗ Permitting is another huge section that

9:31 ↗ can be uh addressed with those emergency

9:33 ↗ powers. Uh lastly, the mayor is also

9:35 ↗ supporting in uh clearing barriers right

9:38 ↗ for emergency response. you know, if the

9:40 ↗ mayor can um lend their weight to making

9:43 ↗ things uh more efficient in in terms of

9:45 ↗ emergency response, whether it's working

9:47 ↗ with another uh jurisdiction or entity,

9:49 ↗ you know, that's uh that's something

9:51 ↗ that we look to them um to help us with.

9:55 ↗ Council's role is uh legislative and

9:58 ↗ elected continuity. So if the mayor is

10:01 ↗ unavailable for whatever reason, the

10:04 ↗ council president will serve then as in

10:07 ↗ the role of the mayor and the deputy

10:09 ↗ council president will move up to that

10:11 ↗ council president role. And so um that

10:14 ↗ is a very critical element, right, of

10:17 ↗ making sure that we as a city um aren't

10:20 ↗ left wondering, right, who is in charge.

10:22 ↗ And so, um, there's a time, right, where

10:25 ↗ you may be called upon to act in a role

10:27 ↗ that you may not currently have right

10:29 ↗ now on council for that reason. And so,

10:32 ↗ um, through the course of this training

10:34 ↗ exercise, right, like we want to make

10:36 ↗ sure that you're all thinking that way

10:38 ↗ too, right? That like you may be asked

10:40 ↗ to be making decisions that are outside

10:42 ↗ of your current um, wheelhouse as an

10:44 ↗ elected official.

10:46 ↗ Um, council is in charge of emergency

10:49 ↗ budget appropriations. And so, uh,

10:51 ↗ disasters, they're expensive. Um, they

10:54 ↗ cost a lot of money, right? And so,

10:57 ↗ council has a big role in making sure

10:59 ↗ that we can fund and actually pay for

11:01 ↗ these things and and really the

11:02 ↗ financial stewardship of the city uh, at

11:05 ↗ large. We'll talk about that a little

11:06 ↗ bit more um, as we go through the

11:08 ↗ exercise.

11:10 ↗ uh what they both are um responsible for

11:13 ↗ or both being uh the mayor and the

11:15 ↗ council is policy guidance. So there

11:17 ↗ will be issues that come up in our

11:20 ↗ response um or or potential paths that

11:23 ↗ we could pursue that either may be

11:26 ↗ costly or they may be um they may have

11:29 ↗ an optic to them or impact our residents

11:31 ↗ in a way that we as responders don't

11:34 ↗ feel comfortable making that decision by

11:37 ↗ ourselves. Right? And so we may look to

11:41 ↗ um look to you all to help us make those

11:44 ↗ decisions uh as representatives right of

11:46 ↗ the community. Next is uh advocating for

11:50 ↗ outside assistance right uh isqua as it

11:52 ↗ stands is not alone. We have plenty of

11:54 ↗ other jurisdictions who can support us

11:56 ↗ in many different ways. And sometimes,

11:58 ↗ you know, that takes advocacy, whether

12:00 ↗ it's, you know, sharing information

12:02 ↗ about what's happening here uh with

12:04 ↗ other elected officials and other

12:05 ↗ jurisdictions, you know, in the county,

12:07 ↗ the state, or otherwise. Um, we need to

12:10 ↗ tell the story of why we need support.

12:12 ↗ And, you know, that's something that

12:14 ↗ we've had to do before in the bomb

12:15 ↗ cyclone and and other recent events,

12:18 ↗ too. And so, this is it's a very key

12:20 ↗ function of uh electeds. And then

12:23 ↗ lastly, uh it's leazison leisoning with

12:25 ↗ the city administrator and deputy city

12:27 ↗ administrator during emergencies. So

12:30 ↗ that is your that is your primary way of

12:33 ↗ communication, right, of the back and

12:35 ↗ forth of information during an

12:37 ↗ emergency, right? So whether it's

12:39 ↗ something that we as responders need to

12:41 ↗ know about or whether it's something

12:43 ↗ that you all need to know about too, the

12:45 ↗ city administrator and WC administrator

12:47 ↗ are going to be that primary link if you

12:49 ↗ will to operations.

12:51 ↗ Jared, I have a question. In that

12:53 ↗ incident command structure system that

12:55 ↗ you described,

12:56 ↗ >> are there ever emergencies where city

12:58 ↗ staff are are the incident command

13:00 ↗ responder? And if so, do we have staff

13:02 ↗ that have taken that sort of training?

13:04 ↗ >> Yes, actually frequently. Um, our staff

13:06 ↗ will serve in that instant commander

13:08 ↗ role. Um, and yes, we do uh we do have

13:11 ↗ there is recognized training uh through

13:13 ↗ that instant command system that is

13:14 ↗ standardized. Um it's up to really the

13:17 ↗ courses like ICS 300 and 400 that

13:19 ↗ certifies someone to really be in that

13:21 ↗ role. And we do have a cadre of

13:23 ↗ individuals. Yeah. Of which I'm included

13:25 ↗ and a few others in this room um have

13:28 ↗ all taken that training.

13:30 ↗ >> Got it. Thank you.

13:31 ↗ >> Yeah. Um a couple things also I wanted

13:34 ↗ to highlight that isn't on this slide,

13:36 ↗ but the governor can actually wave some

13:38 ↗ other rules that um that we can't

13:40 ↗ otherwise here at the local um level.

13:43 ↗ And so that is a potential advocacy area

13:46 ↗ as well. So an example is the governor

13:48 ↗ can actually uh wave like commercial

13:50 ↗ driver hour restrictions. Um now you

13:52 ↗ might be wondering like what's that for?

13:53 ↗ Well like fuel delivery right for power

13:55 ↗ outages and things like that. There's

13:56 ↗ some really serious restrictions right

13:58 ↗ on like what how many hours people can

14:01 ↗ drive um for that thing for for that. Um

14:04 ↗ also like licensing requirements for

14:06 ↗ specific professions. There's quite a

14:07 ↗ few things where if we have um some laws

14:11 ↗ or regulations, right, that are really

14:13 ↗ barring us in response, those are

14:14 ↗ potential things that maybe the

14:16 ↗ governor, right, could potentially wave

14:18 ↗ as part of declaring an emergency and

14:20 ↗ just another advocacy lane uh for you

14:22 ↗ all if if the situation should arise.

14:24 ↗ Now, one last thing I do want to say too

14:26 ↗ about emergency powers, right, is it

14:28 ↗ doesn't suspend constitutional rights,

14:29 ↗ right? Eliminate the need for open and

14:31 ↗ public meetings, right? council comes

14:33 ↗ together uh doesn't suspend like

14:35 ↗ environmental regulations, building

14:37 ↗ codes, or you know, even allow for

14:38 ↗ unlimited spending, right? So, it's not

14:40 ↗ a magic wand. You know, there are

14:42 ↗ specific things that we can and cannot

14:44 ↗ do with those emergency powers and uh

14:47 ↗ the declaration of a local emergency.

14:49 ↗ So, just uh just wanted to highlight

14:51 ↗ that it's not, you know, end all be all,

14:53 ↗ right, for for really um some of these

14:55 ↗ very important things for our community.

14:59 ↗ Okay. To kind of parse this out a little

15:00 ↗ bit more. So, um, what's the difference

15:02 ↗ between a operational decision, right,

15:05 ↗ and a policy decision? So, what are some

15:07 ↗ of these decisions that staff and first

15:09 ↗ responders are going to be making as

15:11 ↗ opposed to what are some of the

15:12 ↗ decisions, right, that the mayor or city

15:13 ↗ council might be asked to either weigh

15:16 ↗ in on, right? And so some operational

15:18 ↗ decisions are where should resources be

15:20 ↗ deployed, which roads need to be closed,

15:23 ↗ how should evacu evacuation warnings be

15:25 ↗ delivered, uh once it's safe to reenter

15:27 ↗ an area, and uh what should be repaired

15:30 ↗ first in terms of infrastructure, right,

15:31 ↗ to get things going back uh online. Now,

15:34 ↗ some policy decisions is one, should the

15:36 ↗ city proclaim a local emergency to

15:38 ↗ unlock these emergencies emergency

15:40 ↗ authorities, right? We can't do that as

15:41 ↗ staff. Uh should the city establish a

15:44 ↗ community curve for you? Right? That's

15:45 ↗ another big decision that you all could

15:47 ↗ weigh or or or use as a tool. Uh should

15:50 ↗ the city council authorize emergency

15:52 ↗ spending uh to open additional shelters

15:54 ↗ or contract with hotels? Like that's

15:56 ↗ just an example, right, of one of those

15:57 ↗ situations where we say, you know, we

15:59 ↗ could either do it in a lowcost manner,

16:01 ↗ right? Or we could do something a little

16:03 ↗ bit more expensive. You know, do we have

16:05 ↗ the funds like are we willing to spend

16:06 ↗ the funds on something like that, right?

16:08 ↗ So those are some policy that's an

16:10 ↗ example of a policy decision we might

16:12 ↗ ask of of of you all. And then uh what

16:15 ↗ are the city's priorities really for

16:16 ↗ guiding recovery? Um we'll explore that

16:18 ↗ topic a little bit more, right? But

16:20 ↗ recovery can uh be a somewhat uh

16:22 ↗ difficult road to navigate. You know,

16:24 ↗ there's a lot of different competing

16:26 ↗ priorities. People will want different

16:28 ↗ things when it comes to um recovering

16:31 ↗ from a disaster. And so um we would

16:34 ↗ certainly need policy weighin on that.

16:37 ↗ All right. So now uh we're going to talk

16:39 ↗ about some lessons learned right from

16:41 ↗ other uh disasters that have happened

16:44 ↗ around the country and just some general

16:46 ↗ principles. So um this uh image that you

16:50 ↗ see in front of you here on the slide is

16:52 ↗ from the Maui wildfires in 2023. Now um

16:56 ↗ this was a exceedingly tragic wildfire.

16:58 ↗ 102 people lost their life with over

17:00 ↗ 2,200 buildings completely destroyed.

17:03 ↗ Um, and there was uh criticism from the

17:06 ↗ community uh during this incident

17:08 ↗ because the governor was um was a was

17:13 ↗ pretty silent to start this uh uh

17:15 ↗ incident off. He happened to actually be

17:17 ↗ or they happened to actually be at a

17:19 ↗ conference during the time of these

17:21 ↗ wildfires. And so the lieutenant

17:22 ↗ governor was actually the one in charge,

17:25 ↗ right? And so there was some confusion

17:27 ↗ around who who had the authority and for

17:30 ↗ that reason there was this gap in

17:32 ↗ communication which is was perceived

17:38 ↗ or uh even the sense that like you know

17:41 ↗ an ineffectual response right so that's

17:44 ↗ a huge takeaway is that when we um come

17:47 ↗ to an emergency or have a situation like

17:50 ↗ that we need to make sure that we know

17:52 ↗ who's in charge right that we're

17:53 ↗ speaking with one voice that we h really

17:56 ↗ have um a presence within the community,

18:00 ↗ right, when these things happen because

18:02 ↗ um otherwise, you know, the community

18:04 ↗ will will key into that, right? And

18:05 ↗ they'll kind of see that fractured uh

18:07 ↗ nature and specifically, you know, when

18:09 ↗ it comes to communication. We want to

18:10 ↗ make sure that we're sharing that same

18:12 ↗ me message and, you know, we don't have

18:14 ↗ elected officials from one jurisdiction,

18:16 ↗ you know, pointing the finger at the

18:18 ↗ other, you know, and saying, you know,

18:19 ↗ where were they or they didn't show up.

18:21 ↗ So, we're all in this together, right?

18:23 ↗ Is is really the main one of the main

18:25 ↗ lessons from that uh from that wildfire.

18:28 ↗ Uh the next is the Marshall wildfire in

18:30 ↗ 2021. Uh so this was in Colorado. Um a

18:34 ↗ really fastmoving wildfire. Uh I think

18:37 ↗ on December 31st, it claimed the life of

18:39 ↗ two individuals and about a thousand

18:41 ↗ structures lost. And um the biggest

18:44 ↗ community criticism from this was really

18:46 ↗ recovery, it didn't start until much too

18:49 ↗ late, right? So, put yourselves in the

18:51 ↗ shoes of a community member, right? And

18:53 ↗ a wildfire, you learn that a wildfire

18:54 ↗ had burnt down your home 2 days, you

18:57 ↗ know, after you evacuate, right? And um

18:59 ↗ pretty quickly, you're going to want to

19:01 ↗ know what the future looks like for you,

19:03 ↗ right? Will you be able to rebuild on

19:06 ↗ your um will you be able to rebuild your

19:08 ↗ house? Is it safe to rebuild there? Um

19:11 ↗ you know, we don't want this to ever

19:13 ↗ happen again. So, what is the city doing

19:15 ↗ to to make sure it never does? You're

19:17 ↗ going to have a lot of questions, right?

19:18 ↗ And in this particular example,

19:20 ↗ residents were very frustrated um at the

19:24 ↗ city because there wasn't really a true

19:26 ↗ recovery plan put in place until uh far

19:29 ↗ too late. And so the community lost some

19:32 ↗ faith in the city, right, that they

19:34 ↗ could uh effectively manage recovery uh

19:37 ↗ following this wildfire. So uh the

19:39 ↗ lesson learned there is we need to think

19:41 ↗ about recovery even during response,

19:44 ↗ right? So even while you know the flood

19:46 ↗ waters are still high and the fire you

19:48 ↗ know is out there right and the after

19:50 ↗ the shaking's like stopped or maybe even

19:52 ↗ after the aftershock is going right like

19:54 ↗ we need to be thinking about recovery

19:56 ↗ and what that means for our community

19:57 ↗ and start putting our heads together

19:58 ↗ around this topic um because people are

20:01 ↗ going to demand information quickly.

20:04 ↗ Um, next is the uh the Black Summer

20:07 ↗ Fires in Australia, which you know,

20:09 ↗ we're joined by uh deputy administrator

20:11 ↗ Autumn, who was actually there uh

20:13 ↗ visiting one of the communities, right,

20:15 ↗ post wildfire, who had some great

20:17 ↗ takeaways um from what uh recovery

20:20 ↗ looked like for them and just the

20:22 ↗ long-term nature of how long recovery

20:24 ↗ takes, right? It took it takes years. Um

20:27 ↗ it's not uh it's not a short-term thing

20:30 ↗ and in some cases right the the

20:32 ↗ government there had to really

20:34 ↗ reconsider what their priority was in

20:37 ↗ some cases even ending programs to um to

20:40 ↗ in favor of recovery programs. We'll

20:42 ↗ talk a little bit more about that later

20:44 ↗ in the tabletop exercise. Autumn maybe

20:46 ↗ could share some some more of the

20:47 ↗ nuggets from there. Um but it is um

20:51 ↗ again yeah recovery is a is an ordeal

20:54 ↗ that is um it takes a lot of it takes a

20:56 ↗ lot of thought. Um, a couple other

20:59 ↗ common pitfalls that weren't necessarily

21:01 ↗ highlighted by uh these incidents, but

21:04 ↗ um I just want to bring up uh from from

21:07 ↗ others is one that um a a potential

21:10 ↗ barrier, right? Is a when an elected

21:13 ↗ official may call the incident commander

21:15 ↗ directly to request a change in tactics,

21:18 ↗ right? That's something that can cause a

21:20 ↗ stumbling block in terms of the

21:22 ↗ response, right? Because um we want to

21:24 ↗ keep those lanes identified, right? keep

21:26 ↗ the responders thinking about the

21:27 ↗ response and policy makers thinking

21:29 ↗ about policy because um imagine right if

21:33 ↗ um you you know you you all have um you

21:36 ↗ you all live here right and so if you

21:39 ↗ see firet trucks you know defending one

21:41 ↗ street perhaps right and if you request

21:43 ↗ a change you know where those fire

21:45 ↗ trucks are right those decisions were

21:47 ↗ made based on a risk assessment and with

21:50 ↗ a tactical response in mind right and so

21:53 ↗ um we just want to make sure that we

21:54 ↗ keep those lanes separate it and make

21:56 ↗ sure that uh it doesn't create any

21:58 ↗ complications because a responder may

21:59 ↗ feel pressure, right, to adjust tactics

22:02 ↗ to to meet those uh requests, you know,

22:05 ↗ and that might not always be in the best

22:06 ↗ interest for the community at large. So,

22:08 ↗ that's one common pitfall. Uh sharing

22:11 ↗ unofficial information is also another

22:14 ↗ uh common pit pitfall when it comes to

22:16 ↗ the relationship between uh responders

22:18 ↗ and policy makers, right? Again, that

22:21 ↗ just kind of speaks to the um nature of

22:23 ↗ one needing one unified voice, right?

22:25 ↗ You all are going to have uh access to

22:27 ↗ information that no one else in the

22:29 ↗ community will have access to, right?

22:31 ↗ And we have uh a joint information

22:33 ↗ center is what it's called. It's an

22:35 ↗ element of our emergency operations

22:37 ↗ center that really coordinates that

22:39 ↗ public communication, right? Like what's

22:41 ↗ approved for um for releasing out to the

22:44 ↗ public. And that's just to make sure

22:46 ↗ right that um nothing uh either gets

22:49 ↗ shared that isn't verified right or that

22:52 ↗ it's uh shared at the right time like

22:54 ↗ take for example you know if we have an

22:56 ↗ issue at one of our water reservoirs or

22:58 ↗ one of our water towers and you know we

23:00 ↗ think we might lose pressure in the

23:02 ↗ system but you know um and so that gets

23:05 ↗ shared right that we might lose water

23:06 ↗ pressure everyone's going to fill up

23:08 ↗ their bathtubs right which will only

23:10 ↗ make that issue uh uh worse right but oh

23:13 ↗ good news 30 minutes later we have an

23:15 ↗ emergency generator ready to hook up on

23:17 ↗ to it. No problem. You know what I mean?

23:19 ↗ And so all that to say, right, um share

23:22 ↗ making sure that we share that

23:23 ↗ information when we're ready to share it

23:25 ↗ is is important. And and the JIC um I'm

23:28 ↗ pointing towards Autumn because Autumn

23:30 ↗ often times is our JIC leader, right?

23:32 ↗ But you all are also a very powerful

23:35 ↗ tool when it does come to public

23:37 ↗ communication too, right? like you have

23:39 ↗ access to community and groups that like

23:42 ↗ we want to make sure that get this

23:44 ↗ information right, but we just need to

23:46 ↗ make sure it's like at the right the

23:47 ↗ right time and with the uh right

23:48 ↗ approved message, if you will. Um

23:52 ↗ lastly, uh this one is um visiting

23:54 ↗ dangerous areas without coordination,

23:55 ↗ right? Don't get too close to the

23:57 ↗ incident without uh giving us a a heads

23:59 ↗ up. You know, we don't want to make sure

24:01 ↗ that uh a rescue mission has to happen

24:03 ↗ for for any of you all. And then of

24:06 ↗ course, you know, promises about

24:07 ↗ timelines can also be a challenging um

24:09 ↗ thing, right? Like we want to make sure

24:11 ↗ kind of that same that same uh

24:13 ↗ communication theme that we were just

24:15 ↗ talking about. Timelines is like very a

24:18 ↗ very common burn point for um for local

24:21 ↗ responders, right? And for city

24:23 ↗ governments where, you know, we may not

24:25 ↗ know the full extent of damages or how

24:27 ↗ long it's actually going to take to to

24:29 ↗ recover, for example. And so if we make

24:31 ↗ too many promises, you know, people are

24:32 ↗ going to stop trusting our word, right,

24:34 ↗ if we can't meet those those timelines.

24:36 ↗ So all that to say, those are just some

24:38 ↗ of the high level um lessons learned

24:40 ↗ that we've learned from other

24:41 ↗ jurisdictions and other community. You

24:43 ↗ know, we've had some major disasters in

24:45 ↗ the few years that I've been here

24:47 ↗ already. And you know, I'm really uh

24:49 ↗ proud to say that like Isqua City

24:50 ↗ Council has done incredible job in those

24:54 ↗ responses. you know there there is

24:56 ↗ actually no afteraction items like

24:58 ↗ calling out any of these pitfalls right

25:00 ↗ so you all have done a really good job

25:03 ↗ uh in the past all that to say but I

25:05 ↗ still wanted to highlight them just to

25:06 ↗ make sure right that we do are we are

25:09 ↗ aware of them um so we don't have to

25:11 ↗ make those mistakes and um and learn

25:13 ↗ from them if you will okay last thing I

25:16 ↗ want to touch on because this is

25:17 ↗ something that uh frequently comes up in

25:19 ↗ disasters right is what are the types of

25:22 ↗ uh resources specifically financially

25:24 ↗ available to the city and its residents

25:27 ↗ following a disaster. So, uh we're going

25:30 ↗ to start first with federal support. So,

25:32 ↗ FEMA public assistance is probably the

25:35 ↗ most uh common requested form of

25:38 ↗ financial uh support following a major

25:41 ↗ disaster. And so, public assistance is

25:43 ↗ kind of a tricky term because uh public

25:46 ↗ in this sense actually means government.

25:48 ↗ Um so, it's like FEMA government

25:50 ↗ assistance, if you will. So, this type

25:52 ↗ of assistance helps us recapture our

25:54 ↗ costs in an emergency. It also helps us

25:57 ↗ uh fund the repair and restoration of

25:59 ↗ our infrastructure. Um there's typically

26:02 ↗ a federal cost share or there is a

26:04 ↗ federal cost share element to it. They

26:06 ↗ take 75% of that cost and cover um

26:10 ↗ whatever it is for for um the damages.

26:12 ↗ We take the other 25%. Sometimes the

26:15 ↗ state has kicked in 12.5% of that local

26:18 ↗ damage uh local share of that cost

26:21 ↗ allocation that 25% but that's something

26:23 ↗ that's a little bit in question as state

26:26 ↗ budget um issues have have um deepened

26:29 ↗ if you will. So all that to say um it is

26:32 ↗ a huge aid for us um if we can get

26:36 ↗ public assistance. So, uh, to qualify

26:39 ↗ for public assistance, King County needs

26:41 ↗ to have public damages totaling in a

26:44 ↗ little over $11 million. And then

26:47 ↗ statewide, we need at least about $15

26:49 ↗ million. And so, if we can have recorded

26:52 ↗ public damage of $15 million about in

26:55 ↗ the state and 11 in King County, then we

26:57 ↗ get a presidentially declared disaster,

26:59 ↗ which unlocks these funds. We got this

27:02 ↗ for the severe flooding in December. Um

27:05 ↗ but we did not get this for the bomb

27:07 ↗ cyclone if you all might remember that

27:09 ↗ was something that we um and you all I

27:11 ↗ know tried you know very hardly to lend

27:13 ↗ your voice to um unlocking those federal

27:15 ↗ dollars but you know um unfortunately we

27:18 ↗ did not receive them. So again that is

27:20 ↗ something that we we look to as a huge

27:22 ↗ uh financial support for the city to

27:24 ↗ recover city government to recover. Um

27:26 ↗ FEMA individual assistance is um that

27:29 ↗ funds that actually help people recover.

27:32 ↗ there is um no set formula for how that

27:35 ↗ is uh delivered. So generally there is a

27:39 ↗ rule of thumb where if you have a few

27:40 ↗ hundred homes uh destroyed, that's

27:42 ↗ typically when FEMA will actually start

27:44 ↗ issuing um uh some recovery funds to

27:47 ↗ survivors. Uh Small Business

27:49 ↗ Administration disaster assistance loans

27:51 ↗ are probably the most common form of

27:53 ↗ federal aid following a disaster. Uh

27:55 ↗ they're essentially yeah low interest

27:56 ↗ loans that help businesses and um res or

28:01 ↗ uh even um h like uh residents uh

28:04 ↗ nonprofits all uh recover, right? You

28:07 ↗ can use those loans to rebuild. Um

28:09 ↗ they're usually I think right now I

28:10 ↗ checked today they're like 2.8% is the

28:13 ↗ interest rate on those loans. There's a

28:15 ↗ formula for having uh damages there that

28:17 ↗ you can see at the bottom of the screen.

28:18 ↗ And like I said it's a very common

28:20 ↗ threshold that we hit. Other programs,

28:23 ↗ uh, the Department of Health and Human

28:24 ↗ Services has a program, same with the

28:27 ↗ Department of Agriculture, and then

28:28 ↗ Washington State Individual Assistance

28:30 ↗ is much like FEMA individual assistance,

28:32 ↗ a um state program that uh helps

28:35 ↗ financial um that helps uh lowincome and

28:38 ↗ vulnerable populations recoup the costs

28:40 ↗ of uh surviving this disaster. So, um

28:44 ↗ with that, that was my final slide

28:45 ↗ before we get into the tabletop. I know

28:48 ↗ council member Boyd had a few questions

28:49 ↗ that you sent in an email uh to to me

28:52 ↗ today. So I'm happy to just address

28:54 ↗ those um now if you will. Um is that all

28:57 ↗ right, Council President Marts? Okay,

28:59 ↗ please.

28:59 ↗ >> Okay, great. So uh I believe the first

29:02 ↗ question pertained to that Washington

29:05 ↗ state individual assistance fund and uh

29:07 ↗ whether the long-term health of it is um

29:10 ↗ is viable as you know much of it was

29:13 ↗ depleted during the December flooding um

29:15 ↗ for this most recent Yeah. flooding

29:17 ↗ incident that we had here in western

29:18 ↗ Washington and and I would say the same

29:21 ↗ thing you know is um I'm I'm unclear

29:24 ↗ personally if you know the state will

29:26 ↗ have budget for it. It is kind of a

29:27 ↗ notorious difficult bar to reach for

29:30 ↗ vulnerable populations to actually get

29:32 ↗ those funds. Um I know it's uh sometimes

29:35 ↗ been unders subscribed for that reason

29:37 ↗ um in some of these major incidents but

29:39 ↗ you know that's something that you know

29:41 ↗ obviously we um we'll be watching

29:43 ↗ carefully because it is a great resource

29:45 ↗ right to some of our most vulnerable um

29:47 ↗ residents.

29:48 ↗ Uh the next question pertained to um an

29:51 ↗ element of our comprehensive emergency

29:53 ↗ management uh plan that called out the

29:56 ↗ um essentially there is provisions in

29:58 ↗ there to allow residents to support us

30:01 ↗ in emergency response. And so what this

30:04 ↗ speaks to is Washington state has an

30:06 ↗ emergency worker program of which we use

30:09 ↗ um residents who have training um in our

30:13 ↗ community emergency response team teams

30:16 ↗ to like learn some advanced disaster

30:17 ↗ skills. It allows them to support us in

30:20 ↗ our disaster response while being

30:23 ↗ protected under Washington State LNI

30:25 ↗ actually. So, it's a great program that

30:27 ↗ allows um people who who do want to help

30:29 ↗ the city to help us while also not

30:32 ↗ putting themselves uh in jeopardy. And

30:35 ↗ then um your final question was about

30:37 ↗ what are we doing to uh prepare and

30:39 ↗ provide for people's um mental health

30:42 ↗ during uh disasters, right? And uh what

30:44 ↗ are some of the programs that we have?

30:46 ↗ Well, uh we have an initiative called

30:48 ↗ Resilience Hubs here in Isiqua. They're

30:50 ↗ a group of community uh groups that are

30:54 ↗ active in really disasters and the

30:56 ↗ community. Uh we've recently done some

30:58 ↗ disaster mental health uh first aid

31:00 ↗ training with some of those members to

31:02 ↗ equip more staff and community members

31:04 ↗ with just a baseline knowledge of um of

31:07 ↗ how to help one another during um during

31:09 ↗ disasters. Additionally, our human

31:11 ↗ services department or division has been

31:14 ↗ exceedingly helpful in disasters just

31:16 ↗ with this very thing. during the bomb

31:18 ↗ cyclone at these resilience hubs, we had

31:20 ↗ some of those human services uh staff

31:22 ↗ members there and just kind of providing

31:24 ↗ on the on the ground counseling, you

31:26 ↗ know, and just anecdotally, we heard

31:27 ↗ from a lot of residents that, you know,

31:29 ↗ that was maybe the best part of of the

31:32 ↗ bomb cyclone was just that togetherness,

31:34 ↗ that ability to talk to one another in

31:36 ↗ those resilience hubs and really just

31:38 ↗ share, right, in this um really crazy

31:41 ↗ event, right, that was happening uh in

31:43 ↗ the city. So, hopefully that answers

31:44 ↗ your question. If you need any more

31:45 ↗ information on any of them, I'm happy to

31:47 ↗ Yeah. Uh share.

31:50 ↗ >> Thank you so much. No, that covers it.

31:52 ↗ Appreciate it. Great.

31:53 ↗ >> Council member Walsh.

31:55 ↗ >> Thank you. I have a few questions,

31:57 ↗ Jared. Um I'll start with the resilience

32:00 ↗ hubs. Um I noticed they're not

32:02 ↗ specifically mentioned in the CMP. It's

32:06 ↗ kind of become a practice and something

32:08 ↗ that the community relies on. Um, do we

32:12 ↗ have a sense of like how we make that

32:15 ↗ official and whether or not when a

32:19 ↗ resilience hub would be launched, how

32:22 ↗ they would be staffed, things like that?

32:25 ↗ >> Yeah, that's a that's a great question.

32:26 ↗ That's actually um so we are in the

32:28 ↗ process of updating this comprehensive

32:30 ↗ emergency management plan that's uh

32:31 ↗ actually on the work plan for this year

32:33 ↗ for emergency management. I actually

32:35 ↗ hope to take some of the lessons that we

32:36 ↗ learned from this uh tabletop exercise,

32:38 ↗ right, and plug them in to make our CMP

32:41 ↗ even better. But uh one of the things

32:43 ↗ that will be added is resilience hubs.

32:45 ↗ And so um we also um beyond the CMP, we

32:49 ↗ also have a resilience hub partner

32:51 ↗ partner guide that um helps these hubs

32:54 ↗ really understand how to be operational,

32:57 ↗ staff themselves, right? Some of their

32:59 ↗ own internal challenges uh during

33:02 ↗ emergencies. And so we that's one of our

33:04 ↗ main things that we work with them on

33:05 ↗ honestly is just getting their own um

33:08 ↗ organizations like prepared right to to

33:10 ↗ be active uh within them. When we do

33:13 ↗ activate, we also have a landing page

33:15 ↗ online that kind of highlights some of

33:16 ↗ the things and the amenities at them. Um

33:19 ↗ when they do become official resilience

33:21 ↗ hubs, we add them onto that landing

33:22 ↗ page. Um but it is something that we do

33:24 ↗ want to continuously share with

33:26 ↗ community, right? That they are aware of

33:28 ↗ these resources and just make sure that

33:30 ↗ we open them up, right? um as as

33:32 ↗ frequently as possible when we do have

33:34 ↗ yeah disasters and the like.

33:36 ↗ >> Okay. Um can you talk to us a little bit

33:40 ↗ about the EOC? Yeah.

33:42 ↗ >> Um where it is, when it gets launched,

33:45 ↗ and how council members get updates from

33:48 ↗ that. I've been very impressed with um

33:51 ↗ your updates off of that and um city

33:54 ↗ administrator Bob Quit's making sure

33:55 ↗ that we are kept informed. But I think

33:57 ↗ it would be good in advance of an

34:00 ↗ emergency for everybody to know um what

34:02 ↗ that looks like.

34:03 ↗ >> Yeah, absolutely. No, great great

34:05 ↗ question. Yeah, so the EOC um it lives

34:08 ↗ currently at Isqua Public Works. Um it's

34:10 ↗ one so the advantage of the EOCC is it's

34:12 ↗ one location, right, where all

34:14 ↗ responders can come together and be in

34:16 ↗ one space physically um but also

34:19 ↗ virtually. Now we do have a virtual

34:20 ↗ component on Teams, right? because it is

34:22 ↗ albeit a bit of an unders sized room for

34:25 ↗ the size of staff and number of staff

34:26 ↗ that we have now. Um but there you know

34:29 ↗ you'll find representatives from every

34:31 ↗ department within the city and

34:32 ↗ oftentimes partners like East Side Fire

34:34 ↗ and Rescue who are key to to the

34:37 ↗ response. So uh in the EOC you'll find

34:40 ↗ um multiple what we call sections. One

34:43 ↗ focuses strictly on operations. One is

34:46 ↗ planning for the next operational

34:48 ↗ period. Uh one section is tracking the

34:50 ↗ finance like how much we're spending. Um

34:53 ↗ another section logistics is ordering

34:55 ↗ the goods that we use. And then um as

34:58 ↗ we've mentioned the joint information

35:00 ↗ center is also in that EOC where you

35:03 ↗ know they're thinking about what

35:04 ↗ information we can get out to the public

35:06 ↗ scheduling press conferences and the

35:08 ↗ like. Um was that all the elements of

35:11 ↗ your question?

35:12 ↗ >> How does council get updated?

35:15 ↗ >> Yes, definitely. So, you know, like I I

35:16 ↗ mentioned, the city administrator and

35:18 ↗ the deputy city administrator are really

35:20 ↗ uh your best link to that information.

35:22 ↗ Every incident's a little different,

35:23 ↗ right? Like some require more um I would

35:26 ↗ say probably more involvement, right? Or

35:28 ↗ less uh from council depending on what's

35:30 ↗ happening. Um so it can come in a

35:32 ↗ variety of ways, right? whether it's an

35:34 ↗ email update, you know, in some cases or

35:36 ↗ um as I mentioned, yeah, really uh

35:39 ↗ Wall-E and Autumn are the best people to

35:42 ↗ kind of address like how that

35:43 ↗ information will come depending on that

35:45 ↗ situation. While you have some add

35:47 ↗ >> uh thank you, Council Member Walsh,

35:49 ↗ members of the council, good evening.

35:51 ↗ Um, you know, we're committed to make

35:53 ↗ sure you have information first. So, as

35:56 ↗ soon as we know something has happened,

35:58 ↗ uh depending on the time of day and

36:00 ↗ depending on the severity, we're going

36:01 ↗ to get a hold of you, uh via text

36:04 ↗ message, via a phone call, just to say

36:06 ↗ something has happened. Uh and then I

36:08 ↗ think as Jared has mentioned, then we're

36:10 ↗ kind of off to individual different uh

36:13 ↗ um events depending on what's going on.

36:15 ↗ Uh but you have uh the mayor's

36:17 ↗ commitment, the administration's

36:18 ↗ commitment uh to keep you posted. Uh, as

36:21 ↗ you know, we do operational uh update

36:24 ↗ meetings with the EOC uh usually about

36:26 ↗ twice a day uh sometimes more

36:28 ↗ frequently. Uh, and we're committed uh

36:30 ↗ to making that information available to

36:32 ↗ you as soon as possible after that. Uh,

36:34 ↗ and then really it just kind of depends.

36:36 ↗ Uh, but the the real watch word for us

36:38 ↗ is uh we don't want you uh to be in the

36:41 ↗ community with neighbors asking you

36:43 ↗ what's going on and you not having the

36:44 ↗ latest information. We don't want you to

36:46 ↗ turn on the television and see something

36:48 ↗ that uh you haven't already heard about.

36:51 ↗ Uh and that goes with, you know, natural

36:54 ↗ uh things like snowstorms and rain

36:56 ↗ events that may not rise to this level.

36:58 ↗ Uh but if we know there's going to be

37:00 ↗ community concern or any kind of press,

37:02 ↗ uh we want to make sure you have it

37:04 ↗ first.

37:06 ↗ >> Great. And that's been my experience. So

37:09 ↗ it's it's working well. Um Jared, can

37:12 ↗ you talk about any practice or um ways

37:16 ↗ that you try and make sure that we are

37:20 ↗ prepared for emergencies? Um because

37:23 ↗ obviously you don't want to be doing the

37:24 ↗ training in the middle of an emergency.

37:26 ↗ So what does that look like for the

37:29 ↗ emergency management group and how often

37:32 ↗ does it happen?

37:33 ↗ >> Yeah, you know, our goal right now is to

37:35 ↗ have one annual exercise. Um, we've

37:38 ↗ actually had, as I've mentioned, a few

37:40 ↗ disasters here, um, locally that have

37:42 ↗ caused us to activate our EOC, which

37:44 ↗ happen to be, you know, the best way to,

37:46 ↗ of course, you know, learn those skills.

37:48 ↗ Um, we're working on creating a more

37:50 ↗ evergreen training system, too. Right?

37:52 ↗ So, outside of those exercises, creating

37:54 ↗ some online uh resources, right, to

37:57 ↗ where if people are deployed to the EOC,

38:00 ↗ they can watch videos and such, right?

38:01 ↗ to become uh like a just in time

38:03 ↗ training is kind of what we what we tag

38:05 ↗ it on as. Um but yeah, making sure our

38:08 ↗ staff is prepared for for whatever

38:10 ↗ emergency it is is is very that's a it's

38:13 ↗ a big part of what our emergency

38:15 ↗ management program is is focused on. Um

38:18 ↗ so yeah,

38:19 ↗ >> great. Thank you.

38:20 ↗ >> Yeah,

38:22 ↗ >> Council Member Joe,

38:24 ↗ >> thank you. Uh Jared, thank you for the

38:26 ↗ presentation. It was um very uh

38:29 ↗ informational and in depth. appreciate

38:31 ↗ that. Um, citizen emergency response

38:34 ↗ team. Um, how many uh, individuals do we

38:38 ↗ have participating in that? And could

38:40 ↗ you talk a little bit about how they are

38:43 ↗ deployed if it were a city-wide

38:45 ↗ incident? Um, you know, are there two in

38:48 ↗ each zone or however you put it

38:50 ↗ together? Or if it's just a a creek

38:53 ↗ incident, let's say the main stem of

38:55 ↗ Isqua Creek, how would they be deployed

38:57 ↗ in that particular case?

38:58 ↗ >> Yeah. No. Uh, great questions. So, our,

39:01 ↗ uh, community emergency response team,

39:04 ↗ uh, we've had about 2,000 people receive

39:06 ↗ the training over the course of its, uh,

39:08 ↗ inception. Now, how many of them are

39:10 ↗ active is around 250ish,

39:14 ↗ we would say, and then about 90 are

39:17 ↗ registered as uh, what are called

39:19 ↗ permanent emergency workers. So speaking

39:22 ↗ that uh kind of LNI protection status,

39:24 ↗ right? We can actually pre-register

39:26 ↗ people um to make sure that they have

39:28 ↗ that even before a disaster happens. And

39:30 ↗ so those I would say those 90 are truly

39:32 ↗ our most dedicated uh core when it comes

39:35 ↗ to uh C um and their activities. Now uh

39:39 ↗ with that being said, we are offering

39:41 ↗ many more courses and trainings than

39:44 ↗ we've ever had um in the past and we are

39:46 ↗ seeing just such high demand for them

39:49 ↗ honestly from the community. We have

39:50 ↗ weight lists for every single class that

39:52 ↗ we that we have and that we put on. Um

39:55 ↗ and so it is something that the yeah

39:57 ↗ that the community is certainly I there

40:00 ↗ is there is a desire for more engagement

40:02 ↗ there I would say and um so it's a it's

40:05 ↗ been a great resource for us as a city

40:08 ↗ and bolstering our response uh where

40:10 ↗ they are. Um for that reason we have you

40:12 ↗ know many throughout all the different

40:13 ↗ neighborhoods. It's actually speaking to

40:15 ↗ one of our long-term plans is like we I

40:18 ↗ hope to have a resilience hub uh and

40:20 ↗ walking distance from every community

40:22 ↗ member in Isiqua, right? That's the

40:25 ↗ goal. And so since these C members are

40:28 ↗ all Isqua residents, the goal is that

40:31 ↗ they will get familiar with their

40:33 ↗ nearest resilience hub and then say

40:36 ↗ there's an earthquake, right? they they

40:38 ↗ can deploy to their nearest resilience

40:40 ↗ hub and serve as like an emergency uh

40:42 ↗ shelter worker if you will or help at

40:44 ↗ that site, right? To to help people get

40:46 ↗ back on their feet with just those base

40:47 ↗ emergency needs. Uh each of those sites

40:49 ↗ is also we're working on getting

40:50 ↗ resilient communication in all them. So

40:52 ↗ we'll be able to contact uh make contact

40:54 ↗ with them in the EOC. And so um yeah, we

40:56 ↗ have them everywhere, right, which is

40:58 ↗ great. And so uh we're building those

41:00 ↗ bridges between the resilience hubs and

41:02 ↗ searchs to ser to serve as that surge

41:03 ↗ force. And so um we're we're really

41:06 ↗ excited about kind of the future

41:07 ↗ evolution of that of that bringing those

41:09 ↗ two great programs together in that way.

41:11 ↗ In terms of call out, we use um we will

41:15 ↗ have them we call them out really when

41:17 ↗ there is um a need, right? That kind of

41:20 ↗ exceeds the capability of our own

41:21 ↗ internal staff. That isn't necessarily

41:24 ↗ something overly technical, if you will,

41:26 ↗ right? Like we're not asking, you know,

41:28 ↗ them to go out there and dig fire lines,

41:30 ↗ right, during a wildfire or, you know,

41:32 ↗ conduct traffic. Um so the way in which

41:35 ↗ we call them out is typically via uh we

41:37 ↗ have an internal alerting system called

41:39 ↗ code red. We'll send it out over that.

41:41 ↗ We also turn on a radio system um

41:44 ↗ established by some of our uh really

41:46 ↗ great radio volunteers that can direct

41:48 ↗ individuals to wherever you know the

41:51 ↗ site is or wherever we need help in a

41:53 ↗ large scale catastrophic emergency. But

41:56 ↗ then also you know kind of the more

41:57 ↗ traditional emails and text to right we

42:00 ↗ we do have access to all that system as

42:02 ↗ well those systems as well. Great. Thank

42:04 ↗ you. It's nice to hear that we have such

42:05 ↗ a a wide core of people that are willing

42:08 ↗ to step up in an emergency.

42:10 ↗ >> Yeah.

42:10 ↗ >> Deputy Council President Chang.

42:12 ↗ >> Great. Um well, thanks so much Jared for

42:14 ↗ this presentation and I think I just

42:16 ↗ want to uh you know dive in a bit more

42:19 ↗ on some of the answers you gave to

42:20 ↗ Council Member Joe just now. Um

42:22 ↗ specifically, I'm really interested in

42:23 ↗ this concept of having resilience hubs

42:25 ↗ in every neighborhood. Um, so I'm

42:27 ↗ curious, you know, how many we have now

42:29 ↗ and how many you think we'd have in this

42:31 ↗ future state and, you know, with CERT

42:34 ↗ volunteers, what's the distribution we

42:36 ↗ have of them currently, right? Do we

42:38 ↗ have them evenly distributed in some

42:39 ↗ neighborhoods? Are there some

42:40 ↗ neighborhoods that have more than

42:41 ↗ others?

42:42 ↗ >> Um, but I'll start with those two and

42:43 ↗ then I have a few more.

42:44 ↗ >> Okay, great. Yeah. So, we we have about

42:47 ↗ seven locations right now that are

42:49 ↗ identified as resilience hubs and um

42:52 ↗ three of which are cityowned um sites

42:54 ↗ and four of which are community partner

42:57 ↗ uh owned organizations. And so, uh it's

43:00 ↗ a it's a fairly good network. I would

43:02 ↗ say we have um we have pretty good

43:05 ↗ coverage in the city. Where we're

43:06 ↗ missing right now is actually more on uh

43:09 ↗ the west side of the city. So we're

43:10 ↗ missing um one in Talis if you will,

43:13 ↗ Montro and South Cove, kind of that

43:15 ↗ area, one to serve uh that those

43:17 ↗ neighborhoods. Those are that's kind of

43:19 ↗ our gap area right now. And so that's

43:21 ↗ something that you know um this is a

43:23 ↗ joint project with sustainability um and

43:25 ↗ that we're working on to to make some of

43:28 ↗ those partnerships there and uh get

43:30 ↗ establish more sites there. Um, in terms

43:33 ↗ of distribution, when we've done uh when

43:35 ↗ we've done a study of it, it it pretty

43:36 ↗ much mirrors actually like where the

43:39 ↗ density is in Isiqua of where our

43:41 ↗ searchs are, right? So, up in the

43:42 ↗ highlands, we have a lot we have a good

43:44 ↗ amount in Talis. Um, a good amount down

43:46 ↗ here, you know, in Oldtown. Um, uh, a

43:49 ↗ really strong core up in Providence

43:51 ↗ Point as well. Um, we got some really,

43:53 ↗ uh, passionate volunteers up there. Um,

43:55 ↗ that's where one of the resilient hubs

43:57 ↗ is as well is Providence Point, so it

43:59 ↗ makes sense. Um but yeah, that's kind of

44:01 ↗ where where they all are typically.

44:05 ↗ >> Cool. And then um I guess I had a

44:07 ↗ question on you know, do we do stuff to

44:09 ↗ keep cert volunteers engaged during

44:12 ↗ non-emergency times?

44:13 ↗ >> Yeah, absolutely. And that's um you know

44:15 ↗ that's one of the the fun things that we

44:17 ↗ do try to do or one of the fun parts of

44:19 ↗ the program, right? We try to deliver

44:21 ↗ supplemental trainings. Um we've

44:23 ↗ recently even been doing some

44:24 ↗ appreciation nights uh for them which is

44:26 ↗ great. we get them um an annual

44:28 ↗ appreciation uh event where it actually

44:30 ↗ recognizes how many hours they've

44:32 ↗ volunteered. We're uh partnering with

44:34 ↗ other jurisdictions too when they have

44:36 ↗ emergencies uh of actually making um our

44:39 ↗ C members available as a resource uh to

44:42 ↗ them uh if they're registered emergency

44:43 ↗ workers. Uh so for example, we've been

44:46 ↗ working a lot with search and rescue um

44:48 ↗ lately, King County Search and Rescue

44:50 ↗ and getting some of our uh members out

44:52 ↗ there, right? because uh our members

44:54 ↗ really want to use their skills, right?

44:56 ↗ Which is which is pretty great. And so

44:58 ↗ if we can find them more opportunities

45:00 ↗ like that, we will um long-term goals.

45:03 ↗ We also are trying to have like monthly

45:04 ↗ engagements where they get supplemental

45:06 ↗ trainings, whether it's guest speakers

45:07 ↗ or the like. But you know, just

45:09 ↗ currently um we don't exactly have CERT

45:13 ↗ is very like volunteer um powered too,

45:16 ↗ right? So, I want to say, you know,

45:18 ↗ often times it takes individual members

45:20 ↗ stepping up to make kind of additional

45:21 ↗ things happen with our with our just our

45:23 ↗ current level of resources, you know,

45:25 ↗ here in our emergency management

45:27 ↗ program, but CR is really volunteer uh

45:29 ↗ powered, which we have some incredible

45:31 ↗ volunteers in there that help Yeah. with

45:33 ↗ that stuff, too.

45:34 ↗ >> Awesome. Thank you.

45:35 ↗ >> Yeah.

45:37 ↗ you mentioned earlier um legal jeopardy

45:40 ↗ and um I had a question around what is

45:44 ↗ so I'm this is just my own interest I'm

45:47 ↗ a voter right and so voters are required

45:49 ↗ by law to respond if they're in a

45:52 ↗ response area around an an ongoing

45:54 ↗ emergency and they're shielded by the

45:56 ↗ good Samaritan law um for for the legal

45:59 ↗ ramifications of being part of the

46:01 ↗ emergency response. What is what is that

46:04 ↗ more generally in the in the public if

46:06 ↗ we had an emergency tomorrow? There are

46:08 ↗ folks who are part of there are folks

46:09 ↗ who have structured roles in the city,

46:12 ↗ but there's also folks that are just

46:13 ↗ that will just be responding to their

46:15 ↗ neighbors and to you know go fill

46:18 ↗ sandbags, right? There was a there was a

46:20 ↗ sandbag activity back in December for

46:22 ↗ instance. Yeah.

46:22 ↗ >> Right. And so what is the what is the

46:25 ↗ legal jeopardy legal framework around

46:28 ↗ like the good Samaritan law and others

46:30 ↗ in responding to emergency situations?

46:32 ↗ So, so when the public can understand

46:35 ↗ when they should feel free to go ahead

46:36 ↗ and and and be generous and be involved

46:40 ↗ in these emergencies and when they

46:41 ↗ should step back and you know,

46:43 ↗ >> right,

46:44 ↗ >> be more cautious.

46:45 ↗ >> Yeah, great great question. And so, you

46:47 ↗ know, it's within your training, right,

46:49 ↗ is kind of the caveat of that uh Good

46:51 ↗ Samaritan law, right? So, if you um if

46:55 ↗ you're performing CPR, for example,

46:57 ↗ right, on someone that you've and you've

46:58 ↗ never had training for CPR, right, that

47:00 ↗ could be a potential uh issue. Now, you

47:03 ↗ know, um for a lot of things that we're

47:06 ↗ asking, you know, or neighborly

47:08 ↗ activities, you know, for whether it's

47:10 ↗ helping someone load up their car,

47:13 ↗ right, for a wildfire evacuation or

47:15 ↗ such, right? That's that's all covered

47:16 ↗ within the Good Samaritan law. And like

47:18 ↗ you drop their vase or something like

47:20 ↗ that, right? that's that are things that

47:22 ↗ are protected right cuz that is within

47:23 ↗ your um common you know understanding

47:26 ↗ knowledge right your competencies right

47:28 ↗ can you carry something and so you know

47:30 ↗ I don't want to make it sound like there

47:32 ↗ is very many barriers but for some more

47:34 ↗ more of the advanced things I would say

47:36 ↗ right like uh there is that that caveat

47:39 ↗ within the good Samaritan law now for

47:41 ↗ our operations right in which the

47:44 ↗ sandbagging um example is a great one so

47:47 ↗ if we have members of the public who are

47:50 ↗ interested in supporting us in um

47:52 ↗ emergency response. We can actually

47:54 ↗ register them as temporary emergency

47:56 ↗ workers is what it's called. And they

47:58 ↗ are given those same protections of LNI

48:01 ↗ and and a broader span of um of uh

48:05 ↗ protection from legal uh issues that may

48:07 ↗ arise by getting registered. So we

48:09 ↗ actually registered quite a few people

48:10 ↗ just temporarily um during that

48:13 ↗ sandbagging uh incident. And like the

48:14 ↗ bomb cycle, we had those community

48:16 ↗ cleanup events, right? We would every

48:18 ↗ every time we had one of those, I think

48:20 ↗ we registered about five or six people.

48:21 ↗ And so if we do um want to, right, if we

48:25 ↗ do have an instant where we want we have

48:27 ↗ like a high volunteer rate, right, from

48:29 ↗ the community that want to help out, um

48:31 ↗ we can we can certainly register them to

48:33 ↗ make sure that they're covered and that

48:34 ↗ we can, you know, uh let neighbors help

48:37 ↗ neighbors um to some extent. So yeah,

48:41 ↗ >> great. Thank you. Any follow on

48:43 ↗ questions?

48:46 ↗ >> All right. I guess not. I guess we're

48:48 ↗ ready to move into CM O293 then

48:52 ↗ executive or emergency management

48:54 ↗ tabletop exercise.

49:20 ↗ Sounds good.

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