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[1. Discussion regarding City operations, response, and future actions as described in Resolution No. 20210325-067 related to the February 2021 Winter Storm event (Winter Storm Uri).]
UH, TODAY'S CITY COUNCIL MEETING.THIS IS A SPECIAL QUAD MEETING.
TODAY IS TUESDAY, MAY 11, 2021.
THIS IS BEING HELD VIA VIDEO CONFERENCE.
UH, COLLEAGUES, AS YOU RECALL, THE PURPOSE OF TODAY'S MEETING IS TO, UH, DISCUSS ISSUES REGARDING CITY OPERATIONS RESPONSE AND FUTURE ACTIONS.
YOU REVOLVE THAT, UH, COUNCIL MEMBER TOVO LED ON A RESOLUTION, UH, SETTING UP A PROCESS, UH, FOR THE COUNCIL TO BE ABLE TO DAYLIGHT QUESTIONS OR CONCERNS THAT, UH, UH, WE MIGHT HAVE, UM, MAYBE WE GET ANSWERS, BUT I REALLY, I THINK THE PRIORITY HERE WAS TO IDENTIFY FOR THE MANAGER ISSUES THAT WE WANTED TO MAKE SURE WERE RAISED IN THE, UM, UH, AFTER ACTION ANALYSIS THAT, UH, HE'S GOING TO BE DOING THIS PROCESS THAT WE'RE IN NOW IS ONE OF WHAT SEEMED LIKE MULTIPLE, UM, UH, WAYS FOR US AND THE COMMUNITY AND THE MANAGER TO GET, UH, UH, FEEDBACK AND ANSWERS AND TO LOOK AT WHAT HAPPENED DURING THE STORM.
IN ADDITION TO THIS WORK BY COUNCIL, YOU KNOW, THAT, UH, YOU KNOW, LIKE THE COUNCIL HAS PREVIOUSLY HELD JOINT MEETING ON THIS.
WE KNOW THAT OUR WATER COMMITTEE, UH, IS TAKING A LOOK AT IT THAT AUSTIN ENERGY COMMITTEE TAKING A LOOK AT IT ALREADY HAS, AND WE'LL HAVE SOME ADDITIONAL HERE HE'S COMING FORWARD.
WE KNOW THERE'S A COMMUNITY TASK FORCE THAT'S BEEN ENGAGED, UH, AND HAS NOW SCHEDULED MEETINGS AND OPPORTUNITIES FOR THE PUBLIC, UH, TO BE ABLE TO DIRECTLY ENGAGE.
UM, OBVIOUSLY THIS, UH, EVENT IN OUR COMMUNITY WAS, WAS HUGE AND HUGELY DISRUPTIVE, UH, AND VERY COSTLY ON SO MANY LEVELS.
UM, SOME OF THOSE ISSUES ARE HERE, LOCAL.
SOME OF THOSE ISSUES ARE, ARE STATE AND STATEWIDE.
UM, BUT I THINK THAT, UH, EVERYONE RECOGNIZES THAT, THAT WE NEED TO SPEND SOME TIME TO MAKE SURE THAT WE LEARN EVERYTHING THAT WE CAN LEARN AND DO BETTER, UH, IN, UH, UH, FUTURE SITUATIONS.
UH, AND I THINK THAT'S KIND OF THE, THE PURPOSE OF THIS MANAGER.
I'M GOING TO ASK YOU IF YOU WANT TO SAY ANYTHING TO, TO START US OFF.
AND, UH, YOU KNOW, I THINK IT MIGHT ALSO BE HELPFUL IF, UH, YOU WOULD CONSIDER CREATING LIKE A SINGLE PLACE ON OUR WEBSITE SOMEWHERE WHERE PEOPLE CAN GO TO ABOUT THE STORE AND THEN TIE BACK TO THE WORK THAT THE VARIOUS GROUPS ARE DOING.
UM, SO THAT IF THEY GO THERE, THEY CAN ACCESS THE PUBLIC MEETINGS OR AT LEAST BE TAKEN TO A PAGE THAT DOES SO THAT SOMEONE DOESN'T HAVE TO ADD AROUND TO TRY TO FIND, UH, THE VARIOUS, UH, UH, INITIATIVES.
BUT I APPRECIATE THE WORK THAT, UH, COUNCIL MEMBER TOBO HAS DONE BOTH OF THAT EARLY RESOLUTION.
AND THEN WITH AN AGENDA TODAY THAT WE'LL TRY TO FOLLOW AS BEST WE CAN AS A KIND OF A GENERAL PATH THAT WAS PROMOTED.
AND, AND, UH, CERTAINLY, UH, LOOK AT THE QUESTIONS AS A GUIDE, BUT NO ONE IS LIMITED HERE ON THE QUESTIONS THAT THEY CAN, THEY CAN ASK ARE ONLY LIMITED BY TIME.
AND WE'LL TRY TO STAY NOT TO EXCEED THE TIME IN ANY ONE AREA TO MAKE SURE THAT WE CAN WORK OUR WAY THROUGH, UH, AND MANAGER.
WE DID NOT ASK THE STAFF TO PREPARE ANY PRESENTATIONS FOR US FOR THIS, UH, BY INTENTION, UH, BECAUSE THIS WASN'T, I WOULD IMAGINE THERE'S GOING TO BE ALL KINDS OF PRESENTATIONS OF AWARDS THAT COME BACK FROM YOU AT THE END OF THIS PROCESS.
UH, BUT FOR RIGHT NOW, WE JUST WANTED TO HAVE FOLKS PRESENT AND COLLEAGUES SO THAT EVERYBODY WASN'T SITTING HERE FOR A LONG PERIOD OF TIME, UH, I THINK THAT WE'VE ASKED THE MANAGER TO TRY AND KEEP THE APPROPRIATE STAFF AVAILABLE TO US IN THAT TIME BLOCKED PERIODS SO THAT THEY COULD BE HERE FOR THAT, UH, GENERALLY SPEAKING, WHICH IS ANOTHER REASON WHY TO TRY AND STAY WITHIN THOSE, UH, UH, WITHIN THOSE BLOCKED, UH, AREAS.
UM, YOU KNOW, IT SEEMS AS IF OVER THE LAST COUPLE OF YEARS, EVERY BIG EVENT IN CRISIS OR CHALLENGE WE HAVE, WHICH SEEMS TO BE ONE, THEY JUST CAN'T GET ANY BIGGER WHILE WE SEEMS TO BE PREEMPTED BY SOMETHING WHICH SEEMS BIGGER.
UM, BUT WE'LL, WE'LL, WE'LL DOUBLE BACK NOW ON 200 AND SEE IF WE CAN STAY FOCUSED ON, ON THAT
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MANAGER.DO YOU WANT TO SAY SOMETHING? AND THEN CATHY, I RECOGNIZE YOU AS WELL.
THANK YOU, MAYOR AND COUNCIL JUST REALLY WANT TO APPRECIATE THIS OPPORTUNITY TO HAVE THIS DISCUSSION.
AS THE MAYOR POINTED OUT, THIS IS AN ONGOING PROCESS, THIS CLOSE A HISTORIC EVENT THAT OUR COMMUNITY AT STATES AND COUNTRY FACED DURING THAT TIME.
AND IT WAS FRANKLY AN EMERGENCY ON TOP OF EMERGENCY ON TOP OF A PANDEMIC.
AND SO THERE WERE SO MANY LAYERS TO THIS, BUT THE FULL, COMPREHENSIVE WAY THAT WE'RE GOING TO BE LOOKING AT THIS, BOTH IN THE PREPARATION PROCESS, UH, WHAT OCCURRED DURING THE RESPONSE AND THEN, UH, CERTAINLY THE RECOVERY AS WELL.
UH, THIS WILL ALL BE FACTORED INTO THE REPORTS AND, UH, WORK THAT WE'RE DOING ON THE AFTER ACTION, UH, PROCESS THAT IS WELL UNDERWAY.
UH, AND I REALLY LOOK FORWARD TO HAVING THIS CONVERSATION TODAY, UH, TO INFORM THOSE FUTURE STEPS, BUT THIS IS REALLY IN THE SPIRIT TRANSPARENCY AND MAKING SURE THAT WE CAN CONSTANTLY BE EVALUATING OUR OWN WORK, UH, BECAUSE AS I'VE SAID BEFORE, WE CAN AND MUST DO BETTER, UH, WHEN WE KNOW THE NEXT, UH, NATURAL DISASTER HITS.
AND SO THIS IS NOT GOING TO BE THE, IT HASN'T BEEN THE FIRST TIME.
AND AS PART OF OUR RESILIENCE EFFORTS, UH, THIS WILL BE A CRITICAL THAT WE RESPOND TO AND ADDRESS SOME OF THE CONCERNS THAT ARE RAISED TODAY.
SO WHAT THAT ALTERNATIVE BACK TO YOU MAYOR, THANK YOU.
IS, DO YOU THINK THAT YOU'LL BE ABLE TO GET STAFF TO CREATE KIND OF A ONE PLACE FOR PEOPLE TO GO TO THESE VARIOUS THINGS? I APOLOGIZE FOR NOT MENTIONING THAT YES.
STAFF HAS TOLD ME THAT THEY ARE WORKING ON THAT AND WE WILL BE ABLE TO ACCOMMODATE THAT.
AND I WANTED TO JUST REALLY START BY APPRECIATING, UM, MY CO-SPONSORS ON THIS ITEM, MAYOR ADLER COUNCIL MEMBER, ALTAR MAYOR PRO TEM, HARPER, MADISON, AND COUNCIL MEMBER POOL.
UM, THE RESOLUTION HAD, UH, YOU KNOW, DIFFERENT, UH, DIFFERENT WAYS TO LOOK AT THIS AT THIS EVENT THAT HAPPENED.
UM, AND HOPEFULLY IT WILL BE NOT DUPLICATIVE OF THE OTHER, THE OTHER KINDS OF ANALYSIS, BUT REALLY ADD TO IT.
I KNOW, YOU KNOW, AS I SAT WITH MY STAFF AND TALKED ABOUT, TALKED ABOUT AND REFLECTED ON WHAT HAPPENED, WE FELT A STRONG, A STRONG, UM, DESIRE TO REALLY BETTER UNDERSTAND, BETTER UNDERSTAND WHAT HAD HAPPENED.
AND I REALIZED AS I WAS TALKING WITH MANY OF YOU THAT, YOU KNOW, WE WERE ALL WORKING SO FAST AND FURIOUSLY AND INTENSELY ON OUR OWN, YOU KNOW, ON DIFFERENT ELEMENTS OF IT THAT I DON'T REALLY, I DON'T REALLY WELL KNOW WHAT EXPERIENCES YOU ALL HAD.
UM, AND, AND THERE WERE WHOLE AREAS OF THE STAFF RESPONSE THAT I, THAT I DON'T, THAT I'M NOT AS FAMILIAR WITH.
UM, AND SO, YOU KNOW, AS WE STARTED TO HAVE THOSE INITIAL MEETINGS, I KNOW MANY OF US KIND OF JUMPED RIGHT TO THE, SOME OF THE RECOMMENDATIONS.
LIKE WE SHOULD REALLY BE ABLE TO DO THIS IN THE, IN THE FUTURE.
AND, AND ONE WAY OF APPROACHING THAT I THOUGHT WAS TO KIND OF BEGIN BY HAVING THIS OPPORTUNITY TO ASK QUESTIONS AND HEAR FROM STAFF ABOUT SOME OF THOSE AREAS BEFORE WE KIND OF MOVE INTO OFFERING RECOMMENDATIONS.
AND SO I, I AM REALLY APPRECIATIVE, UH, REALLY APPRECIATE, UM, JASON ALEXANDER ON YOUR STAFF MANAGER, HE'S HE HAS SPENT A LOT OF TIME AND EFFORT, UM, WORKING WITH THE MAYOR AND WORKING WITH ME ON GETTING, GETTING THESE, UH, WORK SESSIONS ORGANIZED IN A WAY THAT WOULD BE MANAGEABLE FOR STAFF AND FOR US.
AND SO ONE, ONE THING THAT'S CHANGED FROM THE INITIAL PLAN AND THE INITIAL RESOLUTION WE PASSED ON THAT EXHIBIT A, IT TALKED ABOUT A COMMUNITY PIECE WHERE WE WOULD INVITE DIFFERENT MEMBERS OF THE COMMUNITY IN TO TALK TO THE COUNCIL ABOUT THEIR EXPERIENCE IN A SERIES OF ISSUES.
AND WHEN WE REALLY SAT DOWN AND LOOKED AT THE TIME WE HAD AVAILABLE TWO HALF DAY SESSIONS, JUST WOULDN'T, WOULDN'T ALLOW FOR THAT TO BE DONE, TO BE DONE WELL IN A RESPECTFUL WAY TO THOSE COMMUNITY MEMBERS.
SO IN CONVERSATIONS WITH THE MANAGER, UM, OR WITH JASON AND WITH, UH, THE MAYOR, WE HAVE CUT THAT PORTION OF THE CONVERSATION AND ARE INSTEAD ENCOURAGING THOSE, THOSE INDIVIDUALS IN THOSE VOLUNTEER GROUPS THAT WE KNOW WERE ACTIVE IN THE STORM TO PLEASE GO AND TALK WITH THE TASK FORCE.
SO I THINK WE HAD AN OPPORTUNITY JUST REALLY BRIEFLY LAST WEEK TO TALK ABOUT THE TASK FORCE.
THEY'VE MET SEVERAL TIMES, BUT THEY'VE HAD ONE HEARING.
UM, I THINK IT WAS LAST WEEK, COUNCIL MEMBER ELLIS CAME IN AND OFFERED GREETINGS AND WELCOME AND SOME ADDITIONAL INFORMATION.
AND THEN THEY HAD A SMALL GROUP OF PEOPLE COMING AND SPEAKING ABOUT THEIR EXPERIENCES, BUT THEY WERE VERY, REALLY, UH, VERY USEFUL, PRODUCTIVE TESTIMONIES ABOUT, ABOUT THEIR EXPERIENCES DURING THE STORM.
AND SO ONE OF THE THINGS THAT MY STAFF IS DOING IS, IS REACHING OUT TO SOME OF THE GROUPS THAT WE HAD MENTIONED IN EXHIBIT A AND ENCOURAGING THEM TO GO TO THE UPCOMING TASK FORCE MEETINGS AND SHARE THEIR EXPERIENCES AND THEIR RECOMMENDATIONS, THEIR IDEAS, UM, AND OUR STAFF, UH, OUR CITY STAFF HAVE ISSUED, ISSUED SOME INFORMATION ABOUT
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THAT IN THE FORM OF A PRESS CON IN A FORM OF A PRESS RELEASE TODAY.SO JUST WANT TO CALL YOUR ATTENTION TO THAT.
THE NEXT PUBLIC SESSION OF THE CITIZENS TASK FORCE IS MAY 14TH FROM SIX TO EIGHT, AND THERE'S INFORMATION AVAILABLE ON WHEN YOU NEED TO SIGN UP TO PARTICIPATE IN THAT THEY ARE NO LONGER GOING TO ORGANIZE THEIR MEETINGS BY COUNCIL DISTRICT.
IT'S NOW OPEN TO ANYONE WHO WANTS TO PARTICIPATE IN THOSE UPCOMING SESSIONS AND THEY'VE SCHEDULED AN ADDITIONAL FOUR.
SO PLEASE TELL ANYBODY, YOU KNOW, AND I KNOW WE ALL WORKED.
SOMETIMES WE WORKED WITH SOME OF THE SAME FOLKS LIKE AUSTIN NEEDS WATER AND THE FIREFIGHTERS.
AND THEN SOMETIMES WE WERE WORKING WITH DIFFERENT ORGANIZATIONS LIKE BUSTA AND VARIOUS OTHERS.
SO, UM, TO THE EXTENT THAT THAT WE CAN ALL BE GETTING THE WORD OUT, I THINK WE WILL HAVE A FULLER AND A RICHER CONVERSATION ABOUT WHAT ALL OF THOSE DIFFERENT EXPERIENCES WERE SO THAT WE CAN LEARN FROM THEM AND MOVE FORWARDS.
I THINK THAT'S ALL I WANTED TO SAY.
UM, THE MAYOR KIND OF COVERED, YOU KNOW, I, I POSTED SOME OF THE QUESTIONS THAT I HAD OR HEARD, BUT REALLY WE HAVE, WE HAVE PROMISED THE STAFF THAT WE DIDN'T REQUIRE PRESENTATIONS AND THINGS OF THAT SORT, THAT WE WERE JUST GOING TO BE KIND OF TOPIC DRIVEN AND, AND JUMP IN AND ASK SOME OF THE QUESTIONS THAT WE MAY NOT HAVE HAD AN OPPORTUNITY TO TALK ABOUT IN THE DIFFERENT SESSIONS.
AS WE WENT THROUGH, I TRIED TO ELIMINATE SOME OF THE TOPICS THAT I FELT LIKE WE HAD COVERED IN ONE OF THE COMMITTEES.
SO, AND I'LL TRY TO DO THE SAME FOR NEXT WEEK, TOO, AS WE TAKE ON AUSTIN ENERGY AND AUSTIN WATER, THOSE ARE REALLY TRUNCATED DISCUSSIONS GIVEN THAT THEY'RE, THEY'VE BEEN DISCUSSED NOW IN MULTIPLE FORUMS. AND NONE OF US, I THINK, WANT, WANT TO ASK THE STAFF TO GO OVER THE SAME GROUND OR, OR TO HAVE THE SAME CONVERSATIONS.
SO THANKS AGAIN TO ALL OF THE STAFF I'VE WORKED ON THIS.
SO GENERALLY SPEAKING, THE OUTLINE TODAY IS TO START WITH EMERGENCY OPERATIONS.
UH, WE HAVE ONE OR TEAS WITH US, UM, WHO IS OUR CITY, UH, LEAD, UM, ON, UH, THE EOC RARE DISEASE OPERATION COMMAND.
WE'LL START THERE AND THEN WE GO TO TRANSPORTATION, UH, AND THEN WE'LL GO TO A PUBLIC SAFETY AND THEN WRAP IT UP.
UM, KATHY, AND ONE LAST TIME, I'M GOING TO GO TO YOU FIRST.
SHE WANT TO ASK THE FIRST QUESTION IS WE'RE STARTING OFF HERE WITH RESPECT TO THE EMERGENCY OPERATIONS, AND ONE, THANK YOU FOR BEING WITH US.
I DON'T NEED TO MAYOR, IF SOMEONE ELSE HAS A, AS A BURNING QUESTION, THEY WANT TO JUMP INTO, I HAVE LOTS AS YOU SAW EVERYBODY WANT TO START ALICE.
UM, WELL AGAIN, THANK YOU, KATHY.
TOVO FOR, FOR BRINGING THIS RESOLUTION.
I THINK IT'S A REALLY IMPORTANT, UM, SET OF CONVERSATIONS AND I'M LOOKING FORWARD TO LEARNING A LOT TODAY.
UM, I WENT BACK AND LOOKED AT THE EMERGENCY PLAN.
I FORGET THE EXACT NAME FOR FOUR EIGHT.
UM, AND IT CALLS FOR COUNCIL EMERGENCY TRAINING, WHICH I KNOW THAT I'VE NEVER HAD OR EVER BEEN OFFERED.
UM, AND I THINK IT WOULD HAVE BEEN HELPFUL IN THE AFTERMATH OF THIS WOULD HAVE BEEN HELPFUL IN THE AFTERMATH OF THE PANDEMIC.
UM, SO I WOULD LIKE TO UNDERSTAND WHY THAT HAS NOT HAPPENED AND WHAT THE PLAN IS MOVING FORWARD TO MAKE SURE THAT WE DO HAVE THAT TRAINING.
YOU KNOW, COUNCIL DID A LOT OF REALLY, REALLY IMPORTANT WORK DURING THE STORM.
UM, I WANT TO ACKNOWLEDGE THAT, BUT I THINK THERE WERE ALSO SOME THINGS THAT EACH OF US DID AT VARIOUS TIMES THAT MADE MORE WORK RATHER THAN LESS WORK.
AND I THINK SOME OF THAT CAME FROM A LACK OF CLARITY ABOUT OUR ROLES AND WHO WE WERE SUPPOSED TO BE TALKING TO AND HOW TO GET THINGS DONE.
AND I REALIZED THIS WAS NOT A DISASTER PER SE, THAT WE HAD PLANNED FOR.
UM, BUT I THINK WE NEED, WE NEED THAT TRAINING AND WE NEED TO HAVE THAT, UM, CLARITY AND IT NEEDS TO BE UPDATED AND SHARED WITH NEW COUNCIL MEMBERS.
UM, AND IT NEEDS TO BUILD IN THE LEARNING THAT WE HAVE FROM THIS EXPERIENCE.
SO I DON'T KNOW IF THAT'S FOR THE CITY MANAGER OR FROM MR. STEELE'S.
YEAH, I'LL, I'LL START OUT COUNCIL MEMBER.
CAUSE I, I REALLY APPRECIATE THAT, UH, QUESTION AND COMMENTS AND COULD NOT AGREE MORE THAT THIS TYPE OF ONGOING, UH, DIALOGUE AND TRAINING, UH, EVEN AS PART OF THE ORIENTATION PROCESS FOR NEW CO COUNCIL MEMBERS, UH, IS CRITICAL.
AND SO WHETHER IT WAS FOR VARIOUS REASONS ON AVAILABILITY OF THE TRAINERS THEMSELVES AVAILABILITY OF, OF TIME, UH, TO SCHEDULE THIS, UH, I'M SURE THERE ARE MULTIPLE REASONS WHY IT HAS NOT HAPPENED, BUT I AM VERY COMMITTED TO ENSURING THAT WE FIND TIMES IN THIS CALENDAR YEAR, UH, TO MAKE SURE THAT THAT HAPPENS GOING FORWARD.
SO REALLY KNOWING THAT THIS IS SOMETHING THAT IN MY PAST EXPERIENCE IN MINNESOTA, IN MINNEAPOLIS,
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WE DID HAVE BOTH HALF-DAY SESSIONS AND LONGER SESSIONS, UH, WITH, UH, PARTNERS FROM BIMA, UH, FROM OUR EMERGENCY OPERATION LEADERSHIP, UH, TO TALK ABOUT, UH, WAYS IN WHICH NOT ONLY THE OPERATIONS AT THE CITY LEVEL ARE COORDINATED, BUT THEN THE DIFFERENT ROLES AND RESPONSIBILITIES THAT, UH, EACH OF YOU PLAY IN THIS RESPONSE.SO I LOOK FORWARD TO SCHEDULING THOSE.
UH, I HAVE COMMITTED TO EACH VIEW AND, AND MANY OF YOU INDIVIDUALLY AND ONE-ON-ONE CONVERSATIONS THAT THIS NEEDS TO HAPPEN SOONER THAN LATER.
AND WE'VE ALREADY STARTED WORKING ON WAYS THAT WE CAN GET THAT ON THE CALENDAR, HOPEFULLY TILL YET THIS SUMMER.
UH, DID I MISS ANYTHING ON, UH, NO, I THINK, WELL, WE'VE DONE SOME ORIENTATIONS, UH, BUT WE, WE OBVIOUSLY WE NEED TO DO MORE AND WE WILL, I'M WRITING MYSELF A NOTE HERE TO WORK ON SETTING APPOINTMENTS WITH THE DIFFERENT COUNCIL MEMBERS TO MAKE SURE THAT WE, UH, BREAK QUICKLY DO A, A BRIEFING.
AND THEN WE'RE WORKING ACTUALLY A PART OF A SD TWENTY-THREE ON A, UH, ELECTED OFFICIAL TRAINING COMPONENT.
AND WE SHOULD HAVE THAT COMPLETED HERE AT THIS FALL.
ARE YOU ON THIS TOPIC? SAME QUESTION ON EMERGENCY OPERATIONS CENTER.
NO, ON COUNCIL TRAINING, LET ME KNOW DIFFERENT QUESTION.
LET'S STAY HERE FOR JUST A SECOND.
SEE IF OTHER PEOPLE HAVE THOUGHTS ON THIS.
THERE'S AN INTERESTING THING IN TERMS OF TRAINING OF COUNCIL MEMBERS, BECAUSE I THINK THAT THIS EVENT SHOWED US THAT THE TRAINING THAT'S NECESSARY GOES BEYOND THE VISION OR MISSION.
THAT WAS A ROUTE THAT IS CONTAINED IN OUR EMERGENCY PLANS.
IF IT'S JUST A BRIEFING ON THE EMERGENCY PLANS, I'M NOT SURE THAT GETS TO THE QUESTIONS OF REALLY WHAT IS THE ROLE OF THE COUNCIL OFFICES IN AN EMERGENCY, WHICH IS NOT ADDRESSED REALLY WELL IN THOSE PLANS AS PEOPLE IN THE COMMUNITY, INTERACTING WITH THE CITY, NO, THEIR COUNCIL OFFICES.
SO THAT'S OFTENTIMES THE FIRST PLACE THAT THEY GO.
AND I KNOW THAT THE COUNCIL MEMBER IS TRYING TO DO RIGHT BY THEIR DISTRICTS, WANT TO BE ABLE TO IMMEDIATELY GET IT ABOUT IT, TO ADDRESS.
SO PART OF THE TRAINING, I THINK MAY VERY WELL INVOLVE THINKING THROUGH WHAT'S CURRENTLY NOT THERE THAT NEEDS TO BE SO THAT IT EXPANDS AND EVOLVES TRAINING ON JUST WHAT IT IS.
IT'S WRITTEN A DOCUMENT DOESN'T GET US THERE.
UM, THERE'S A, ANOTHER ELEMENT THAT REALLY HAS TO BE EXPLORED, UM, IN TERMS OF WHAT IS THE ROLE OF COUNCIL? HOW DO THEY, THE COUNCIL MEMBERS GET INFORMATION? HOW DO THEY CONVEY THAT? HOW DO THEY MAKE THEIR DISTRICT NEEDS? KNOW WHAT IS, WHAT IS THAT CONSTRUCTIVE INTERACTION AS A PART AND PARCEL OF OUR EMERGENCY RESPONSE, WHICH IS AN ASPECT THAT WE HAVE NOT BEEN OUT THE BEST.
IT'S LIKE, APPRECIATE YOU, UH, ADDING TO THAT MAYOR.
CAUSE I DO AGREE WITH THAT AS WELL.
AND KNOWING IN BOTH THE INDIVIDUAL, UH, UH, INTERESTS OF SPECIFIC COUNCIL MEMBERS AND HOW THAT MAY EVOLVE OVER TIME AND THE SPECIFIC SITUATIONS THAT DIFFERENT COMMUNITIES ENCOUNTER.
SO HEARING HOW DIFFERENT JURISDICTIONS HAVE, UH, UH, TALKED ABOUT THOSE ROLES AND RESPONSIBILITIES, UH, HOW THEY HAVE ADAPTED TO DIFFERENT, UH, INDIVIDUALS AND, UH, MAKEUPS THE COUNCIL AND THEN THE SPECIFIC EVENTS.
BUT I THINK THOSE ARE ALL CRITICAL SCENARIOS TO WORK THROUGH, UH, AS WE WOULD GO THROUGH.
AND I AGREE IT'S NOT LESS TRAINING, BUT, YOU KNOW, TABLETOP EXERCISES, IF YOU WILL, UH, AS PART OF THIS PROCESS.
SO WE WILL MAKE NOTE OF THAT AND MAKE SURE THAT'S INCLUDED IN THE CURRICULUM.
UH, QUITE A FEW HANDS HERE ON THIS ONE.
UM, I HOPE THAT THAT IS GOING TO BE A FEEDBACK LOOP BECAUSE I KNOW THAT EACH DISTRICT IS DIFFERENT.
UM, YOU KNOW, I CAN SPEAK SPECIFICALLY ABOUT MINE AND THAT IT WAS NOT WIDELY KNOWN THAT BEING THE FIRST OFF LINE WITH WATER AND MEANT THAT YOU WERE GOING TO BE THE LAST TO COME BACK ON.
SOME OF OUR ROADS WERE NOT BEING CLEAR THAT STOPPED AT A CERTAIN, YOU KNOW, MIDWAY THROUGH THE DISTRICT.
AND THE PEOPLE AT THE FAR SOUTHERN END WERE STILL HAVING TO DRIVE ON SNOW AND ICE LONG AFTER OTHERS WERE ABLE TO DRIVE ON SAFER ROADS.
UM, I ALSO ONLY HAVE ONE PUBLIC FACILITY, THE LIBRARY IN MY DISTRICT, IT WASN'T OPEN, WE COULDN'T REACH THE WARMING CENTERS.
UM, SO I HOPE THAT THAT IS AN EXERCISE THAT WE GO THROUGH TOGETHER.
UM, AND IT'S NOT JUST ABOUT THE HINDSIGHT OF THE WINTER STORM.
IT'S ABOUT THE FORESIGHT OF POTENTIAL FOR WILDFIRE RISK THAT WE'LL NEED TO KNOW HOW, HOW TO EDUCATE, YOU KNOW, THE PEOPLE IN OUR DISTRICT ABOUT HOW TO KEEP THEMSELVES AND THEIR FAMILIES SAFE.
UM, BUT PART OF MY CONTRIBUTING TO THE, THE TASK
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FORCE, UM, SESSION THAT HAPPENED A WEEK OR TWO AGO, SORRY, THAT TIME FLIES, UM, WAS THAT THEY HAD THOUGHT ABOUT TAKING FEEDBACK FROM SPECIFIC DISTRICTS ON CERTAIN DATES.AND SOME OF MY CONSTITUENTS REACHED OUT AND SAID, I DIDN'T SIGN UP IN TIME AND I HAVE SOMETHING TO SHARE.
AND I STILL HOPE WE GET AN OPPORTUNITY TO DO THAT.
SO I DID STEP IN AND SHARE THE DISTRICT EIGHT STORY IN THAT SPECIFIC CIRCUMSTANCE, BUT I'M VERY APPRECIATIVE THAT THERE'S OTHER OPPORTUNITIES FOR MY DISTRICT TO PROVIDE THAT INPUT.
BUT AS FAR AS, YOU KNOW, TRAINING COUNCIL OFFICES ON EMERGENCY RESPONSE, I HOPE I HOPE THERE CAN ALSO BE A LEVEL OF TAKING OUR INPUT AND UNDERSTANDING THE DIFFERENT SCENARIOS THAT EACH OF OUR DISTRICTS ARE GOING TO HAVE IN A SITUATION LIKE THIS.
AND TO BE ABLE TO INCORPORATE THAT INTO THE TRAINING PROCESS OR A REPORT OR WHAT IS WE'RE SUPPOSED TO KNOW, UM, AND TO MAKE SURE THAT THAT'S FLEXIBLE AS WE GO THROUGH REDISTRICTING, THAT WE'RE GOING TO UPDATE THAT PLAN WHEN NEW DISTRICTS ARE DRAWN IN AND WE HAVE NEW BOUNDARIES TO ASSESS.
SO I DO HOPE THAT IS A FEEDBACK LOOP.
AND I HAVE BEEN ON BOTH SIDES OF THIS.
NOW I'VE BEEN BOTH A COUNCIL MEMBER AND I'VE WORKED IN EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT.
AND SO I HAVE A UNIQUE LENS THAT I'M ABLE TO VIEW THIS THROUGH.
AND I REALLY DO THINK THAT THERE WERE SOME, SOME BARRIERS TO ACCESS OF INFORMATION.
I KNOW THAT I HAD REQUESTED SITUATION REPORTS THROUGHOUT THE, UM, THE WINTER STORM AND IT TOOK A LITTLE WHILE TO GET THOSE.
SO I SOUGHT THEM OUT A DIFFERENT WAY, BUT THERE ARE GAPS IN INFORMATION FLOW THAT WOULD HAVE BEEN INCREDIBLY HELPFUL FOR MANY OF OUR COUNCIL OFFICES.
AND EVEN JUST THE POINT OF CONTACT TO KNOW WHO AND WHERE TO SEND INFORMATION ABOUT WHAT'S HAPPENING IN OUR DISTRICT COULD HAVE BEEN COMPLETELY HELPED.
AND IT WOULD HAVE GONE FASTER IF WE'D KNOWN THE WAY THAT THAT INFORMATION WOULD FLOW.
SO I APPRECIATE THAT WE MAY HAVE THE OPPORTUNITY TO GO THROUGH A TABLETOP EXERCISE.
I THINK THAT THAT WOULD BE A GREAT OUTCOME AND EXPERIENCE FOR MY FELLOW COUNCIL MEMBERS TO REALLY SEE HOW THE PROCESS WORKS AND TO LEARN MORE ABOUT IT IN DETAIL, SO THAT WE CAN BE MORE EFFECTIVE IN OUR COMMUNICATIONS TO OUR COMMUNITIES MOVING FORWARD.
I THINK IT WAS A HAND AND THEN HE BRAG.
UH, YEAH, I WOULD JUST LIKE TO ECHO WHAT OTHERS HAVE SAID.
UM, I, I REALLY, UH, ALTHOUGH TRAINING WOULD BE HELPFUL.
I DON'T REALLY THINK THAT'S WHAT WE'RE TALKING ABOUT HERE.
UM, I THINK WE NEED TO HAVE A GROUP CONVERSATION TOGETHER ABOUT WHAT THE ROLE OF THE COUNCIL IS.
SO THAT MIGHT BE IN ADDITION TO TRAINING.
UM, I HAVE BEEN, YOU KNOW, I'M JUST CONCERNED THAT THE COUNCIL IS NOT INCLUDED IN THE PROCESS FOR EMERGENCY RESPONSE.
AND SO WE ALL RUN AROUND, YOU KNOW, TALKING WITH EACH OTHER, SOME TO LEARN ABOUT, TO LEARN FROM EACH OTHER AND WHAT WE CAN DO TO HELP OUR CONSTITUENTS.
WE TALK WITH STAFF AND STAFF IS WONDERFULLY RESPONSIVE IN A LOT OF WAYS, BUT IT'S INCREDIBLY INEFFICIENT.
UM, AND, UM, I THINK THAT, UM, I, WHAT I WOULD LIKE TO HAVE IS AN OPPORTUNITY FOR US TOGETHER TO TALK ABOUT WHAT THE ROLE OF COUNSEL IS.
UM, AND I WOULD LIKE TO SEE OUR EMERGENCY PLAN, UH, REVISED IF, IF NEED BE, UM, TO, TO ADDRESS THAT ROLE.
AND, UH, ONE OF MY, SO I'LL JUST TELL YOU WHAT I THINK OUR ROLE SHOULD BE.
COMMUNICATION SHOULD BE CLEAR AND OPEN AND TRANSPARENT, AND WE SHOULD BE PART OF RECEIVING THAT INFORMATION, NOT, NOT THROUGH SPECIAL MEETINGS OR SEPARATE MEETINGS ARE SEPARATE EMAILS, BUT PART OF RECEIVING INCIDENT REPORTS AND, UM, YOU KNOW, OTHER KINDS OF REPORTS WE SHOULD BE IN THE FLOW IN THE REGULAR FLOW.
I THINK THAT ALSO, I WOULD LIKE TO SEE WRITTEN INTO THE RESPONSE PLAN, UH, THE COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT PORTION, AND THAT MAY NOT BE THE RIGHT WORD FOR IT COMMUNITY.
I'LL JUST USE THAT FOR LACK OF A BETTER WORD.
IN OTHER WORDS, WHO IS IT ON INCIDENT RESPONSE THAT HANDLES VOLUNTEER ACTIVITIES, WHO IT, WHO IS IT INCIDENTS RESPONSE THAT WORKS WITH THE COUNCIL MEMBERS.
WE JUST NEED A MUCH MORE COORDINATED WAY TO DO THAT.
AND SO I WOULD LIKE TO SEE THAT WRITTEN AND CIRCULATED SO THAT WE CAN COMMENT ON IT AND THEN HAVE A CONVERSATION ABOUT IT.
I DON'T WANT TO GO THROUGH ANOTHER EMERGENCY THAT WE HAVEN'T FIGURED OUT HOW THE, THE COUNCIL IS ENGAGED IN THAT ACTIVITY IN A FORMAL WAY AS PART OF THE PROCESS.
NOW, IT'S, IT'S REALLY FELT LIKE WE'RE JUST SORT
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OF AN ADD ON WHILE WE'RE TRYING AND WHILE WE'RE TRYING TO BE HELPFUL IN THE WAY THAT WE CAN.AND SO I JUST REALLY THINK THAT'S IMPORTANT.
I ALSO THINK THAT OUR RESPONSE SYSTEMS, WELL, YOU KNOW, COVID IS AN EXAMPLE OF A DIFFERENT KIND OF RESPONSE THAN, THAN, UM, THAN A WINTER STORM COPE.
IT'S A MUCH LONGER EMERGENCY THAN THE WINTER STORM WAS, BUT EVEN THE WINTER STORM IS NOT LIKE A HURRICANE COMING THROUGH OR A TORNADO COMING THROUGH.
SO WHEN YOU HAVE ONGOING MULTIPLE RESPONSES TO IT, IT REQUIRES A DIFFERENT KIND OF LEVEL OF ENGAGEMENT WITH THE COUNCIL.
SO CITY MANAGER, CAN I ASK THAT, CAN WE HAVE A REVISION TO THE, UM, UH, EMERGENCY RESPONSE PLAN THAT IS SHARED WITH THE COUNCIL MEMBERS SO THAT WE CAN REVIEW IT AND GIVE OUR FEEDBACK AND THEN I'LL COME TOGETHER WITH SOME KIND OF, UM, UH, YOU KNOW, CONSENSUS ON WHAT THAT SHOULD LOOK LIKE? WELL, THANK YOU, COUNCIL MEMBER.
AND I COULDN'T AGREE MORE THAT JUST HAVING THAT ONGOING DIALOGUE AROUND WHAT THOSE DIFFERENT ROLES AND RESPONSIBILITIES ARE, AND THEY NEED TO BE PART AND PARCEL OF THE DISCUSSION THAT WE WOULD HAVE BOTH IN REVIEWING THE CURRENT PLAN THAT HAS BEEN DISCUSSED.
AND WE CAN CERTAINLY MAKE SURE THAT THAT'S AVAILABLE.
IT SHOULD BE ON OUR WEBSITE, BUT I'LL MAKE SURE THAT YOU HAVE LINKS TO IT.
UH, AND, UH, AND KNOWING THAT THIS IS A EVOLVING PROCESS AND THAT WE'VE LEARNED FROM THESE EVENTS AND WE, THAT'S WHY WE DO THESE AFTER ACTION REPORTS.
AND IF THERE ARE WAYS THAT WE CAN MAKE OUR RESPONSE MORE EFFICIENT AND EFFECTIVE, UH, WE WANT TO BE EXPLORING THAT AND COMING TO AN AGREEMENT ABOUT HOW TO MOVE FORWARD.
SO ABSOLUTELY WE WILL BE LOOKING AT THAT AS PART OF OUR NEXT STEPS FROM THIS CONVERSATION.
SO AS PART OF THE AFTER ACTION REPORT, WE'LL HAVE A SECTION ON THE, THE, THE ROLE OF COUNCIL AND WE'LL HAVE A SECTION ON REVISING OUR PLANS TO INCLUDE THAT ROLE.
AND THEN WE'LL HAVE FEEDBACK FROM THE COUNCIL, UM, ON WHAT WE ARRIVE AT, IS THAT WHAT I'M HEARING YOU SAY? YES.
AND NOW IT SOUNDS LIKE STAFF IS AGREEING WITH THAT.
AND SO I'LL, I'LL MAKE SURE IF THERE'S ANY CHANGES TO THAT, WE'LL LET YOU KNOW, BUT THAT CAN BE PART OF OUR REPORT.
WERE YOU ALL ABLE TO HEAR ME, OR AM I STILL HAVING THE SAME PROBLEMS? REALLY? THANK YOU.
I WANT TO PICK UP THE THREAD WHERE COUNCIL MEMBER KITCHEN JUST LEFT OFF, BECAUSE I DO THINK THAT JUST A TRAINING ON, OBVIOUSLY IT'S BEEN IN THE PAST ISN'T AS MUCH OF INTEREST TO ME IS ON US LEARNING FROM THIS TO RECONFIGURE WHAT THE ROLE OF COUNCIL MEMBERS SHOULD BE, ESPECIALLY IN A DISTRICT SYSTEM, LIKE THE ONE WE HAVE NOW THERE, YOU KNOW, A LOT OF THOSE DAYS WHERE A BLUR, BUT I DO REMEMBER CONVERSATIONS WITH MULTIPLE OF MY COLLEAGUES HERE ON THE DAYAS WHERE THE WORDS WOULD IT BE SAID, PRETTY REPEATEDLY, AM I THE ONE THAT'S SUPPOSED TO BE DOING THIS? OR SHOULD I JUST DO THIS? OR DO I WAIT TO SEE IF THE STAFF WILL DO IT? OR, YOU KNOW WHAT, AT THIS POINT I JUST I'M, I'M JUST GOING TO GO AHEAD AND DO THIS.
UH, THOSE WERE PRETTY REPEATED WORDS.
AND I THINK THAT HAVING A PLAN AND A RECONFIGURED SET OF EXPECTATIONS ABOUT WHAT IT IS THAT WE ARE SUPPOSED TO DO, WHAT IT IS THAT STAFF REALLY WILL HAVE COVERED.
AND THEN WHAT THE DECISION-MAKING PROCESS IS GOING TO BE WHEN SOMETHING ISN'T COVERED AND WHETHER A COUNCIL MEMBER IS JUST GOING TO GO AHEAD AND ORGANIZE VOLUNTEERS AND COMMUNITIES TO DO IT, OR WHETHER OR NOT, YOU KNOW, WHAT, HOW TO MAKE THAT CHOICE.
I THINK IT'D BE REALLY HELPFUL BECAUSE I JUST THINK THAT THERE WERE SO MANY DIFFERENT TIMES WHERE THERE WAS UNCERTAINTY.
UM, AND IT WAS UNCLEAR WHETHER THAT UNCERTAINTY MEANT THE COUNCIL MEMBERS SHOULD JUST GO AHEAD AND FILL THAT VOID BECAUSE THAT'S THE RIGHT THING TO DO, OR WHETHER OR NOT WE CAN HAVE IMPROVED SYSTEMS WHERE THAT VOICE DOESN'T EXIST, OR A COUNCIL MEMBERSHIP WAITS BECAUSE STAFF WILL FILL THAT VOID.
AND I'M NOT BEING TOO SPECIFIC ON THOSE VOIDS BECAUSE I THINK THEY WERE, SO THERE WERE SO MANY OF THEM AND THEY WERE SO VARIED FROM DISTRICT TO DISTRICT AND COUNCIL MEMBER AS A COUNCIL MEMBER.
BUT IT'S JUST A PHRASE THAT STICKS OUT IN MY MIND THAT I HEARD FROM SO MANY MEMBERS OF THE DIOCESE DURING THAT, DURING THAT CRISIS.
AND MAYBE PART OF THE PREPARATION IS JUST TO TELL US, THERE'S GOING TO BE CERTAIN VOIDS, AND THEN YOU JUST FILL THEM.
BUT I THINK WE JUST SHOULD, SHOULD GO BACK AND THROUGH SOME OF THESE SESSIONS, BUT ALSO THROUGH OUR AFTER-ACTION TIME TO IDENTIFY SOME EXAMPLES OF WHAT THOSE VOIDS WERE AND THEN RECONFIGURE THE TRAINING AND THE PROTOCOL.
SO THAT NEXT TIME WE KNOW, YOU KNOW, WHAT, LET'S GO AHEAD AND, AND SHIP THE WATER TO THAT SCHOOL.
AND DON'T CHECK IN WITH THE STAFF BECAUSE THEY'RE BUSY AND THAT FITS INTO
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CATEGORY C WHERE YOU JUST GO AHEAD AND DO IT VERSUS, YOU KNOW, WHAT, IF YOU HAVE THREE, IF YOU HAVE SOMEBODY CALLING WITH THREE 18 WHEELERS OF WATER, THEY SHOULD ALWAYS GO TO X PERSON.BUT THOSE SORTS OF QUESTIONS, I FEEL LIKE WE'RE JUST ASKED HUNDREDS OF TIMES AROUND.
DO I JUST GO AHEAD AND DO THIS, OR DO I CHECK IN WITH THE STAFF? AND THEY'RE VERY BUSY AND AM I EVER GOING TO GET AN ANSWER? UM, AND I THINK WE JUST NEED TO LEARN FROM THOSE, FROM THOSE GAPS SO THAT WE CAN FIT IN, IN A MORE EFFICIENT WAY AND BE A LITTLE MORE SUREFOOTED UM, ABOUT THE DECISIONS EACH COUNCIL MEMBER MAKES.
I APPRECIATE THAT COUNCIL MEMBER IN, CERTAINLY I HIGHLIGHTING AND IDENTIFYING SOME OF THOSE THEMES THAT DID GET BROUGHT UP DURING THIS EVENT.
UH, BUT KNOWING HOW UNIQUE IT WAS AND HOW EACH EVENT IS GOING TO HAVE ITS UNIQUE CIRCUMSTANCES, WHETHER IT'S IMPACTING CERTAIN PARTS OF OUR, UM, OUR, OUR JURISDICTION, OUR CITY, UH, IF IT'S IMPACTING, UH, UH, DIFFERENT TYPES OF, OF, UH, INDIVIDUALS OR NATURAL RESOURCES, THERE'S SO MANY THINGS THAT ARE SPECIFIC TO EVERY EVENT THAT WE ENCOUNTER.
SO HOW TO EXTRAPOLATE SOME OF THOSE THEMES THAT WE CAN REALLY TAKE TO THE NEXT PROCESS AND REALLY BAKE INTO, UM, OUR FUTURE RESPONSES.
BUT WE WILL ALWAYS BE LEARNING FROM, UH, WHAT HAPPENED, UH, HERE AND IN OTHER, UH, EVENTS.
BUT KNOWING THAT, UH, AS YOU POINTED OUT SO MUCH OF THIS IS VERY UNIQUE TO WHAT WE, WHAT WE SAW DURING THIS EVENT.
MY LAST THOUGHT ON THAT IS IT WAS A VERY UNIQUE EVENT AND I'M SURE EACH OTHER EVENT WILL BE UNIQUE.
PART OF WHAT WAS CHALLENGING WAS TO IDENTIFY WHICH THINGS WERE AVOID, BECAUSE IT'S A UNIQUE EVENT.
AND SO WE SHOULD JUST TAKE IT AS SUCH AND WHICH THINGS WE REALLY SHOULD HAVE HAD A PLAN FOR.
SO I THINK IT COULD BE REALLY HELPFUL FOR US TO SAY, LOOK IN THESE TYPES OF EVENTS, THESE SORTS OF THINGS WILL HAPPEN, BUT THEN THEY'RE GOING TO BE THESE UNIQUE CIRCUMSTANCES WHERE YOU ARE GOING TO FEEL UNCERTAINTY, AND YOU SHOULD LEAN INTO THAT.
I FELT LIKE THERE WERE MANY CONVERSATIONS WHERE WE COULD NOT IDENTIFY WHETHER THE GAP WAS RELATED TO HOW UNIQUE THE EVENTS WAS OR THE GAP WAS DUE TO A FAILURE IN PLANNING.
AND I JUST, AND I DON'T THINK THAT THAT IS, THAT IS NOT UNIQUE, RIGHT? WHAT IS NOT UNIQUE IS THAT THERE WILL BE SOME THINGS WE CAN PLAN FOR AND SOME THINGS WE CAN'T AND WE NEED THAT WRITTEN DOWN, I THINK SO THAT WE ARE NOT FEELING LIKE WE'RE MAKING THIS UP FROM SCRATCH AS COUNCIL MEMBERS EVERY TIME THAT THERE'S A DISASTER THAT HAS SOME PARTS WE CAN EXPECT AND SOME PARTS THAT WE CAN'T KEVIN.
AND THANKS, COUNCILMEMBER COSAR FOR REALLY NAILING WHAT, UM, THE EXPERIENCE SO MANY OF US HAD, I THINK AT ONE POINT YOU SAID YOU WERE ASKING YOURSELF WHETHER LIKE YOU WERE PART OF THE EOC.
AND I THINK WE ALL SORT OF HAD THAT EXPERIENCE OF FEELING AT SOME POINT.
I MEAN, I DID GO THROUGH DISASTER TRAINING, UM, AT ONE POINT ON MY TIME ON COUNCIL AND IT WAS EXTREMELY USEFUL AND I WENT THROUGH IT, NOT WITH OTHER ELECTED OFFICIALS, BUT WITH OTHERS WHO WERE PARTICIPATING IN THAT CTECH TRAINING AND, AND FOUND A LOT OF VALUE IN IT, IT DID HAVE, YOU KNOW, NOT A HUGE AMOUNT, UM, RELEVANT TO AN ELECTED OFFICIALS POSITION, BUT IT WAS PRETTY CLEAR, YOU KNOW, WITHIN ABOUT TWO HOURS ON MONDAY, YOU KNOW, WE WERE ALL STEPPING OR AT LEAST I'LL SPEAK FOR MYSELF STEPPING WAY OUTSIDE OF THE ROLE THAT HAD BEEN PRESCRIBED IN THAT DISASTER TRAINING.
AND SOME OF THAT, I THINK COUNCIL MEMBER ALTER, YOU NAILED IT.
SOME OF THAT WAS, WE WERE PROBABLY CREATING MORE WORK FOR THE STAFF AND, AND THE KIND OF CALLING AND SOME OF IT WAS CRITICAL AND, YOU KNOW, POTENTIALLY, UM, ABSOLUTE, WELL, DEFINITELY CRITICAL AND, AND DEFINITELY NECESSARY AND GETTING RESOURCES TO PEOPLE WHO MIGHT NOT HAVE HAD THEM OTHERWISE.
UM, COUNCIL MEMBER CASAR FOR REALLY ARTICULATING LIKE THE DIFF WE NEED TO SORT OF SORT OUT WHAT IS THAT, UM, DECISION MAKING APPARATUS I'D LIKE TO JUST HIGHLIGHT A COUPLE AREAS THAT I THINK ARE VERY RELATED THAT WE HOPEFULLY WILL HAVE TIME TO SPEND TIME TALKING ABOUT TODAY.
ONE IS THE COMMUNICATION STRUCTURE AND THE KIND OF INCIDENT COMMAND STRUCTURE, AND WHETHER, BECAUSE WHAT I'M HEARING FROM PEOPLE WHO WERE INVOLVED IN DIFFERENT WAYS, EITHER IN THE EOC OR IN OTHER WAYS, IS THAT THEY TOO, UM, WE'RE HAVING THE SAME EXPERIENCE THAT I KNOW I DID, WHICH IS, I DIDN'T KNOW WHO TO CALL.
I DIDN'T KNOW WHO TO FORWARD NEEDS TO.
I DIDN'T KNOW WHO WAS OUR DESIGNATED POINT OF CONTACT.
AND SO, UM, AND I KNOW FROM TALKING WITH SOME OF YOU, YOU GUYS, THAT YOU WERE HAVING THE SAME EXPERIENCE TOO, AND IT'S NOT EFFICIENT FOR US TO BE CALLING DEPARTMENT DIRECTORS OR, UM, YOU KNOW, OTHERS WHO ARE INVOLVED, ENGAGED AND RESPONDING TO THE EMERGENCY TO GET THE INFORMATION JUST BECAUSE WE DON'T KNOW TO WHOM WE SHOULD CALL, UM, COUNCIL MEMBER, KELLY MENTIONED THE SITUATION REPORTS AND PREVIOUS EMERGENCIES.
[00:35:01]
AND I HAVE HEARD FROM SOME PEOPLE WHO WERE INVOLVED IN THE RESPONSE THAT THEY WERE NOT GETTING THEM EITHER.SO I HOPE WE CAN SPEND SOME TIME JUST DRILLING DOWN INTO THE COMMUNICATION AND WHAT THAT WAS LIKE FOR OTHERS WHO WERE INVOLVED IN THE, IN THE ACTUAL RESPONSE WITH REGARD TO TRAINING.
UM, ONE OF MY TRAINING QUESTIONS, UM, INVOLVE THE CITY STAFF.
AND I WONDERED, UM, IF ONE OF YOU COULD HELP US UNDERSTAND HOW MANY OF THE CITY STAFF HAVE HAD, HAVE GONE THROUGH, UM, EMERGENCY TRAINING.
I KNOW WE'VE HAD A FAIR AMOUNT OF TURNOVER WITHIN OUR EMERGENCY OPERATIONS AND ELSEWHERE.
AND, AND, UM, I HAVE HEARD, I DON'T, HAVEN'T TRIANGULATED THIS INFORMATION, BUT I'VE HEARD THAT SOME WHO WERE IN THE EMERGENCY OPERATIONS WERE DOING A GREAT JOB, BUT THEY WERE ALSO DOING A JOB THAT THEY HAD NEVER PERFORMED BEFORE.
AND SO COULD YOU SPEAK A LITTLE BIT TO ONE CITY-WIDE UM, HOW MUCH OF OUR STAFF HAVE GONE THROUGH EMERGENCY TRAINING AND THEN OF THE STAFF WHO WERE IN THE EOC, HOW MANY OF THEM WERE, WERE, UM, PERFORMING ROLES HAVE BEEN THROUGH PREVIOUS EMERGENCIES? AND IF YOU COULD TALK ABOUT IT ALSO, JUST MAYBE TOO MANY QUESTIONS ALL AT ONCE.
UM, BUT IF YOU COULD TALK ABOUT IT IN TERMS OF THE ORG CHART THAT WAS DISTRIBUTED, UM, I'D LIKE TO SPEND A LITTLE BIT OF TIME ON THIS AND, AND KNOW WHETHER THESE WERE CONTRACTORS, WHETHER THEY'RE CITY, EMPLOYEES, COUNTY EMPLOYEES, UM, AND AGAIN, JUST, JUST SOME KIND OF MORE INFORMATION WHILE WE'RE ON TRAINING, AS IT APPLIES TO, TO THOSE FOLKS OVER IN THAT ESE AND MORE CITYWIDE, I'LL TURN IT OVER TO JUAN IN A SECOND, BUT I KNOW THAT WE'LL COMPILE AS MUCH AS WE CAN.
I DON'T KNOW IF WE'LL HAVE THE EXACT NUMBERS ON STAFF THAT HAVE BEEN TRAINED SO FAR, BUT THAT WILL BE PART OF OUR REPORTS.
AND, UH, JUAN, IF YOU WANT TO EXPAND BOTH ON JUST THE TYPES OF TRAININGS THAT WE PROVIDE OUR STAFF AND, AND, UH, ALSO THE, THE ORGANIZATIONAL CHART THAT WAS PUT IN THE BACKUP FOR THAT CONTEXT, DR.
ORTIZ, UH, YES, UH, CUSTOMER TOBO, LET ME, LET ME START DESCRIBING THE, THE DIFFERENT LEVELS OR DIFFERENT TYPES OF TRAINING THAT YOU HAVE TRAINING TO BE ABLE TO KNOW HOW TO COORDINATE IN AN EMERGENCY.
AND THAT'S WHERE WE, WHAT WE CLASSIFY MORE OF THE, THE, THE FEDERALLY REQUIRED TRAINING, THE NATIONAL INCIDENT MANAGEMENT SYSTEM AND THE DIFFERENT LEVELS OF INDEPENDENT STUDY, UH, COURSES THAT NEED TO TAKE AS WELL AS, UH, UH, YOU KNOW, 40 HOUR COURSES THAT NEED TO BE COMPLETED.
UH, AND THAT IS A CERTAIN LEVEL OF FOUNDATIONAL TRAINING THAT NOT ONLY OUR ELC PERSONNEL, BUT, UH, DIFFERENT PERSONNEL IN DIFFERENT CITY DEPARTMENTS THAT ARE UTILIZING DISASTERS AND EMERGENCIES NEED TO COMPLETE THIS TRAINING, THIS, UM, LIKE THE COUNCIL THAT THE CITY MANAGER SAID, WELL, WE'LL GET YOU THOSE NUMBERS A LATER TIME, BUT YOU HAVE THE BASIC, THE CORE FOUNDATIONAL TRAINING THAT NEEDS TO HAPPEN.
IN ADDITION TO THAT, AND THE EOC WE DO OFFER WHAT WE CALL AN EOC ORIENTATION TRAINING.
AND IN ADDITION TO THAT, THERE'S ALL SEVERAL DIFFERENT COURSES THAT WE SPECIFICALLY, UM, UH, OFFER OR COORDINATE, UH, THE DEAL WITH MORE OF THE SPECIFIC FUNCTIONAL APPROACHES.
AND WHEN WE SET UP THE, THE MERCY OPERATIONS CENTER, THE ORGANIZATION CHART THAT YOU SAW BREAKS IT UP INTO WHAT WE CALL, UH, A OPERATIONS PLANNING, FINANCE, AND LOGISTICS SECTION.
AND SO THERE'S VERY SPECIFIC TRAINING THAT NEEDS TO HAPPEN WITHIN THOSE COURSES.
IN ADDITION TO THAT, WE ALSO COORDINATE OR FACILITATE TRAINING, UH, TO ALLOW FOLKS TO BECOME A WHAT'S CALLED AN INCIDENT MANAGEMENT TEAM MEMBER.
THERE'S A LONG, UH, CERTIFICATION PROCESS FOR THAT.
UM, AND, AND ALSO, YOU KNOW, ABOUT A YEAR AGO, UH, LAST, UH, WE MADE AN APPLICATION TO GO THROUGH A VERY UNIQUE TRAINING COURSE WHERE WE TOOK, UH, 70, UH, MEMBERS OF OUR COMMUNITY, BOTH BETWEEN THE CITY AND THE COUNTY, THAT IT ALSO INCLUDED, UH, THE CITY MANAGER, THE MAYOR, AND HE CAN ENTER THEN COUNTY JUDGE TO THE NATIONAL TRAINING CENTER FOR THE INTEGRATED EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT COURSE, AND ON WHICH WE, WE WENT THROUGH A WEEK LONG COURSE TRAINING, UH, ON CONDUCTING DRILLS, UH, SPECIFICALLY ON THE SUBJECT OF RESPONDING TO A WINTER WEATHER EVENT.
SO THOSE ARE THE CONCENTRATIONS THAT WE LOOK FOR AND WE TRY TO OFFER AND COORDINATE.
UH, I WOULD SAY THAT, UH, INDIVIDUAL DEPARTMENTS OUT IN THE FIELD HAVE PROBABLY EVEN A LONGER LIST OF TRAINING THE DAY, UH, THAT THEIR EMPLOYEES GO THROUGH AND COMPLETE.
UH, AND, AND NOT TO ALSO, UH, UH, FORGET THAT, UH, THAT THIS EVENT WAS VERY UNIQUE.
AND THE FACT THAT, UM, PART OF THE DIFFICULTY THAT WE, THAT WE HAD WAS THE FACT THAT WE HAVE BEEN RESPONDING TO A PANDEMIC FOR, UH, UH, CLOSE TO THE YEAR AT THAT POINT IN TIME.
AND THEN ALSO WHEN YOU ADD, UH, THE WINTER WEATHER CONDITIONS, IT MADE IT EXTREMELY DIFFICULT FOR A LOT OF THE PERSONNEL THAT NORMALLY WOULD RESPOND TO THE EOC TO GET THERE.
[00:40:01]
THERE MIGHT'VE BEEN OTHER PEOPLE THAT HAD TO RESPOND, BUT EVEN IF THIS WAS THE FIRST TIME THAT SOMEONE REPORT SPORTS REPORTS TO THE EOC, WE HAVE A PROCESS OF WHERE WE WALK THEM THROUGH AND, AND, AND ORIENT THEM BREAK QUICKLY.UH, AND, AND WE UTILIZE, UH, PERSONNEL AS BEST AS WE CAN BECAUSE WE KNOW THAT THERE'S ALWAYS GOING TO BE A, A CONSTANT, UH, CHANGE AND, AND, AND PERSONNEL, THERE'S ALWAYS NEW PERSONNEL THAT GET PROMOTED, NEW JOB ASSIGNMENTS, NEW, UH, PERSONNEL THERE THAT, UM, MOVE ON OR RETIRE.
AND SO WE CONSTANTLY HAVE A SERIES OF EXPERIENCE INTERMEDIATE EXPERIENCED AND NOVICE PEOPLE WORKING IN ANY EMERGENCY.
UH, AND SO WE TRIED TO MAKE SURE THAT WE HAVE A, A PROCESS OR PROCEDURE WHERE WE, UM, UM, UH, WE, WE TAKE EVERY HELP THAT WE CAN GET AND POINTING IN THE RIGHT DIRECTION AND MAKING SURE THAT WE, UH, THEN, UH, FOLLOW IT UP WITH, UH, MORE SPECIFIC GUIDANCE AND, AND THEIR OPERATIONS.
I LOOK FORWARD TO, AND THANKS FOR THAT OVERVIEW.
AND THEN I LOOK FORWARD TO THEIR KIND OF FOLLOW UP ABOUT, YOU KNOW, WHO, WHO AMONG OUR CITY STAFF, IF WE HAVE THOSE KINDS OF EVENTS, AS WE DID THIS TIME, WHERE YOU HAD PEOPLE COMING TO THE EOC WHO, WHO MAY NOT HAVE HAD THAT LEVEL OF SPECIFIC TRAINING, IT WOULD BE INTERESTING TO KNOW MANAGER TO, AS YOU LOOK FORWARD, UM, YOU KNOW, WHETHER THAT IS GOING TO BE INTEGRATED AT LEAST A ONE DAY TRAINING INTEGRATED INTO SOME MORE OF THE STAFF RESPONSIBILITIES DIRECTOR ORTIZ, COULD YOU SPEAK TO, UM, SO WE GOT, UH, THE ORGANIZATIONAL CHART, WHICH I APPRECIATE IT'S DATED, IT'S DATED, UM, TWO 25.
AND SO I DON'T KNOW IF YOU HAD AN OPPORTUNITY TO SEE MY QUESTIONS THAT I SUBMITTED, BUT I WAS WONDERING IF THIS WAS THE ORGANIZATIONAL STRUCTURE THAT YOU UTILIZED FOR THE ENTIRE STORM, OR WHETHER THIS REALLY JUST IS THE ORGANIZATIONAL CHART AS IT WAS ON TWO 25.
AND THEN IF YOU COULD GIVE US A SENSE, THERE ARE QUITE A FEW POSITIONS THAT AREN'T NOTED WITH A NAME.
AND I WAS WONDERING OF THESE ARE SOME OF THESE INDIVIDUALS, CONTRACTORS ARE THESE ALL CITY STAFF, ARE THEY ALL COUNTY STAFF? IS THIS MY UNDERSTANDING? THERE WERE DIFFERENT PEOPLE INVOLVED IN, IN, UM, LEADERSHIP POSITIONS WITHIN THE EOC.
SOME OF WHOM MAY HAVE BEEN CONTRACTORS, BUT I, I WANTED TO KIND OF GET YOUR SENSE OF WHETHER THAT'S ACCURATE.
THAT ORGANIZATIONAL CHART THAT YOU RECEIVED IS A PART OF WHAT WE CALL THE INCIDENT ACTION PLAN.
SO, UM, LET ME TAKE A COUPLE OF STICKS BACK TO YOU, KIND OF EXPLAIN THAT PROCESS.
SO WE WANT TO MAKE SURE THAT, UM, FROM THE EOC, OUR ENTIRE COMMUNITY, BOTH CITY AND COUNTY, BECAUSE AGAIN, WE ARE AN INTEGRATED, UH, EMERGENCY OPERATIONS CENTER WITH THE COUNTY.
SO IT'S A CITY COUNTY EMERGENCY OPERATIONS CENTER, AND WE WANT TO MAKE SURE THAT EVERYBODY'S WORKING OUT OF THE SAME SHEET OF MUSIC.
AND SO WE HAVE A PROCESS OF WHERE WE DEVELOP AN INCIDENT ACTION PLAN THAT HAS, UH, IDENTIFIES THE, THE GOALS AND THE OBJECTIVES, AND THAT TERRIFIES THE DIFFERENT KEY FUNCTIONS THAT NEED TO BE ESTABLISHED AND THOSE SUPPORTING FUNCTIONS.
SO WE, WE HAVE WHAT'S CALLED, UH, INCIDENT, UH, OPERATIONAL PERIOD.
SO WE DEVELOP THIS INCIDENT ACTION PLAN FOR A SPECIFIC PERIOD TO ENSURE THAT WE GUIDE EVERYBODY, UH, IN INVOLVED WITH THE DISASTER, UH, AND KNOWING WHAT'S GOING ON AND MAKE SURE THAT WE ALL ARE, ARE GOING IN THE SAME DIRECTION.
SOMETIMES THAT IS, UH, CHALLENGING BECAUSE THE EVENT CHANGES VERY QUICKLY.
AND SO THERE'S A PROCESS OF HOW WE WILL UPDATE THAT.
WHAT YOU SAW THERE WAS THIS SNAPSHOT IN TIME DURING THE ENTIRE EVENT OF WHAT, UH, UM, AN ORGANIZATIONAL CHART WILL LOOK LIKE, AND THAT WILL EXPAND AND CONTRAST DEPENDING ON THE FUNCTIONAL NEEDS OF THE OPERATION.
UH, I WILL SAY THAT AT THE BEGINNING OF THE INCIDENT, THAT THE ENTIRE INCIDENT ACTION PLAN WAS, UH, WAS VERY SHORT OF TWO PAGES BECAUSE WE WERE IDENTIFIED WHAT NEEDED TO HAPPEN AS FAR AS STABBING, UH, THOSE, THE FUNCTIONAL APPROACH AS THE EVENT PROGRESSES, IT WILL GROW.
UH, IT CAN BECOME A DURING THE PANDEMIC THAT INCIDENT ACTION PLAN BECAME A, A 20 PAGE DOCUMENT, RIGHT.
UM, AND AS THE EVENT BEGINS TO SLOW DOWN OR, OR REDUCE IN SIZE THAT INCIDENT ACTION WILL THEN, UH, WE'LL GET SMALLER.
THAT ORGANIZATIONAL CHART WILL GET SMALLER.
AND, UH, AND THAT'S WHAT WE USE.
AND WE TRAIN IN THAT PROCESS, UH, WHAT WE CALL THE PLANNING KEY TO ENSURE THAT WE IDENTIFY EVERYTHING THAT'S GOT TO HAPPEN.
AND AGAIN, FROM THE EOC, IT'S, UH, WE'RE COORDINATING, UH, WITH ALL THE DIFFERENT AGENCIES THAT HAVE A ROLE TO PLAY IN THE DISASTER.
AND IT'S INTENDED TO KIND OF GUIDE EVERYBODY ON WHAT DIRECTION WE'RE MOVING.
[00:45:03]
I DO UNDERSTAND THE PURPOSE OF THE ORGANIZATIONAL CHART AND THE INCIDENT COMMAND STRUCTURE.SO WITH THE AND COUNCIL MEMBER, AND I'M SORRY, I'M, I'M, UM, I FORGOT TO COVER ONE PART.
UH, DURING THIS DISASTER, WE UTILIZE CITY AND COUNTY PERSONNEL, TEMPORARY EMPLOYEES, CONTRACT EMPLOYEES, AS WELL AS, AS VOLUNTEERS.
WE, WE, THROUGH EVERYTHING WE COULD ADD IT TO BE ABLE TO ENSURE THAT WE WERE DOING THE BEST WE COULD TO RESPOND TO THE INCIDENT.
WE HAD A LOT OF CONTRACT EMPLOYEES THAT WERE SUPPORTING THE PANDEMIC THAT DURING THAT PERIOD OF TIME, THOSE PANDEMIC ACTIVITIES STOPPED.
SO WE SHIFT THEM FROM THE PANDEMIC RESPONSE AND, AND PUT THEM, UH, TO BE ABLE TO PARTICIPATE AND RESPOND TO, UM, UH, THE, THE WINTER WEATHER URI, UH, RESPONSE EFFORTS.
AS WE IDENTIFY HOLES, I WILL TELL YOU THAT WE HAD A LOT OF HOLES THAT WE HAVE TO TRY AND COVER, AND WE, WE, THROUGH EVERYTHING WE COULD ADD IT.
UM, AND SO, YES, I WOULD NOT BE SURPRISED THAT IN SOME OF THOSE, UH, SPECIFIC AREAS, WE HAD A, A TEMPORARY EMPLOYEE, A VOLUNTEER, OR A, A CONTRACT EMPLOYEE IN ADDITION TO CITY AND COUNTY, UM, LEADING THOSE EFFORTS, UH, AND COORDINATING WITH THE DIFFERENT AGENCIES THAT WERE INVOLVED IN TRYING TO MAKE THE BEST ASSISTANCE TO HELP OUR COMMUNITY DURING THIS EVENT.
BEFORE WE GO TO ALISON, LET ME GO BACK TO VANESSA BECAUSE I CUT YOU OFF EARLIER.
I THINK WE'VE KIND OF BROADENED THE TOPIC A LITTLE BIT, AND THEN AFTER YOU GO TO ALISON, OKAY, THANK YOU, MAYOR.
MY QUESTION IS SPEAKING OF TRAVIS COUNTY, ONE OF THE QUESTIONS I HAD WAS AROUND THE COORDINATION AMONGST THE, UH, AUSTIN DISASTER RELIEF NETWORK, RED CROSS, UM, YOU KNOW, THE COMMUNITY PARTNERS THAT WERE INVOLVED IN OUR RESPONSE EFFORTS.
SO FOR EXAMPLE, IN DISTRICT TWO, WE WERE ABLE TO STAND UP THREE SHOPPERS, ONE AT THE REC CENTER, ONE AT MENDEZ MIDDLE SCHOOL, AND THEN THE THIRD ONE, UM, THAT WAS OPERATED BY THE COUNTY, OR IT WAS OPERATED BY THE TRAVIS COUNTY FIRE CHIEF AT THE DEL VALLEY HIGH SCHOOL.
AND SO WHAT I, UM, WHAT WAS INTERESTING TO ME, UNDERSTANDINGS AT DIFFERENT LEVELS, WE GOT AN APRN REPRESENTATIVE.
ONE OF THE SHELTERS, THE OTHER SHELTER WAS RUN BY CITY STAFF, AND THEN THE THIRD ONE WAS RUN BY, UH, TRAVIS COUNTY.
AND SO CAN YOU WALK ME THROUGH, WHAT IS THAT COORDINATION LIKE BETWEEN ASSIGNING DIFFERENT PARTNERS IN THOSE ROLES AND HOW, AND HOW CAN WE BETTER IMPROVE UPON THE COMMUNICATION? CAUSE I KNOW THERE WERE TIMES WHERE THE DEL VALLEY HIGH SCHOOL WAS LEFT OFF OF OUR COMMUNICATIONS PLANS.
AND SO WE HAD TO QUICKLY PIVOT AND SAY, NO, THIS IS ALSO PART OF OUR JOINT AFTER OUR JOINT RESPONSE BETWEEN TRAVIS COUNTY AND THE CITY.
AND SO I THINK THAT IS ONE AREA I WANT TO FLAG IN GENERAL THAT I'VE SEEN, UM, WITH RESPONSE AND WITH THE WINTER STORM IS HOW WE CAN POSITION OUR JOINT EFFORTS AND COLLABORATION BETWEEN THE CITY AND THE COUNTY, BECAUSE WE'RE BOTH DOING A LOT OF GOOD WORK AND, UH, AND WE'RE SUPPORTING EACH OTHER, BUT OFTEN DOESN'T GET PRESENTED TOGETHER.
UM, SO IF YOU CAN SPEAK A LITTLE BIT TO THAT AS WELL.
UH, AGAIN, UH, YOU KNOW, WE WORK VERY CLOSELY WITH PREVIS COUNTY.
UH, WE, WE, WE OPERATE A JOINT EMERGENCY OPERATIONS CENTER AT THE CTECH LOCATION.
UH, WE DO HAVE AREAS WHERE WE HAVE DIFFERENT PRIORITIES, UH, AND, AND THAT'S WHY WE HAVE THAT INCIDENT ACTION PLAN KIND OF BRING US TOGETHER.
UH, IT DOES NOT MEAN THAT SOMETIMES JUST BECAUSE WE HAVE IT ALL NICE AND PRETTY, AND THE INCIDENT ACTION PLAN THAT, THAT SOMETIMES CERTAIN THINGS GET CONFUSING OUT IN THE FIELD.
UM, AND, AND, AND, BUT AS SOON AS WE FIND THAT THERE'S A MISALIGNMENT, WE, WE, WE ADDRESS IT VERY QUICKLY.
UM, OR WE, WE TRY TO ADDRESS, ADDRESS IT VERY QUICKLY, UH, DEPENDING ON THE CIRCUMSTANCES.
AND, AND AS SOON AS WE BECOME AWARE, UM, UH, IT, IT IS NOT SURPRISING TO ME THAT, THAT YOU WILL HAVE A DIFFERENT RESPONSE AGENCIES RUN IN DIFFERENT SHELTERS, BECAUSE THAT'S EXACTLY WHAT WE NEED.
UH, WHEN WE HAVE A, A, A DISASTER, WHEN WE HAVE A CATASTROPHE, LIKE WHAT WE EXPERIENCED DURING THE FEBRUARY STORM, UH, WE NEED ALL HANDS ON DECK.
WE NEED EVERYBODY TO HELP AND, AND COORDINATE.
SO WHAT WE DO FROM THE EOC IS STRIVE TO MAKE SURE THAT WE MATCH THEM UP.
AS WE FIND OUT THAT A, THAT AISD IS GOING TO IS GOING TO OPEN UP A SHELTER OR A COMMUNITY CENTER, UH, HAS BEEN IDENTIFIED AS A SHELTER LOCATION.
WE TRY AND MAKE SURE THAT WE, THAT WE IDENTIFY
[00:50:01]
WHAT RESOURCES THEY ARE NECESSARY.WHO'S GOING TO PROVIDE THEM, WHO'S GOING TO GET THEM THERE.
AND IT'S REALLY A PARTNERSHIP, RIGHT? BECAUSE EVERY SHELTER, UH, WAS SUPPORTED BY THE COMMUNITY AND THE COMMUNITY IS MADE UP OF THE CITY, THE COUNTY, THE VOLUNTEER AGENCIES, AND THE PUBLIC OUT THERE ITSELF.
UH, SO, UM, THAT'S PROBABLY THE BEST WAY THAT I CAN DESCRIBE IT.
ARE THERE SITUATIONS WHERE MISINFORMATION HAPPENS? YES.
IT, AS SOON AS WE BECOME AWARE, WE ADDRESS IT, WE HAVE A JOINT INFORMATION SYSTEM, UH, AND THAT IS, UH, UH, UH, RUN, UH, WITH THE COOPERATION OF THE CITY AND THE COUNTY AND MULTIPLE AGENCIES.
UH, AND THIS IS A DISASTER THAT REALLY TESTED OUR ABILITY TO STAY FOCUSED AND, AND, AND, AND COMMUNICATE.
UH, AND, AND THAT'S WHY IT'S IMPORTANT THAT WE DO THIS, THIS AFTER ACTION REPORT TO IDENTIFY THOSE AREAS WHERE WE CAN IMPROVE, WELL, HOW CAN WE IMPROVE? I THINK WE NEED TO CONDUCT MORE, MORE DRILLS AND MORE EXERCISES, UH, BECAUSE WE NEED TO FIGURE OUT HOW TO CONTINUE TO COLLABORATE.
WE DON'T WANT PEOPLE TO GET TO KNOW EACH OTHER IN DAY OVER DISASTER.
THAT IS THE WORST TIME TO BE EXCHANGING BUSINESS CARDS.
WE GOT TO GET PEOPLE TO KNOW EACH OTHER BEFORE THAT HAPPENS.
ORTIZ AND I, AND I COULDN'T AGREE MORE AND IT, WHICH IS WHY I AM REALLY LOOKING FORWARD TO THE WORK THAT WE'RE GOING TO DO AROUND THE COMMUNITY RESILIENCE HUBS, BECAUSE IT FALLS RIGHT IN LINE AND IDENTIFYING THOSE, NOT ONLY THE PHYSICAL LOCATIONS, BUT ALSO THE INDIVIDUALS IN THE COMMUNITY THAT WILL BE PART OF THAT JOINT DISASTER RESPONSE EFFORT, AND REALLY MAKING SURE THAT WE HAVE A COORDINATED SYSTEM AND RESPONSE EFFORT FOR THE NEXT TIME, UNFORTUNATELY, BUT, BUT YES.
AND SO I JUST WANTED TO FLAG THAT.
I THINK THIS REALLY DOVETAILS REALLY NICELY WITH THAT EFFORT AROUND OUR COMMUNITY RESILIENCE HUBS AS WELL.
SO, UM, WE MOVED ON A LITTLE BIT FROM THE INITIAL CONVERSATION, BUT I DID WANT TO, UM, CLOSE THE CIRCLE A LITTLE BIT ON THAT.
AND, UM, COUNCIL MEMBER TOVA, YOU KNOW, RAISED PART OF WHAT I WANTED TO RAISE AGAIN, WHICH IS THAT WE ALSO HAVE TO RECOGNIZE WHEN WE, AS A COUNCIL DID STUFF THAT MADE IT HARDER TO GET STUFF DONE, UM, FOR STAFF.
UM, AND YES, WE HAVE TO DETERMINE WHAT OUR POLICY IS, BUT THERE ARE TIMES WHEN GETTING COUNCIL INVOLVED MAKES THINGS SLOWER AND AFFECTS THINGS.
AND WE, WE HAVE TO ALLOW FOR THAT TOO, UM, AND FIGURE THAT OUT.
SO IN MY VIEW, IT IS BOTH WE NEED THE TRAINING AND WE NEED TO HAVE THE DISCUSSION ON THE POLICY SO THAT WE ARE ADAPTING TO THE NEW WORLD OF DISTRICT REPRESENTATION, BUT WE NEED TO HAVE THE CLARITY OF, YOU KNOW, THIS IS WHO WE'RE SUPPOSED TO START WITH WITH, UM, WITH AN EMERGENCY.
AND THIS IS HOW WE GET OUR INFORMATION.
AND THESE ARE THE PLANS THAT THE CITY MANAGER IS MAKING TO ADDRESS THE FACT THAT WE NEED BETTER INFORMATION FLOW, AND IT HAS TO BE EFFICIENT AND TIMELY, AND IT MAY HAVE BROUGHT UP AGAINST, UM, SOME QUORUM RULES.
AND WE MAY HAVE TO DEAL WITH THAT IN EMERGENCY SESSIONS.
AND WE MAY HAVE TO GET OKAYS FROM THE COUNTY ATTORNEY, YOU KNOW, IN ADVANCE FOR THAT.
UM, I WANT TO PUSH BACK ALSO ON THIS NOTION THAT EVERYTHING WAS SUEY GENEROUS FOR THIS STORM.
UM, I FELT A LOT OF THE SAME THINGS AT THE BEGINNING OF THE STORM THAT I FELT THE BEGINNING OF THE PANDEMIC.
UM, AND I UNDERSTAND THAT WE DIDN'T HAVE A CHANCE REALLY TO LEARN FROM WHAT HAPPENED AT THE BEGINNING OF THE PANDEMIC.
SO WE WERE STILL IN THAT EMERGENCY.
UM, BUT AS WE, AS WE, YOU KNOW, TRANSITION, I THINK THERE WERE LOTS OF THE THINGS ABOUT NOT KNOWING WHAT OUR ROLE WAS NOT HAVING ADEQUATE INFORMATION, UM, NOT REALLY UNDERSTANDING HOW WE CAN BE MOST HELPFUL FEELING LIKE WE HAD STUFF TO CONTRIBUTE, BUT NOT KNOWING KIND OF WHERE, WHERE, UM, TO CHANNEL THAT, THAT WERE SORT OF REPETITIVE FROM THE PANDEMIC INITIAL STAGES, UM, TO THE BEGINNING OF THE STORM.
UM, AND THEN I WANT TO PICK UP ON A PAGE'S COMMENT ABOUT WILDFIRE, AND THAT MAY BE A REALLY GOOD TABLETOP EXERCISE TO BE PART OF WHAT, YOU KNOW, WE'RE TALKING ABOUT AS ONE THING, UM, YOU KNOW, WE DON'T KNOW WITH WILDFIRE, IF IT WILL BE THE SAME, LIKE THE WHOLE STATE IS ON FIRE TYPE OF SITUATION.
UM, BUT I THINK IT'D BE A GOOD, GOOD EXAMPLE.
UM, AND THAT KIND OF LEADS ME TO, TO MY QUESTION, WHICH IS ONE OF THE THINGS THAT THE PANDEMIC AND THE STORM HAD IN COMMON WAS THAT THEY WERE BOTH SITUATIONS WHERE OUR NORMAL REDUNDANCIES, WHICH ARE INTEGRAL PART OF OUR EMERGENCY PLANNING SYSTEM FAILED BECAUSE IT WAS A STATEWIDE OR COUNTRYWIDE, UM, SITUATION.
AND SO NORM UNDER NORMAL TIMES WHEN WE'D PLAN FOR AN EMERGENCY THAT PITS THE CITY, LIKE A TORNADO OR HURRICANE, OR, OR SOMETHING LIKE THAT, UM, WE'RE PLANNING ON TAKING ADVANTAGE OF THE BENEFIT SENSE OF OTHER CITIES AND THE STATE GOVERNMENT TO
[00:55:01]
HELP US.WE DIDN'T HAVE THAT IN EITHER SITUATION.
UM, AND WE WERE NOT PARTICULARLY PREPARED FOR THE NEED FOR WATER EVEN AFTER HAVING GONE THROUGH, YOU KNOW, THE WATER BOIL, UM, YOU KNOW, SO WE COULD HAVE HAD A STOCKPILE OF BOTTLED WATER AND LEARNED THAT LESSON FROM THE BUTTER OIL.
UH, AND SO I'D LIKE TO ASK, YOU KNOW, WHAT ARE WE DOING TO PREPARE OURSELVES, YOU KNOW, IN TERMS OF SUPPLIES AND, AND ACTION PLANS FOR WHEN THAT REDUNDANCY'S NOT THERE, BECAUSE CLEARLY WITH CLIMATE CHANGE, WE NEED TO PLAN THAT WAY.
AND I COULDN'T AGREE MORE THAT THOSE TWO EVENTS THAT YOU WERE DESCRIBING AND TYPICAL, UH, NATURAL DISASTERS, YOU ARE RELYING ON YOUR JURISDICTIONAL PARTNERS AND, AND OTHER, UH, HELP FROM THE STATE AND FEDERAL RESOURCES, BUT WITH BOTH, UH, THE OUTSET OF THE PANDEMIC, AND THEN WITH THE STORM, THERE WAS A LOT THAT WAS JUST DEPENDENT ON OUR COMMUNITY AND HOW WE WERE GOING TO, UH, RESPOND TO IT.
AND SO THE RESILIENCY AND THE NEED FOR THOSE REDUNDANCIES BECAME VERY APPARENT IN WAYS THAT WE HAD NOT SEEN, UH, IN AS INTENSELY AS WE DID, UH, DURING THESE TWO EVENTS, BUT CERTAINLY, UH, IN THE MANNER THAT THEY PLAYED OUT, UH, UH, OVER THE LAST TWO YEARS YEARS.
UH, SO I DON'T, THIS'LL BE PART OF OUR RESPONSE, ESPECIALLY LOOKING AT WHAT OUR AFTER ACTION REPORT WAS FROM THE BOTTOM BOIL WATER NOTICE IN 2018.
AND WERE THERE THINGS THAT WE DID OR DID NOT DO IN PREPARATION FOR OUR, YOU KNOW, AS A RESPONSE TO THAT, THAT WOULD PREPARE US FOR FUTURE EVENTS.
UH, AND, AND IF, IF NOT, WHY WEREN'T THOSE IN PLACE? UM, SO THAT'LL BE PART OF OUR DESCRIPTION WHEN WE, WHEN WE COMPILE THAT.
UH, BUT I THINK THE OTHER LESSON THAT I LEARNED, AND AS I WAS TALKING TO MY COLLEAGUES ACROSS THE STATE, WAS HOW DO WE ALSO EDUCATE AND INFORM OUR ENTIRE COMMUNITY SO THAT THEY CAN HAVE THEIR OWN, UH, PREPAREDNESS KITS, IF YOU WILL, WITHIN THEIR HOMES? UH, WE'VE NEVER BEEN THROUGH EXTENDED, UH, WINTER EVENTS LIKE THIS IN TEXAS, AT LEAST FOR GENERATIONS.
AND SO PEOPLE JUST HADN'T HAD THAT ON THEIR RADAR THAT THEY NEED TO BE, UH, HAVING A, UH, EMERGENCY PREPARED KITS IN THEIR HOME FOR THESE TYPES OF SITUATIONS.
SO, UH, REALLY DOUBLING DOWN ON SOME OF THOSE OUTREACH AND ENGAGEMENT ACTIVITIES AS WELL DESCRIBED IN THE DESCRIPTION AND RESOLUTION ON THE RESILIENCE HUBS.
I'LL SEE IF A DIRECTOR OF TEAS WANTS TO ADD ANYTHING TO THAT.
UH, SPENCER, I THINK YOU HIT THE NAIL ON THE HEAD.
UH, THERE IS A, IT'S A PARTNERSHIP, UH, AND WE NEED TO FIGURE OUT HOW TO ENSURE THAT, THAT WE ALL, AS A COMMUNITY ARE AS PREPARED AS IT POSSIBLY CAN BE.
WE DON'T KNOW WHAT THE NEXT DISASTER IS GOING TO BE.
UH, AND, AND, AND THERE'S THINGS THAT WE CAN DO.
UH, BUT EVEN WHEN WE TAKE THOSE PROTECTIVE, UH, ACTIONS AND RAPPING, WE ARE AS PREPARED AS WE POSSIBLY CAN.
WE DON'T KNOW WHAT THE IMPACT IS GOING TO BE STATEWIDE NATIONWIDE OR EVEN WORLDWIDE, RIGHT.
UM, UH, DURING THIS EVENT, UM, VERY QUICKLY, WE WERE ABLE TO SECURE OVER A MILLION GALLONS OF WATER, UNFORTUNATELY, UNLIKE 2018, WHERE IT CAME FROM A WATERING PLANT IN SEGUIN, TEXAS, THIS WATER CAME FROM 49 OTHER STATES ACROSS THE COUNTRY AND MEXICO.
AND, AND SO THAT IS JUST TO, KINDA TO DESCRIBE THE, THE, THE, THE COMPLEXITY OF THE SITUATION, UH, WHAT WE HAVE TO DEAL WITH.
AND, AND, AND I WOULD SAY THAT IN MY 27 YEAR CAREER IN EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT, I NEVER WOULD HAVE THOUGHT THAT WE WERE GOING TO BE DEALING WITH SUCH A MAGNITUDE OF A DISASTER, UH, AND, AND, AND BE ABLE TO SECURE WATER.
WE NEED TO DO A BETTER JOB, BUT WE NEED TO MAKE SURE THAT WE ARE ALL, UH, REALISTIC OF WHAT WE CAN DO IT FROM A PREPAREDNESS STANDPOINT AND BE ABLE TO SUSTAIN IT, BECAUSE WE DON'T KNOW WHEN THIS EVENT WILL MAY HAPPEN AGAIN, BUT NOW THAT WE KNOW THAT IT CAN HAPPEN, UH, WE NEED TO DO EVERYTHING WE CAN TO PREPARE.
UM, I DO WANT TO JUST LIKE, ONCE AGAIN, CALL THE CITY MANAGER'S ATTENTION TO OUR CLIMATE EMERGENCY DECLARATION.
I'M STILL WAITING FOR THE REPORT ON WHAT HAS BEEN AND WHAT HASN'T DONE, WHICH DIRECTLY RELATES TO OUR PREPAREDNESS.
AND AS WE THINK ABOUT, UM, THE CLIMATE CHALLENGES AND EMERGENCIES THAT WE'RE GOING TO BE FACING, THIS LIKELY THAT WE'RE GOING TO BE FACING MORE OF THESE, AND THERE ARE SEVERAL THINGS IN THAT RESOLUTION THAT POINT TO DIRECTION THAT WAS PROVIDED THAT WOULD PUT US IN A BETTER STEAD.
AND SO I WOULD REALLY LIKE THAT, THAT UPDATE ON THE, ON THE STATUS AND JUST, YOU KNOW, WE ARE GOING TO, YOU KNOW, NEED TO BE, UM, PREPARED.
I THINK THE, YOU KNOW, THE THING WE REALLY NEED TO MAKE SURE WE'RE DOING IS THAT WILDFIRE PREPAREDNESS FROM THE RESILIENCE, WHICH WAS AN INTEGRAL PART OF THAT RESOLUTION.
UM, AND SO I JUST REALLY ENCOURAGE YOU TO MAKE SURE THAT
[01:00:01]
WE ARE MOVING FORWARD, UM, WITH THOSE STEPS.AND CERTAINLY, UH, UH, WILL BE, UH, I KNOW THAT STAFF IS UPDATING THAT RESOLUTION AND PROVIDING SOME ADDITIONAL RESPONSES, UH, FOR YOU AND THE COUNCIL, BUT KNOWING THAT PART OF THIS PROCESS IS REALLY LOOKING AT THE SCENARIOS AND, AND KNOWING HOW UNIQUE THESE DIFFERENT SCENARIOS THAT WE'VE BEEN UNDER.
YOU KNOW, WHEN, EVEN WHEN WE DID HAVE ACCESS TO WATER OR WHEN WE HAD A SUPPLY OF WATER GETTING ACCESS TO THAT WAS A CHALLENGE.
AND SO, UH, AS WE SAW, EVEN WITH STANDING UP SHELTERS, I MEAN, WE HAD A SHELTER THAT WAS STOOD UP, UH, THEN A PIPE BURST OR ELECTRICITY WENT OUT.
AND SO WE HAD TO MOVE PEOPLE FROM ONE PLACE TO ANOTHER, AND THOSE WERE CIRCUMSTANCES THAT WE HADN'T SEEN BEFORE.
UM, BUT THIS IS EXACTLY THE TYPE OF THING THAT, UH, THOSE RESILIENCE EFFORTS THAT YOU'RE DESCRIBING, UH, WILL HELP MITIGATE IN THE FUTURE.
SO THANK YOU FOR THAT, FOR YOUR LEADERSHIP ON THAT.
YOU KNOW, MY BIGGEST CONCERN DURING THE FREEZE WAS THAT, UH, YOU KNOW, THE, THE MESSAGE THAT YOU WERE THERE WAS SENDING OUT ABOUT ROLLING BLACKOUTS, WHICH NEVER DID HAPPEN HERE IN AUSTIN.
AND I JUST REALLY WAS CONCERNED THAT THE INFORMATION WAS BAD.
NOW ON MONDAY NIGHT, THEY SAID THAT IT SHOULD BE BACK ON BY TUESDAY.
WE DID A LOT OF PEOPLE TOOK THAT MESSAGE AND STAYED HOME WITH BAKING THAT THE ENERGY WAS GOING TO COME BACK ON AND, YOU KNOW, DECIDING THAT THEY COULD SURVIVE ONE MORE DAY.
AND WE HAD A WHOLE, UH, SENIOR CITIZENS APARTMENT COMPLEX, REBECCA BANE, THAT FELT LIKE THEY WERE GETTING THAT MESSAGE ALSO AND FELT LIKE THEY COULD SURVIVE ANOTHER DAY.
AND THEN WE HAD TO SEND EMERGENCY VEHICLES TO BUY OUR TRUCKS OUT THERE TO EVACUATE SOME OF THE, SOME OF THE SENIORS THAT LIVE THERE.
SO THE INFORMATION WAS VERY, I MEAN, THE WAY WHAT'S COMING OUT, UH, YOU ALMOST, IT ALMOST FELT LIKE AUSTIN ENERGY REALLY DIDN'T KNOW WHAT THEY WERE DOING, WHAT THEY WERE TALKING ABOUT BECAUSE, YOU KNOW, THAT WAS THE KIND OF INFORMATION THAT PEOPLE TAKE IT TO CARD SAYING, OH, WELL, IT'S JUST GOING TO BE OUT FOR A COUPLE OF HOURS AND THEN COME BACK ON THE WAY THEY'RE ROLLING IT.
AND THEY NEVER, AND THEN THE OTHER BAD MISCOMMUNICATION WITH WHAT'S DOWNTOWN IS THAT THEY LEFT EVERY LIGHT ON AND FELT LIKE THEY WERE LIKE FLASHING ON THE HOTELS AND EVERYTHING ELSE.
AND PEOPLE FROM ACROSS 35 LEFT ACROSS THE STREET, I COULD SEE ALL THOSE LIGHTS AND THEY WEREN'T GETTING ANYTHING.
SO THERE WAS A LOT OF PLANNING THAT I NEED TO MAKE TO MAKE SURE THAT EVERYONE IN BOB AND WHEN THESE THINGS DO HAPPEN, THAT WE CUT DOWN ON OUR POWER USAGE, JUST LIKE THEY TOLD US TO DO, JUST LEAVE ONE LAMP TO SEE IF YOUR ENERGY WAS GOING TO COME BACK ON AND THEN GRADUALLY TURN ON YOUR APPLIANCE, BUT NOT ALL OF THEM AT ONE TIME.
SO WE KNEW A COUPLE OF THESE IN MY LIFE HERE IN AUSTIN.
SO I KNEW WHERE MY CUTOFF VALVE WERE.
AND I WENT TO THE GROCERY STORE, WE STACKED UP THE REFRIGERATOR, BUT WE DIDN'T HAVE ENERGY, YOU KNOW? SO, UH, THAT, YOU KNOW, YOU, YOU HAD TO GET SOME THAT YOU COULD JUST COOK RIGHT OVER THE STOVE.
SO THOSE ARE THE KIND OF THINGS THAT, YOU KNOW, WE NEED TO COMMUNICATE WITH THE PUBLIC SO THAT THEY'RE PREPARED, ESPECIALLY THE, THE LITTLE IMPORTANT THINGS LIKE WHERE YOU CUT OFF THERE, BECAUSE WHEN YOU PIPE BUST, YOU'RE GOING TO HAVE A LOT OF DAMAGE TO OTHER, IF YOU TAKE CUT YOUR WATER OFF, AND THERE'S A LOT OF WASTE GOING ON, THAT HAPPENED BECAUSE OF THE PIPE BUSTED AND PEOPLE DIDN'T REALIZE HOW TO CUT UP, CUT OFF THEIR WATER.
SO THERE'S A LOT OF LITTLE THINGS THAT YOU, YOU, THAT NEEDS TO BE PUT OUT INTO THE PUBLIC SO THAT PEOPLE KNOW EXACTLY HOW TO HANDLE THE SITUATIONS, YOU KNOW, BUT THE COMMUNICATION WAS HORRIBLE.
MA'AM MAY I APPROACH HIM? I APPRECIATE IT.
UH, I THINK MY COLLEAGUES REALLY HAVE, HAVE COVERED MOST OF MY QUESTIONS.
UM, ONE SORT OF PRELIMINARY QUESTIONS.
I DO LOOK FORWARD TO US DIGGING INTO SOME OF THE MORE GRANULAR DETAILS, BUT I'LL JUST ECHO THE SENTIMENT AROUND COMMUNICATION.
I MEAN, I DON'T, I DON'T EVEN WANT TO KNOW HOW MANY TIMES I CALLED, YOU KNOW, THAT WOULD BE A REALLY EMBARRASSING TRANSCRIPT TO LOOK AT.
AND I GOT TO THE POINT WHERE LIKE COUNCIL MEMBER ALTAR, I BELIEVE SAID, YOU KNOW, IT WASN'T EFFICIENT FOR ME TO BE CONTACTING THE DIRECTOR OF HOMELAND SECURITY, EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT TO ASK QUESTIONS, UM, THAT IT FEELS LIKE THEY SHOULD HAVE BEEN DIRECTED ELSEWHERE.
[01:05:01]
ONE OF THE THINGS THAT I FOUND MYSELF ASKING PEOPLE A LOT WAS, HEY, DO YOU HAVE A CELL PHONE NUMBER FOR, UM, I DON'T KNOW WHAT THAT WOULD LOOK LIKE, YOU KNOW, HOW WE CAN OFFER PEOPLE SOME PRIVACY, BUT STILL HAVE, YOU KNOW, AN EMERGENCIES ONLY PHONE TREE SYSTEM.UM, THAT WOULD HAVE BEEN HELPFUL IN A LOT OF INSTANCES, UH, UH, CHAIN OF COMMAND.
I KNOW WE COVERED THAT BRIEFLY, BUT REALLY JUST HAVING A CLEAR UNDERSTANDING OF WHO DOES WHAT AND UNDER WHAT CIRCUMSTANCES, WELL, I CAN APPRECIATE THE ORG CHART.
I THINK, I THINK THERE'S STILL SOME ROOM TO GROW, UM, WITH, YOU KNOW, FIGURING OUT WHO TO CONTACT UNDER WHAT CIRCUMSTANCES, UM, TRIGGERS.
THAT'S SOMETHING I KEPT SAYING, LIKE, I CAN'T BELIEVE NOTHING GOT TRIGGERED WHEN SO AND SO HAPPENED.
SO, YOU KNOW, I'LL BRING UP MOUNT CARMO, WHICH BY THE WAY, YOU KNOW, IT'S STILL NOT BACK ONLINE.
ALL THIS FOLKS HAVE EVACUATED AND ARE STILL NOT HOME.
UM, THAT TO SAY I BROUGHT UP, YOU KNOW, THE FACT THAT AUSTIN, THAT, UH, TEXAS GAS TURNED IT OFF THEIR GAS, UM, THE GAS FOR, YOU KNOW, A HUNDRED UNIT APARTMENT COMPLEX, THERE'S NOTHING THAT THEY HAVE TO REPORT.
THERE'S NO, THERE'S NOTHING THAT WOULD HAVE TRIGGERED FOR US TO KNOW THAT BY THE X AND SO DAY, THEIR GAS HAS BEEN OFF ALREADY FOR OVER A WEEK.
YOU KNOW, I JUST WONDER HOW WE CAN SORT OF ACTIVATE SOME, SOME TRIGGERS, NOT JUST FOR, UM, THOSE LIKE YOUR AUSTIN ENERGY'S OR YOUR TEXAS GAS, OR, YOU KNOW, PEOPLE THAT ARE GOING TO BE TURNING OFF CRITICAL UTILITY.
UH, AND, AND SO SPEAKING UP THAT IT CAME UP DURING THE CONVERSATION ABOUT MOUNT CARMEL, UM, WHEN THERE WERE SOME ASSUMPTIONS ABOUT, YOU KNOW, US HAVING KNOWN THAT THEIR GUESTS WAS OFTEN NOT DOING ANYTHING.
ONE OF THE REASONS I FOUND THAT THAT CAME TO PASS WAS THAT, UM, OUR EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT FOLKS WERE OUT AT MOUNT CARMEL A WEEK BEFORE I FOUND OUT THAT THEIR, UM, GAS WAS OFF AND NOBODY CONTACTED ME.
AND I DON'T KNOW, I THINK THE ASSUMPTION WAS IF THE CITY WAS HERE, THAT WE KNEW, BUT I DIDN'T KNOW, EVEN THOUGH THE CITY WAS THERE, NOBODY REPORTED TO ME.
AND I DON'T KNOW THAT THAT'S A REQUIREMENT CURRENTLY.
I DON'T KNOW IF WE WANT TO BUILD IT IN AS A REQUIREMENT SO MUCH AS A REALLY IMPORTANT COURTESY TO LET THE COUNCIL MEMBER FOR THE DISTRICT WHERE, YOU KNOW, CERTAIN STAFF IS RESPONDING, KNOW, HEY, THIS IS GOING ON IN YOUR DISTRICT.
I DON'T KNOW WHAT THAT LOOKS LIKE, BUT IT'S CERTAINLY SOMETHING THAT WOULD HAVE BEEN HELPFUL IN SO MANY INSTANCES.
THIS IS, UM, SOMETHING ELSE I WROTE DOWN, UM, WAS THE PROCUREMENT PROCESS.
UM, MY OFFICE HAS BEEN CONTACTED HERE IN THE LAST COUPLE OF DAYS BY A PERSON WHO RESPONDED TO ONE OF OUR CALLS FOR FOOD, YOU KNOW, AND THEY SAID, YES, I HAVE ACCESS TO A COMMERCIAL KITCHEN AND A TRUCK THAT WORKS GREAT.
I CAN HELP YOU GUYS WITH FOOD.
SO THEY WERE PROVIDING FOOD AT OUR WARMING STATIONS AND A COUPLE OTHER PLACES.
AND SO NOW THAT THEY'RE GOING THROUGH THE PROCUREMENT PROCESS, YOU KNOW, REALLY RECONCILING THEIR INVOICE, THEY'RE BEING TOLD THAT SOME OF THE THINGS THAT THEY DID INCLUDING THE TIME IS NOT ELIGIBLE FOR REPAYMENT.
AND I FIND THAT REALLY PROBLEMATIC AND WOULD LIKE VERY MUCH TO SORT OF TALK THROUGH HOW WE MAKE CERTAIN THAT, BECAUSE THERE WERE FOLKS WHO VOLUNTEERED AND THEY KNEW FULL WELL THAT THEY CAME TO VOLUNTEER.
THERE WERE FOLKS WHO WERE GETTING PAID, THEY WERE, YOU KNOW, ON THE CLOCK.
AND THEN THERE WERE A LOT OF FOLKS WHO CAME TO US, LIKE SORT OF ON AN EMERGENCY CONTRACTOR BASIS.
I WANT TO MAKE CERTAIN THAT WE DON'T, UM, THAT I'M ON THIS SIDE OF THE EMERGENCY.
I MEAN, WHEN WE NEEDED THEM, WE SAID, DO WHATEVER NEEDS TO BE DONE AT ALL COSTS.
AND NOW ON THIS SIDE OF THE EMERGENCY THAT WE NEGLECT TO COMPENSATE THEM APPROPRIATELY.
I WANT TO MAKE SURE THAT THAT'S NOT HAPPENING.
UM, AND THEN ONE OF THE VERY LAST THINGS I'LL SAY, AND I DON'T KNOW HOW WE AS A BODY ADDRESS THIS WITH A PRIVATE INDUSTRY, BUT THERE WERE ON MULTIPLE OCCASIONS.
I WAS TOLD BY ORGANIZATIONS THAT WERE TRYING TO HELP FOLKS GET INTO HOTELS, UM, THAT THEY WERE ASKED SPECIFICALLY LIKE QUALIFIERS.
ONE OF THE QUALIFIERS HOTELS WERE ASKING WAS, ARE THEY HOMELESS? UM, AND AS A RESULT, MANY OF THOSE HOTELS SAID THEY DIDN'T HAVE A PLACE FOR PEOPLE TO GO UNDER AN EMERGENCY SITUATION.
UM, AND I THINK IT WAS ENTIRELY TIED TO THE PERSON EXPERIENCING HOMELESSNESS, UM, WHICH I FIND PROBLEMATIC ALSO.
UM, AND I CERTAINLY HAVE A LIST OF VERY SPECIFIC QUESTIONS AND KIND OF GRANULAR, UM, CONCERNS, BUT THOSE ARE SOME OF THE ONES THAT I JOTTED DOWN WHILE MY COLLEAGUES WERE ASKING.
THEY'RE REALLY GOOD QUESTIONS.
AND THANK YOU, UH, JUAN FOR YOUR LEADERSHIP AND YOUR HARD WORK.
I, I, I KNOW THAT IT WAS PROBABLY THE MOST DIFFICULT TIME OF YOUR 28 YEAR CAREER IN EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT.
CAUSE YEAH, I TALKED TO YOU ON MULTIPLE OCCASIONS WHERE YOU WERE FLYING IN A HUNDRED DIFFERENT DIRECTIONS.
AND I THINK AT THIS POINT YOU HADN'T BEEN HOME IN OVER A WEEK.
[01:10:01]
YOUR SERVICE AND YOUR COMMITMENT, YOUR ROLE.I THINK, YOU KNOW, IN ADDITION TO US ALL, JUST BEING ABLE TO RESPOND TO EMERGENCIES MORE APPROPRIATELY AND PROACTIVELY, UM, I THINK THAT WILL ALSO HELP YOU AND YOUR STAFF WITH, WITH THE WORK THAT Y'ALL DO.
UM, SO I LOOK FORWARD TO THAT EVEN TO US BEING ABLE TO EASE A LITTLE BIT OF THAT PAIN AND PRESSURE, AND I WILL ECHO THE SENTIMENT ABOUT JASON ALEXANDER'S SPENCER.
UM, AND EVEN WHEN HE HAD EVERY RIGHT TO BE FRUSTRATED WITH ME, HE NEVER TREATED ME LIKE HE WAS.
SO I REALLY DO APPRECIATE ALL THE STAFF THAT SHOWED UP AND STAYED OVERNIGHT IN OFFICES AND IN TRUCKS.
AND I MEAN, IT, IT WAS JUST EVEN, EVEN THOUGH WE HAVE A LOT TO DISCUSS, I, IT WAS EXTRAORDINARY TO SEE THE LENGTHS THAT PEOPLE WENT TO JUST BASED ON THEIR COMMITMENT TO SERVICE.
IT WAS EXTRAORDINARY AND BEAUTIFUL.
AND IF I JUST MAY ECHO THAT WAS LAST SENTIMENTS, I JUST CONTINUED TO BE IMPRESSED WITH THE INCREDIBLE SELFLESSNESS THAT OUR CITY STAFF WENT THROUGH DURING THIS EVENT.
UH, AS YOU KNOW, THEY HAD THEIR OWN FAMILIES AND THEIR OWN PERSONAL LIVES THAT THEY SACRIFICED, UH, TO TRY TO MAKE SURE THAT THEY WERE GIVING EVERYTHING THAT THEY COULD FOR OUR COMMUNITY.
AND, YOU KNOW, AS YOU REFERENCED, SPENT, YOU KNOW, DAYS, IF NOT WEEKS AWAY FROM THEIR FAMILIES SLEEPING ON FLOORS, YOU KNOW, TRYING TO JUST DO WHATEVER IT TOOK TO MAKE SURE THAT WE WERE RESPONDING TO THIS UNPRECEDENTED EVENT AND THE BEST WAY POSSIBLE.
UH, THERE WERE SO MANY UNKNOWNS, THERE WERE SO MANY VARIABLES.
THERE WERE SO MANY THINGS THAT WERE THROWN AT THE CITY AND HAD OUR COMMUNITY FROM DIFFERENT DIRECTIONS.
AND I BELIEVE YOU, ME THAT WE DID EVERYTHING WE COULD TO RESPOND, UH, KNOWING THAT WE WERE NOT PERFECT, WHERE WERE THINGS THAT WE COULD HAVE DONE BETTER.
UH, BUT WE WERE DOING THE BEST WITH THE AVAILABLE RESOURCES THAT WE HAD, BUT JUST APPRECIATE YOU SAYING THOSE WORDS, MAYOR PRO TEM THOUSAND MEMBER KITCHEN, THEN COUNCIL MEMBER, I'LL BE SURE, BUT I JUST WANT TO THANK THE MAYOR PRO TEM FOR THAT.
AND YOU AND YOU CITY MANAGER AND HOPE THAT OUR STAFF UNDERSTANDS THAT WHENEVER WE'RE BRINGING UP THINGS THAT WE'D LIKE TO SEE PERHAPS DIFFERENT, OR PERHAPS SOME IMPROVEMENTS, IT'S NO REFLECTION ON, ON YOUR EFFORTS.
WE KNOW VERY, WE, WE KNOW WE APPRECIATE HOW MUCH EFFORT EVERYONE PUT INTO THIS EFFORT.
SO THANK YOU, MAYOR PRO TEM FOR ARTICULATING THAT.
UM, IT WAS BROUGHT TO MY ATTENTION THAT TEXAS EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT ACTUALLY HAS TRAINING FOR, UH, ELECTED OFFICIALS RELATED TO EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT AND CITY MANAGER.
IF YOU COULD LOOK INTO G 200 AND
THANKS MAYOR PRO TEM FOR, FOR MAKING SURE THAT WE PAUSE TO REALLY THANK THE STAFF FOR THEIR EXTRAORDINARY EFFORTS AND MANAGER.
I THINK, YOU KNOW, IT WOULD BE, I ASSUME THAT YOU WILL PROBABLY EMBED THAT WITHIN THE REPORT, BUT IT WOULD BE USEFUL TO KNOW, YOU KNOW, WHAT SOME OF THOSE FOR THE COMMUNITY TO KNOW AS WELL.
UM, SOME WHAT SOME OF THOSE EXTRAORDINARY EFFORTS WERE AND JUST HOW CHALLENGING IT WAS AND HOW MANY PEOPLE WE HAD SLEEPING AT AT, UM, THEIR UNITS AND, AND OTHER THINGS I KNOW AUSTIN ENERGY TALKED A LITTLE BIT ABOUT THAT IN ONE OF THEIR MEETINGS, MARY, I DON'T KNOW IF IT'S APPROPRIATE TO CHANGE TO A DIFFERENT TOPIC.
IT'S NOT ENTIRELY DIFFERENT, IT'S IT BUILDS ON WHAT SEVERAL OF MY COLLEAGUES HAVE TALKED ABOUT WITH REGARD TO COMMUNICATION.
I WONDER IF WE COULD FOCUS A LITTLE BIT ON, ON WHAT THE COMMUNICATION STRUCTURE WAS LIKE, SEVERAL OF US HAVE MENTIONED SITUATION REPORTS.
I KNOW IN THE PAST, FOR EXAMPLE, THOSE HAVE BEEN DISTRIBUTED REGULARLY TO COUNCIL.
UM, IT'S, YOU KNOW, IN TALKING WITH STAFF AND WITH SOME FOLKS WHO WERE EOC IN DIFFERENT ROLES, THEY ALSO WEREN'T GETTING SITUATION REPORTS THROUGHOUT THE EVENT.
SO I WONDERED, UM, DIRECTOR ROTC, IF YOU COULD, IF YOU COULD JUST SPEAK A BIT TO, TO HOW YOU ORGANIZE THE COMMAND, HOW YOU ORGANIZED THE COMMUNICATION PLAN FOR THE EVENT.
UM, WAS IT DIFFERENT FROM HOW IT WAS ORGANIZED IN THE PAST? AND SEVERAL OF US HAD SAID, LIKE, WE DIDN'T KNOW WHO TO CONTACT.
I MEAN, I, I, YOU KNOW, WAS ALSO ON THE PHONE PRETTY MUCH ALL WEEK.
I MEAN, JASON ALEXANDER MAY NOT HAVE BEEN OUR DESIGNATED POINT OF CONTACT, BUT THAT'S, YOU KNOW, WHOSE PHONE I WAS BLOWN UP ALL WEEK LONG.
UM, JUST BECAUSE IT DIDN'T HAVE ANY IDEA WHO ELSE TO CALL EXCEPT, YOU KNOW, LIKE MY COLLEAGUES WHEN WE HAD A NEED OR WARMING SHELTERS, YOU KNOW, I CALLED THE ASD FACILITIES PERSON MATHIAS.
[01:15:01]
I MEAN, I JUST, YOU KNOW, SO WHAT, HOW DID YOU COMMUNICATE, I GUESS, UM, YOU KNOW, IT'S NOT CLEAR TO ME WHETHER IT WAS SORT OF COUNCIL WHO DIDN'T HAVE KIND OF THE LIST OF PEOPLE TO CONTACT OR WHETHER THAT WAS, I'VE HEARD THAT THAT WAS TRUE FOR SOME OTHER FOLKS TOO.SO DIRECTOR SHE'S, I WANT TO GIVE YOU AN OPPORTUNITY TO KIND OF TALK ABOUT HOW YOU ORGANIZE THE COMMUNICATION AND WHO, WHO THOSE DESIGNATED POINTS OF CONTACTS ARE AND HOW WE, IF IT WAS DONE DIFFERENTLY THIS TIME, IN TERMS OF GETTING THOSE SITUATION REPORTS OUT TO, TO A BROAD RANGE OF PEOPLE, UM, KIND OF, WHY WAS THAT A FACTOR OF JUST, UH, THE NUMBER OF STAFF YOU HAD OUT AND THE KIND OF MULTIPLE CHALLENGES, OR IF YOU COULD ADDRESS THOSE ISSUES? UM, I, AND I UNDERSTAND IT WAS A VERY UNUSUAL PERIOD.
YEAH, LET ME, UM, AND I'VE SEEN, UH, JESSICA KING IS ALSO, UH, JOINED THE PANEL HERE.
UM, THIS WAS A LITTLE BIT UNUSUAL IN THE SENSE THAT WE WERE DOING IT IN ADDITION TO THE RESPONSE TO A PANDEMIC.
SO, UM, SOME OF THE NORMAL STAFF THAT WOULD BE, UH, REPORTING TO THE EOC, WE STILL NEEDED TO MAINTAIN AS BEST AS WE COULD SOCIAL DISTANCING REQUIREMENTS.
SO A LOT OF OUR, OUR, OUR EOC WAS ACTUALLY SPREAD OUT THROUGHOUT THE ENTIRE COMMUNITY, I WOULD SAY, EVEN TO THE ENTIRE REGION.
SO THAT, THAT INTRODUCED US A CERTAIN LEVEL OF CHALLENGES WHEN INFORMATION IS CHANGING VERY QUICKLY AND WE'RE HAVING TO WORK, UH, VIRTUALLY AND, AND, UM, UH, IN, IN THIS TEAM ENVIRONMENT OR USING OTHERS, UH, VIDEO CONFERENCING CAPABILITY.
SO THOSE ARE CHALLENGES THAT, THAT, THAT, THAT, THAT CAME UP.
WE HAVE A LOT OF INFORMATION THAT WE SEND OUT ROUTINELY.
UM, LIKE FOR EXAMPLE, IN THE, IN, IN, IN THE, UH, CURRENT RESPONSE TO THE PANDEMIC, THERE IS A, A SITUATION REPORT THAT GOES OUT AND AS WELL AS, UH, A MORE DETAILED REPORT THAT GOES OUT ON A WEEKLY BASIS, AND IT HAS THEIR CONTACT INFORMATION, UH, TO US, I THINK, OH, WELL, WHAT I'M HEARING, WE NEED TO KIND OF, UH, HIGHLIGHT HOW YOU, IF YOU HAVE ANY QUESTIONS, HOW YOU CAN GET AHOLD OF US, UH, AND ASK THOSE QUESTIONS, OR IF THERE'S ANYTHING ELSE THAT, UH, THAT YOU WANT LIKE TO INTRODUCE, AND HOW DO WE, HOW WE CAN PROVIDE YOU THAT, UM, CONTACT INFORMATION, UM, UH, AND HIGHLIGHT WHERE YOU CAN FIND THAT INFORMATION.
AND I'VE MADE A NOTE HERE THAT, OF HOW, UH, AFTER THIS CALL, WE'LL COMMUNICATE WITH YOU AND LET YOU KNOW HOW, UH, WE HAVE A DUTY OFFICER THAT'S AVAILABLE 24 HOURS A DAY, 365 DAYS A YEAR.
AND WHEN THE EOC IS ACTIVATED, WE'LL WE'LL, WE CAN, UH, LET YOU KNOW HOW, HOW TO CONTACT US, UM, UH, AND, AND, AND HOW YOU CAN FIND THAT INFORMATION AT YOUR FINGERTIPS AND INFORMATION IN COMMUNICATIONS THAT WE'RE ALREADY PROVIDING, UH, TO, TO THE COUNCIL, UH, ALREADY.
UM, THIS WAS CHALLENGING, UM, WITH, I WILL SAY THAT, UH, AN EARLY, THE EARLY DAYS OF THE WINTER STORM, UH, PART OF THE CHALLENGE WAS, UM, UH, THE IMPACT TO THE, UH, INFRASTRUCTURE THAT, THAT KNOCKED OUT THE CONNECTIVITY TO A LOT OF OUR, UH, STABBING, PROBABLY EVEN SOME OF YOU LOST POWER AND THEREFORE LOST ACCESS TO INTERNET.
WE'RE NOT IN THE DAYS WHERE WE HAVE COPPER LINES IN OUR, IN OUR HOME, AND WE MAY NOT, YOU KNOW, MY KIDS PROBABLY DON'T KNOW WHAT, WHEN, I MEAN, WHEN I SAY WHAT A COPPER LINE IS, RIGHT.
UH, BUT, BUT THE POINT IS, UM, WE HAVE TO FIGURE OUT A WAY OF MAKING SURE THAT WE, UH, UM, MAKE INFORMATION AVAILABLE, UH, IN A, UH, ACCESSIBLE SO THAT YOU CAN CONTACT US IF YOU, IF YOU NEED TO, UH, AS WELL AS HOW TO, UH, UH, WHERE YOU CAN GO AND GET INFORMATION.
UH, AND TH THEN MAYBE SOME OF THE OLD, UH, SYSTEMS THAT WE HAD IN PLACE, UH, WHERE WE HAD A, A HOTLINE THAT COULD BE MADE AVAILABLE, WHERE PEOPLE CAN CALL IN AND GET, UH, GET INFORMATION AND MAYBE A SPECIFIC LINE THAT WE CAN MAKE AVAILABLE, UH, FOR INFORMATION.
UM, JESSICA, I'M NOT SURE IF THERE'S ANYTHING ELSE THAT YOU WANT TO ADD TO THAT.
UM, SO THIS WAS, YOU KNOW, HERE I SAY, UNIQUE, UNPRECEDENTED, HISTORIC IS PROBABLY, UM, UH, A WORD THAT I REALLY WANT TO LEAN INTO IN LARGE PART, BECAUSE IN ALL OF MY YEARS, AND GRANTED I'VE BEEN WITH THE ORGANIZATION FOR OVER 15 YEARS, BUT I THINK THAT THERE ARE MANY PEOPLE IN THE ORGANIZATION WHO'VE NEVER SEEN THIS HAPPEN IN 30 PLUS YEARS OF THEIR TIME WITH THE COMMUNITY.
UM, THIS WAS INCREDIBLY DIFFERENT THAN WHAT WE'VE EVER EXPERIENCED BEFORE.
SO FROM A COMMUNICATIONS PERSPECTIVE, PLEASE KEEP IN MIND THAT WE HAD THE COVID RESPONSES WE'VE STAYED IN.
AND WHEN THE COVID RESPONSE, UM, OCCURRED, WE ACTIVATED THE JOINT INFORMATION SYSTEM.
AND SO WE'VE BEEN OPERATING UNDER A JOINT INFORMATION SYSTEM, WHICH IS A TEAM OF PEOPLE,
[01:20:01]
UH, COMMUNICATIONS PROS FROM ACROSS THE ORGANIZATION.SO THIS IS NOT A BRAND NEW TEAM THAT WE HIRE AND BRING ON BOARD.
THESE ARE SEASONED COMMUNICATIONS MEMBERS OF THE CITY ORGANIZATION RIGHT NOW.
SO WE'LL UTILIZE EXISTING RESOURCES WITHIN THE DEPARTMENTS, PULLING THEM FROM THE DEPARTMENTS TO HAVE THEM ASSIST IN THE RESPONSE THEY WERE DEDICATED TO COVID RESPONSE.
AND THEN WHEN THE STORM HIT, WE LEANED ON MANY OF THOSE MEMBERS TO HELP US, BUT SO MANY MEMBERS OF OUR ENTIRE ORGANIZATION LOST POWER AND LOST CONNECTIVITY.
AND TO BE HONEST WITH YOU, IT WAS REALLY HARD TO FIND OUT WHO HAD POWER AND WHO DIDN'T, UM, MANY MEMBERS OF MY OWN STAFF, THE CPO STAFF, WE HAD TO GO TO OUR CARS AND CHARGE OUR PHONES SO THAT WE COULD SEND MESSAGING FROM AND SEND TEXT MESSAGES AS WELL AS ENGAGE THROUGH TEAMS, AS WELL AS, UM, WORK ONLINE AND SEND SOCIAL POSTS.
SO THE VAST MAJORITY OF OUR SOCIAL POSTS IN MANY WAYS WAS SET FROM CELL PHONES.
UM, WE HAVE THREE MEMBERS ON OUR MEDIA RELATIONS TEAM.
ALL THREE MEMBERS DID NOT HAVE POWER.
THEY WERE WORKING FROM THEIR CARS, CHARGING THEIR CARS, AND THEN SENDING THE TEXT MESSAGES OR, UM, ENGAGING THROUGH THAT PROCESS.
SO I KNOW THAT MANY OF YOU ALSO EXPERIENCED CONNECTIVITY ISSUES RIGHT NOW WITHOUT A STUPID SITUATION.
HOW MANY TIMES HAVE WE HAD PROBLEMS WITH JUST INTERNET ACCESS AND BEING ABLE TO PARTICIPATE IN MEETINGS AS A RESULT? UM, CONNECTIVITY BECAME A HUGE ISSUE JUST IN TERMS OF GETTING KNOCKED OFF OF CALLS KNOCKED OFF OF INTERNET ACCESS ACROSS THE BOARD.
SO THE FIRST STEP FOR US WAS TO ASSESS WHO WAS READILY AVAILABLE AND WHO COULD ASSIST AT A 24 HOUR, SEVEN DAY A WEEK CAPACITY.
UM, BECAUSE WE HAD STILL VERY LIMITED NUMBERS OF STAFF AVAILABLE.
UM, MANY OF US WORKED IN EXCESS OF A HUNDRED TO 120 HOURS WITHIN ONE WEEK'S TIME, BECAUSE WE WERE NONSTOP TRYING TO GET INFORMATION OUT THE INFORMATION WAS ALSO EVER CHANGING.
AND SO AS MUCH AS WE TRIED TO ACCESS INFORMATION WITHIN A COUPLE OF MINUTES, IT WOULD CHANGE BECAUSE WE'D FIND NEW INFORMATION.
UM, THE SHELTERS, AS A MANAGER EXPRESSED, WE HAD ONE SITUATION WHERE A SHELTER WAS STOOD UP AND THEN WE WERE STARTING TO MOVE PEOPLE AND THEN A PIPE WOULD BURST OR THE POWER WOULD GO OUT AND THEN WE WOULD HAVE TO MOVE THEM AGAIN IN VERY HARSH, UNSAFE CONDITIONS.
UM, HUNDREDS OF PEOPLE IN BUSES THAT WERE VERY LIMITED WITH LIMITED STAFFING FOR THOSE BUSES.
SO THAT INFORMATION, ONE OF THE CHALLENGES I THINK THAT WE COULD DO BETTER IN TERMS OF COMMUNICATING WITH THE PUBLIC, IS THAT REITERATING OVER AND OVER THAT THE INFORMATION COULD CHANGE.
HERE ARE DIFFERENT WAYS TO STAY CONNECTED, AND HERE'S HOW WE CAN COMMUNICATE WITH YOU.
UM, SO FROM THAT JUST, WE STOOD UP A SECONDARY JUST THAT PULLED FROM STAFF OF ALL THE DIFFERENT DEPARTMENTS TO HELP US SHARE AND COMMUNICATE TO THE PUBLIC AS BEST WE CAN.
AND WE USED OUR OWN RESOURCES.
I WAS ON MY OWN NEIGHBORHOOD THREAD, AS OFTEN AS I POSSIBLY COULD.
I WAS SHARING INFORMATION, JUST TEXTING AND BEING MY OWN PERSONAL AMBASSADOR TO MY RESIDENTS AND LETTING THEM KNOW WHAT WAS GOING ON.
UM, AND THAT IS SOMETHING THAT I THINK THE MORE AND MORE THAT WE CAN DO AS A COMMUNITY TO CONNECT OURSELVES TO EACH OTHER.
AND REMEMBER THAT, ESPECIALLY IN CATASTROPHIC SITUATIONS, LIKE WE WENT THROUGH, WE HAVE TO HELP EACH OTHER.
IT IS SO IMPORTANT TO CHECK ON YOUR NEIGHBORS, TO CHECK ON EACH OTHER, TO, TO GET WATER FOR EACH OTHER AND TO SUPPORT EACH OTHER THROUGH THESE TIMES, BECAUSE THE REALITY IS THE GOVERNMENT IS IN CHARGE OF HELPING US STAY A SAFE, SAFEST, POSSIBLE.
WE'VE GOT TO GET CRITICAL INFRASTRUCTURE UP AND RUNNING.
UM, AND TO THE DEGREE THAT WE CAN MANAGE ON OUR OWN THAT WE NEED TO DO THE BEST WE CAN.
SO, UH, THE MORE THAT WE STARTED COMMUNICATING ABOUT USE SNOW TO HELP MANAGE, TO GET WATER, UM, USE OTHER, THESE DIFFERENT RESOURCES, GENERATORS HELP, AND PEOPLE STARTED HELPING THEMSELVES IN EACH OTHER.
UM, THINGS STARTED TO IMPROVE OR PEOPLE FELT MORE EMPOWERED TO ADDRESS THEIR CONCERNS.
SO IN MANY WAYS WE HAVE TO START BEING OUR OWN FIRST RESPONDERS IN THESE DIFFICULT TIMES.
AND ONE OF THE KEY THINGS THAT WE ABSOLUTELY NEED TO INVEST IN AND LISTEN TO, BECAUSE I KNOW OUR HOUSTON TEAM HAS TRIED MANY TIMES, AND NOW WE HAVE PEOPLE'S ATTENTION, BUT WARN CENTRAL TEXAS GAINING ACCESS TO INFORMATION, UM, REACTING, WHEN WE ASK PEOPLE TO REACT, THERE WAS A LARGE STORM COMING.
UM, MULTIPLE COMMUNICATIONS WENT OUT MONDAY IN ADVANCE.
UM, AND NOT JUST FROM HOUSTON, NOT JUST FROM THE CITY, BUT ALSO FROM AUSTIN ENERGY FROM PUBLIC WORKS FROM TRANSPORTATION.
EVERY DEPARTMENT EXPANDED THEIR REACH TO REALLY TRY AND GET THE COMMUNITY TO TAKE THOSE STEPS.
AND IN MANY PLACES, MANY PEOPLE DID AND SOME DIDN'T.
[01:25:01]
SO THOSE WHO WEREN'T ABLE TO, WE HAVE TO HELP EACH OTHER.AND WE ALSO NEED TO EQUIP PEOPLE TO DO THAT.
UM, SO AS, AS WE CAN START TO LOOK INTO THOSE RESOURCES, I'M LOOKING FORWARD TO THE AFTER ACTION REPORT THAT WILL ALLOW US TO REALLY DELVE IN DEEP AND HELP BUILD OUT COMMUNICATIONS THAT WILL SUPPORT THESE NEEDS.
AND JESSICA, IF I CAN ADD, UH, AND YOU HIT ON SOMETHING THAT IS, THAT IS VERY KEY.
UM, THE COMMUNICATIONS THAT WE, THAT WE PROVIDE IS NOT JUST FROM THE CITY OR THE COUNTY, BUT WE, WE, WE ALSO HAVE THIS PARTNERSHIP WITH THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE AND ALL THE LOCAL BROADCASTERS, BOTH FROM TV AND, AND, AND RADIO, UH, AND AS WELL AS SOCIAL MEDIA, BECAUSE WE ALL PLAY A PART IN MAKING SURE THAT WE SHARE AS MUCH INFORMATION AS WE POSSIBLY CAN.
SO, AS WE WOULD FIND INFORMATION THAT WAS OUT THERE, THAT WAS NOT CORRECT.
WE, UH, THAT OUR JOINED INFORMATION SYSTEM TEAM WOULD REACH OUT AND ADDRESS IT AND CORRECT IT.
UH, AND IT, WE NEEDED THEM TO, TO, TO SEND THE CORRECT INFORMATION OUT TO THEIR RECIPIENTS AND THEIR RECIPIENTS ARE MEMBERS OF OUR COMMUNITY.
AND IT REALLY DOESN'T MATTER IF THEY'RE HEARING IT DIRECTLY FROM US OR SOME SOMEBODY ELSE.
WHAT MATTERS IS THAT THE INFORMATION THAT IS GETTING OUT IS CORRECT.
AND ONE ADDITIONAL THING, I DO JASON ALEXANDER AND I WERE LOCKED AT THE HIP.
AND ANYWAYS, UM, HE, AND HE WAS OFFICIALLY ASSIGNED TO BE YOUR COUNCIL'S POINT OF CONTACT.
UM, ONCE WE WERE ABLE TO ESTABLISH SOME CONSISTENCY IN WHO WAS AVAILABLE, UM, I'M GOING TO SHARE, AND HE WOULD PROBABLY NOT SHARE THIS, BUT JASON DIDN'T HAVE POWER EITHER.
UM, AND HE WAS ABLE TO CAREFULLY TRAVERSE HIS WAY CLOSER TO MY NEIGHBORHOOD TO ACCESS, UH, THE RESOURCES THAT HE NEEDED IN ORDER TO DO THE WORK, BUT WE WOULD NOT HAVE MADE IT THROUGH IN TERMS OF BEING ABLE TO COMMUNICATE WITH YOU WERE NOT FOR THE FACT THAT WE HAVE, WE WERE FORTUNATE.
WE WERE VERY BLESSED TO BE ABLE TO HAVE THE RESOURCES THAT WE NEEDED TO BE ABLE TO DO OUR JOBS.
UM, BUT A LOT OF THE ORGANIZATION, DIDN'T A LOT OF OUR COMMUNICATION STAFF DIDN'T AND THEY DID THE ABSOLUTE BEST THEY COULD WITH THE INFORMATION THEY HAD TO GET IT OUT AS QUICKLY AS THEY COULD IN A VERY CHANGING AND DYNAMIC SITUATION.
AND SO I JUST WANT TO SAY AS THE INTERIM DIRECTOR OF COMMUNICATIONS, UM, I APPLAUD ALL OF OUR COMMUNICATIONS TEAM BECAUSE, UM, AND I TRY NOT TO CRY.
I'M NOT A BIG CRIER, UM, BUT THEY WORKED THEIR TAILS OFF.
AND, UM, IF IT WEREN'T FOR THEM JUST, OH MY GOSH, I JUST REALLY APPRECIATE EVERYTHING THAT THEY DID.
SO IF YOU'RE LISTENING OUT THERE, THANK YOU GUYS.
THANK YOU FOR THAT REALLY DETAILED RESPONSE.
AND THANK YOUR TEAM FROM US COLLEAGUES, OTHER THINGS ON THE EMERGENCY OPERATION COMMAND, WHILE WE HAVE, UH, ONE MORE WITH US, I'M CURIOUS WHAT WE'VE LEARNING FROM OTHER CITIES AT THIS POINT, UM, AND HOW WE'RE GOING ABOUT LEARNING THOSE OTHER LESSONS.
UM, UH, ACTUALLY FROM THE, BECAUSE OF THE PANDEMIC, I'VE HAD A, A, A, A MEETING EVERY TWO WEEKS WITH THE TEXAS BIG SIX LARGE CITIES AND, UH, AND AN EFFORT TO ENSURE THAT WE'RE COORDINATED WITH EACH OTHER.
I WILL TELL YOU THAT DURING THIS WINTER STORM, UH, WE, WE, WE SHARED A LOT OF INFORMATIONS BECAUSE EVERYBODY WAS BEING IMPACTED.
UH, AND, UM, AND, AND, UM, WHAT WE'RE SEEING IS THAT, UH, THIS WINTER WE WOULD, UH, WE WOULD CATEGORIZE AS A LOW PROBABILITY HIGH IMPACT WINTER SCENARIO.
UM, AND, AND EVEN THOUGH WE MAY BE IN TEXAS IN THE SOUTHERN PART OF THE COUNTRY, AND WE DON'T DEAL WITH THIS VERY OFTEN, BUT WHEN WE DO IT HAS AN IMPACT AND EVERYBODY IS IN THE SAME SITUATION, BUT WE NEED TO REALIZE THAT OUR NORMAL AVENUES FOR RESOURCES WILL BE ALL FINDING OUT IS THAT WE WANT TO HELP EACH OTHER OUT, BUT OUR PRIORITY IS TO OUR COMMUNITIES.
AND WE'RE NOT ABLE TO HELP ANYBODY UNTIL ONCE WE TAKE CARE OF THOSE NEEDS.
SO YOU'RE GOING TO HAVE WHAT YOU HAVE, AND THEREFORE WE NEED TO MAKE SURE THAT WE ARE AS PREPARED AS WE POSSIBLY CAN BE.
UH, AND, AND, AND, AND REALLY, UH, UH, BE THINKING FOR SOLUTIONS OUTSIDE OF THE BOX.
SO WE CAN HAVE A PLAN, UH, BUT DON'T BE SURPRISED THAT THE EVENT IS GOING TO FORCE YOU TO COME UP WITH SOLUTIONS OUTSIDE OF THE BOX, UH, AND, AND TRY TO SHARE AS BEST AS YOU POSSIBLY CAN,
[01:30:01]
WHAT THOSE LESSONS WERE.UH, IN, IN THE BEGINNING OF THE BULL WATER CRISIS, I RECEIVED A PHONE CALL FROM SAN ANTONIO ASKING US FOR WHAT DID WE LEARN IN THE 2018 EXPERIENCE? AND WE SHARE THAT.
AND WHY DID THEY WANT TO KNOW THAT BECAUSE THERE WERE ABOUT TO ISSUE A BOWL WATER CRISIS AND BE IN THE SAME SITUATION THAT WE WERE FINDING OURSELVES JUST MINUTES AWAY AND JUST HAVING THAT? WELL, I THINK WHAT WE'RE LEARNING ACROSS THE STATE IS, UH, NOT ONLY DO WE NEED TO HAVE A COMMUNICATION LINE WITHIN OUR COMMUNITY, WE NEED TO BE HAVING A COMMUNICATIONS LINE WHILE ALL OUR CITIES AND COUNTIES ABROAD AROUND THE STATE OF TEXAS TO ENSURE THAT WE CAN, UH, UH, WORK OFF OF EACH OTHER'S EXPERIENCES OR KNOW THAT THE CITY MANAGER WAS HAVING THE SAME EXPERIENCE, TALKING TO HIS PEERS AND OTHERS IN OTHER CITIES.
UH, AND MY COUNTERPART AND THE COUNTY WAS HAVING THE SAME TALKING TO, UH, OTHER COUNTIES AND TRYING TO SEE WHAT INFORMATION AND WHAT IMPACTS WERE WE WERE EXPERIENCING AND TRYING TO FIGURE OUT WHAT, HOW WE CAN HELP EACH OTHER, OR MORE IMPORTANTLY, LEARN FROM THOSE, THOSE EXPERIENCES.
UM, THAT'S REALLY PROBABLY THE BIGGEST LESSON THAT WE'RE HEARING ACROSS, UH, ACROSS THE STATE CITY MANAGER.
WHEN YOU DO THE AFTER ACTION REPORT, I HOPE YOU'LL INCLUDE SOME COMPARISONS WITH SOME OTHER CITIES AND SOME LESSONS THAT MAYBE THEY'RE FINDING IN THEIR REPORTS THAT, THAT WE MAY WANT TO PAY ATTENTION TO, UH, BE PARTICULARLY INTERESTED IN UNDERSTANDING BETTER WHETHER THEY WERE OR WERE NOT ABLE TO ROLL AND ROLL THE BLACKOUTS AND WHICH ONES WERE, AND WHICH ONES WEREN'T, I STILL DO NOT HAVE STRAIGHT, YOU KNOW, WHAT THE FACTS ARE ABOUT WHAT OTHER CITIES WERE, OR WERE NOT ABLE TO VIEW.
UM, AND I THINK IT'S IMPORTANT FOR US TO HAVE THAT SORT OF COMPARISON.
I THINK IT'S BEEN VERY HELPFUL TO HAVE THE COMPARISONS, UM, WITH RESPECT TO COVID AND OUR, AND DEATH RATES AND OUR INFECTION RATES, ET CETERA.
AND OBVIOUSLY WE'RE DOING REALLY WELL ON THAT.
UM, BUT I THINK IT'S HELPFUL TO, TO UNDERSTAND HOW WE FARED AND FIGURE OUT IF THERE'S SOME MEASURES TO HELP US UNDERSTAND WHERE THERE WERE SOME THINGS THAT WE MAY BE HANDLED BETTER THAN OTHERS.
YOU KNOW, I WOULD VENTURE THAT ARE THAT OUR, UM, PRIVATE SECTOR OR COMMUNITY FOLKS REALLY DID STEP UP.
AND I'M SURE THEY STEPPED UP ALL OVER THE STATE, BUT I IMAGINE WE WOULD FIND THAT, YOU KNOW, IN AUSTIN, THEY REALLY DID DOUBLE DUTY AND, AND THAT WE CAN BE REALLY PROUD OF THAT, BUT THERE MAY BE OTHER AREAS LIKE NOT HAVING BEEN ABLE TO ROLL THE BLACKOUTS THAT, UM, WE DIDN'T DO DO SO WELL, WHICH WOULD POINT TO, TO AREAS OF CONCERN AGREED COUNCIL MEMBER, AND I'LL, I'LL DO THAT.
AND CERTAINLY AS I'M GETTING FEEDBACK IN REAL TIME FROM, UH, OTHER, UH, JURISDICTIONS ACROSS THE STATE, BUT THEN WHAT ARE THOSE AS YOU DESCRIBED UNIQUE SITUATIONS THAT EACH CITY, EACH CITY WAS GOING THROUGH.
UM, BUT HOW CAN WE BOTH COMPARE AND THEN, UH, CONTRAST TO THOSE, UH, EXPERIENCES OF OTHER CITIES.
AND MAY I HAVE ANOTHER QUESTION IF I MIGHT, OR IF IT'S TIME TO SWITCH TO SOMEONE ELSE? THAT'S FINE.
SO, UM, IN LOOKING THROUGH THE EMERGENCY REPORT, IF I'M REMEMBERING CORRECTLY, IT'S BEEN AWHILE SINCE I DID IT.
UM, IT DOES CITE LIKE EXTREME COLD AND A WINTER EVENT AS AN EMERGENCY TO PREPARE FOR.
HOWEVER, UM, I WAS STRUCK BY THE FACT THAT IN OUR CLIMATE RESILIENT INFRASTRUCTURE REPORT AND SOME OF OUR OTHER REPORTS HOLD WEATHER IS NOT EVEN MENTIONED AS LIKE SOMETHING THAT WE'RE PREPARING FOR.
UM, AND I THINK THERE'S A WHOLE SET OF ISSUES THAT GO WITH, UM, COLD WEATHER, NOT BEING SOMETHING THAT OUR INFRASTRUCTURE IS PREPARING FOR IN OUR CLIMATE RESILIENCE REPORT.
AND I'M LOOKING INTO SOME OF THOSE THINGS, BUT I WANT TO BETTER UNDERSTAND MR. ORTIZ, YOU KNOW, YOU HAVE SAY COLD WATER WA WEATHER AS AN EVENT TO WORRY ABOUT IN YOUR EMERGENCY PLAN, BUT THEN HOW DOES THAT GET SORT OF PROPAGATED FOR THE OTHER DEPARTMENTS TO PLAN? CAUSE YOU SEEM TO IDENTIFY IT AS AN ISSUE, BUT IT WASN'T IN THESE OTHER PLANS.
YOU KNOW, THEY, THEY LIST WILD FIRE AND DROUGHT AND, UM, FLOODING.
AND I THINK THERE'S A FOURTH ONE.
I DON'T REMEMBER WHAT THE FOURTH ONE WAS.
UM, BUT THEY LIST AS LIKE THE KEY AREAS, BUT THEY DON'T EVEN TOUCH COLD WEATHER, BUT YET YOU HAVE THAT.
AND SO IT SEEMS LIKE IT KEPT FINDING WHAT WE WEREN'T REALLY PREPARED FOR THIS.
SO I GUESS I'D LIKE TO KNOW HOW YOU'RE PROPAGATING THAT OR IS IT JUST SIMPLY LIKE YOU'RE PREPARING COLD WEATHER SHELTERS? I BELIEVE YOU'RE TALKING ABOUT THE, UH, UM, SYDNEY, UH, CLIMATE RESILIENCY.
YES, BUT THERE WERE OTHER PLANS, LIKE THEY, WE DISCOVERED THE AUSTIN WATER EMERGENCY PLAN DIDN'T HAVE COLD WEATHER.
[01:35:01]
AND, AND, AND, AND ACTUALLY, UH, YES, AND, UH, IN, IN OUR EMERGENCY OPERATIONS PLAN AND THEN ALSO IN THE CITY'S HAZARD MITIGATION ACTION PLAN, UH, WHEN WE DO OUR HAZARD ANALYSIS, WE DO IDENTIFY, UH, WINTER WEATHER AS A SOMETHING THAT WE, THAT WE PLAN FOR.UH, AND, UH, AND IN THE DOCUMENT THAT WE'RE SIGNING THAT AS IT IS, UH, NOT LOCATED, UH, THAT'S A DOCUMENT AND I'M GOING TO ASK WHO SHE HAD TO CORRECT ME IF I'M WRONG.
IF I SAY SOMETHING INCORRECTLY, UH, IT LOOKS AS THE, THE STATISTICAL DATA, UH, TO DETERMINE WHAT, UM, THE, UH, THE, UH, SO IT, IT, IT THEN BUYS THE LIKELIHOOD OF THAT HAVING AN IMPACT FROM A CLIMATE RESILIENCY STANDPOINT.
UH, I WOULD SAY THAT, UM, UH, I, WE HAVE BEEN IN CONVERSATIONS WITH, UH, OFFICE OF SUSTAINABILITY TO LOOK AT, UM, HOW WE CAN MODIFY THAT PLAN AND TALK ABOUT WHAT I JUST DESCRIBED A MOMENT AGO OF THIS, UH, LOW PROBABILITY HIGH IMPACT, EVEN THOUGH THE DATA DOESN'T NECESSARILY SHOW THAT THIS IS SOMETHING THAT HAPPENS VERY FREQUENTLY, WHAT WE REALIZING.
AND IT'S IMPORTANT TO NOTE IN THIS, IN THIS PLAN, UH, IS THE FACT THAT, UH, IT MAY HAPPEN VERY RARELY, BUT WHEN IT DOES HAPPEN IS NOT JUST AN IMPACT TO THE CITY, REALLY A STATEWIDE IMPACT.
AND THEREFORE WE NEED TO MAKE SURE THAT WE'RE PLANNING A PORTLAND AND LUCIA, IF YOU'RE, UH, IF YOU'RE AVAILABLE ON OVERVIEW, YOU CAN, UH, TALK A LITTLE BIT MORE ABOUT THAT.
SHE'S ON THE ATTENDEE LIST, BUT NOT MOVED OVER YET.
BUT I WILL SAY THAT, UH, THAT, THAT IS SOMETHING THAT WE HAVE IDENTIFIED, UH, AND, AND WE WERE WORKING TO, TO LOOK AT HOW THAT CAN BE INCORPORATED.
AND AGAIN, IT'S, IT'S REALLY THAT, UH, ACTION PLAN IS REALLY NEEDS TO BE A, IN MY OPINION, UH, I DON'T WANT TO SPEAK FOR THE OFFICE OF SUSTAINABILITY.
UH, IT'S A REALLY A LIVING DOCUMENT, RIGHT? SO THESE ARE THE, THE AREAS THAT WE, THAT, THAT THEIR DATA HAS IDENTIFIED BASED ON OUR EXPERIENCE.
I THINK WE NEED TO INCORPORATE IT, EH, THE, THE IMPACTS OF WEATHER, BUT, AND THEN ALSO MAKE SURE THAT WE'RE OPEN TO LOOK AT WHAT OTHER IMPACTS WE MAY SUFFER FROM A CLIMATE RESILIENCY.
I, I JUST LIKE TO ADD ON A LITTLE BIT, IF I MAY, LUCHEA ATHENS, UM, CHIEF SUSTAINABILITY OFFICER, UH, THE CLIMATE MODELS THAT WE HAVE RUN IN THE PAST, UH, WE SPECIFICALLY IN THE PAST HAVE CONTRACTED WITH DR.
SHE IS A CLIMATE CHANGE EXPERT WHO HAS ALSO BEEN INVOLVED WITH THE NATIONAL CLIMATE ASSESSMENT, AND SHE USED THE SAME METHODOLOGY TO DEVELOP CLIMATE MODELS FOR AUSTIN, FOR US SOME YEARS AGO.
AND AT THE TIME WE RAN THIS MODELS, EXTREME HEA FLOODING, DROUGHT, AND WILDFIRES FOR THE, FOR, UH, CLIMATE EXTREME WEATHER RISKS THAT WERE IDENTIFIED AS A PART OF HER RESEARCH AND ANALYSIS AND MODELS THAT SHE GRAN EXTREME COLD AND WINTER EVENTS LIKE THE WINTER STORM URI NEVER CAME UP AS A PART OF THAT MODEL.
SO, UM, WE ARE NOW CONSIDERING, UH, UH, UPDATING THE MODEL AND WORKING WITH DR.
HAYHOE AGAIN, TO DO AN UPDATE, UH, TO LOOK MORE CLOSELY AT THE POTENTIAL FOR EXTREME COLD WEATHER OFFENSE AS A PART OF OUR CLIMATE CHANGE PROJECTIONS.
I MEAN, I APPRECIATE BRINGING UP THE DATA ISSUE AND, YOU KNOW, BASICALLY, YOU KNOW, THE MODELS DON'T PREDICT IT, BUT IT HAPPENED.
AND NOW WE'RE BUILDING OUR INFRASTRUCTURE AND MAKING OUR PLANS BASED ON ASSUMPTIONS THAT DON'T INCLUDE THE COLD WEATHER.
AND WE KNOW THAT THIS CAN HAPPEN.
AND SO WE DO NEED TO PIVOT AND ADJUST AND MAKE SURE THAT WE'RE PLANNING FOR THAT.
UM, AND I UNDERSTAND THAT DOCTOR HAYHOE IS A, UM, IS A, IS AN EXPERT IN THIS AND THE MODELS, BUT IT DOES MAKE ME CONCERNED TO KNOW THAT OUR CLIMATE MODELS ARE THAT FAR OFF OF WHAT REALITY IS RECOGNIZING IT'S A LOW PROBABILITY HIGH IMPACT EVENT.
UM, SO I JUST THINK IN THE AFTER ACTION REPORT, WE REALLY NEED A PLAN FOR HOW WE'RE, HOW WE'RE ADDRESSING THAT.
THAT'S NOT TO TAKE AWAY FROM THE FACT THAT WE HAVE THESE OTHER EVENTS LIKE WILDFIRE, WHICH ARE, AND I REALLY WANT PEOPLE TO UNDERSTAND THAT THIS IS A HIGH PROBABILITY HIGH IMPACT EVENT.
UM, AND SO WE REALLY, REALLY NEED TO BE PREPARED.
SO I DON'T WANT OUR COLD WEATHER PREPAREDNESS TO TAKE AWAY FROM THE FACT THAT WE NEED TO PREPARE FOR, UM, THESE HIGH PROBABILITY HIGH IMPACT EVENTS, BUT WE DO ALSO, UM, NEED TO BE
[01:40:01]
FACTORING IN THAT COLD PIECE.UM, BUT MR. ORTIZ, WHAT I WAS REALLY, YOU KNOW, PART OF WHAT I WAS TRYING TO UNDERSTAND IS, IS, I MEAN, IS IT JUST SIMPLY THAT THE MODEL DEFERRED, OR, YOU KNOW, HOW IS IT THAT ONE PLAN SAYS WE HAVE TO WORRY ABOUT COLD WEATHER AND THE OTHER ONES DON'T AS IT JUST SIMPLY THAT ONE WAS BASED ON MODELS AND THE OTHER WASN'T OR, AND, AND, YOU KNOW, THERE THERE'S SUBSEQUENT THINGS THAT HAPPEN.
YOU KNOW, YOU HAVE THE CLIMATE RESILIENCE, YOU HAVE THOSE MODELS AND AUSTIN WATER SUBMITS THEIR, THEIR PLAN TO, UM, THE GOVERNMENT FOR THEIR EMERGENCIES THAT DOESN'T INCLUDE COLD WEATHER.
AND I DON'T KNOW WHERE ELSE THIS, THIS, THIS HAPPENS, BUT YET YOURS HAS COLD WEATHER.
AND SO, UM, UM, YOU KNOW, THE, THE EMERGENCY OPERATIONS PLAN TAKES A, AN ALL HAZARDS APPROACH, RIGHT? AND THERE'S SPECIFIC STANDARDS THAT THE STATE REQUIRES US TO, TO, TO PREPARE FOR AND WINTER WEATHER.
AND IN OUR PROCESS OF DOING OUR HAZARD ANALYSIS, WE DO IDENTIFY A WINTER WEATHER AS A POTENTIAL.
WE DO CLASSIFY IT AS A, AS A, UH, LOW PROBABILITY HIGH IMPACT.
UH, AND THAT'S WHY WE DO HAVE, UH, PLANS THAT DEAL WITH THAT.
AND, AND, AND OUR PAST EXPERIENCE, UH, WENT TO WHETHER IT'S SOMETHING THAT WE HAVE DEALT WITH IT, BUT NOT TO THIS MAGNITUDE.
AND SO WE HAVE, UH, BECAUSE OF THE PLANNING FOR WINTER WEATHER HAVE COME UP WITH OTHERS, MORE SPECIFIC PLANS, LIKE THE COLD WEATHER SHELTER PLAN THAT, THAT PROVIDES OVERNIGHT SHELTER DOING, UH, W WHEN WE EXPERIENCE, UH, CERTAIN, UM, WEATHER CONDITIONS THAT ARE MET TO ENSURE THAT EVERYBODY HAS A WARM PLACE TO SLEEP.
AND WE, UH, AND PRIOR TO THIS DAY FOR THIS YEAR, WE GOT ALREADY ACTIVATED SEVEN DAYS, UH, UH, UH, SEVEN OTHER INSTANCES.
UH, AND SO, SO WHEN THE WEATHER, YES, IT IS SOMETHING THAT WE PLAN FOR.
AND IT'S SOMETHING THAT WE PREPARE THE DIFFERENCE IN THIS EVENT.
THIS WAS, THIS WAS AN EXTREME COLD WEATHER SCENARIO, UM, THAT ACCORDING TO THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE, UH, SIX DEGREES WAS, UH, THE, WE EXPERIENCED THE, ONE OF THE, ONE OF THOSE DAYS TIES FOR THIRD PLACE.
AS THE COLDEST RECORDED TIME IN OUR AREA, WE WOULD HAVE TO GO BACK TO, UH, 1949, WHERE WE HAD, WHERE WE EXPERIENCED A NEGATIVE FIVE, UH, DO WE TEMPERATURES? SO YES, IT CAN HAPPEN.
IT DOESN'T HAPPEN VERY FREQUENTLY, UH, BUT, UH, BUT COLD TEMPERATURE IS SOMETHING THAT WE PLAN FOR THE DIFFERENCE HERE AGAIN, IS JUST THE EXTREMENESS OF THE COLD WEATHER.
AND THOSE CASCADING IMPACTS, UH, IS SOMETHING THAT WE ARE REALIZING THAT WE NEED TO MAKE SURE THAT WE ARE MORE RESILIENT TO COME BACK.
BEFORE WE MOVE OFF OF THE EMERGENCY OPERATION CENTER, I'D MAKE THREE OBSERVATIONS THAT I THINK OTHER PEOPLE HAVE ALREADY TOUCHED ON, BUT I JUST WANT TO EMPHASIZE THEM TOO.
AND PART OF IT COMES FROM THE, KIND OF THE UNIQUE POSITIONING THAT THE COUNTY JUDGE AND I HAVE BECAUSE OF STATUTORY OBLIGATIONS AND, AND PROCEDURES WITH RESPECT TO THE ROLE OF THIS OFFICE, UH, IN THE STATUTORY SCHEME FOR, FOR EMERGENCY STUFF.
AND THE FIRST ONE IS, IS THAT I THINK GETTING THE COUNCIL A LOT MORE INVOLVED IN EMERGENCY TRAINING, AND THOSE PROGRAMS MAKES A LOT OF SENSE, BUT I ALSO AM NOT AWARE OF TRAINING.
THAT'S GOING TO ACTUALLY WORK WITH THE EXPANDED ROLE THAT I THINK COUNCIL NEEDS TO HAVE IN THESE KINDS OF THINGS.
I THINK PART OF IT IS GOING TO BE WORKING WITH THE COUNCIL TO CREATE THAT, BUT A YEAR AGO IN FEBRUARY OF 2020, UH, THE MANAGER TOUCHED ON IT OR, OR WANDA IN A MOMENT AGO, UH, THERE THE, UH, THE, UM, FEMA TRAINING FOR THE, UH, UH, EMERGENCY OPERATION COMMAND.
AND THERE WERE 75 PEOPLE THAT WENT DOWN FROM AUSTIN, THE PEOPLE WHO MAN, THE DESKS IN THE EMERGENCY OPERATION COMMAND FOR A, FOR AN EXERCISE FOR SURE FOR A WEEK.
I THINK, UM, TWO THINGS ABOUT THAT I THINK ARE, ARE HISTORICALLY NOTABLE.
THE FIRST LITTLE BIT IS, IS THAT THE CHALLENGE THAT THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT AND FEMA DECIDED TO GIVE OUR EOC, WAS IT COLD OR STORM EVENT? UH, SO THIS WAS THE EVENT THAT THE EOC TRAINED ON.
UH, AND, AND THE WAY THAT THOSE EVENTS WORK IS THEY SET UP A KIND OF A FACT PATTERN AND EVERYBODY GETS THROWN IN AND THEN THEY TRY TO MAKE IT MORE AND MORE EXTREME.
AND THEN PEOPLE HAVE TO THEN REACT TO AN EXTREME CONDITION.
THEN THEY MAKE IT EVEN MORE AND MORE EXTREME.
AND THEN THEY JUST REALLY PRESSED THE LIMITS OF REALITY AND EVEN MAKE IT MORE EXTREME FOR THAT TEAM
[01:45:01]
TO WORK WITH.AND WITH EVERY ONE OF THOSE THINGS, THEY DIDN'T MATTER THE EXTREME NATURE OF THE WINTER EVENT THAT IT, AUSTIN, THIS IS THEM TRYING TO PRESS THE LIMITS TO REAL THINGS THAT, THAT REALLY STAND OUT THAT, THAT WERE NOT PLANNED FOR IN THAT EXTREME SCENARIO IS ONE DOING IT IN THE MIDDLE OF A WORLDWIDE PANDEMIC, UH, WHICH CHANGED LOTS OF STUFF.
THE SECOND ONE IS A CATASTROPHIC LOSS OF POWER, UH, WHICH DIDN'T BECOME, UH, AND, AND, AND, AND AN ELEMENT OF THAT, BOTH OF WHICH PROBABLY IN RETROFIT THAT SHOULD HAVE.
UM, BUT I JUST THOUGHT THAT WAS INTERESTING.
THE SECOND THING IS, IS THAT WHILE THAT GROUP OF 75, 85 PEOPLE, AND I DON'T REMEMBER THE EXACT NUMBER WE'RE IN VIRGINIA PLANNING FOR THAT, AND IN THE MIDDLE OF THE EXERCISE THAT WAS BEING RAMPED UP ON THE WINTER DISASTER, WE WERE JUST BEGINNING TO HEAR ABOUT THE PANDEMIC.
SO THE ESC ACTUALLY STOOD UP ITS FIRST BEATINGS ON THE PANDEMIC WHILE THEY WERE IN VIRGINIA.
I'M A PLANNING EXERCISE FOR THE WINTER.
I JUST THINK THAT'S INTERESTING.
AND, AND GO AHEAD THE POINT OF HOW THESE THINGS KIND OF LAYER ON EACH OTHER, THE SECOND THING I'D SAY, AND IT GOES BACK TO A POINT THAT A LOT OF PEOPLE HAVE MADE IS WE'VE GOT TO FIGURE OUT HOW IT IS.
WE DEAL WITH THE ISSUE AND CULTURE OF PEOPLE HELPING ONE ANOTHER, BECAUSE EVERY TIME A COMMUNITY GROUP OR A NEIGHBORHOOD OR AN INDIVIDUAL STEPPED FORWARD TO GET SOMETHING DONE.
I SAY EVERY TIME IN, IN, IN, IN HUNDREDS AND MAYBE THOUSANDS OF INCIDENTS I SAW IT WAS INCREDIBLY WELL.
IT WAS REALLY IMPORTANT INTERVENTIONS THAT WERE BEING DONE THAT, THAT SAVED PEOPLE, UH, SOMEBODY SAVED LIVES, UH, BUT, BUT SAVED PEOPLE ALONG SO MANY LEVELS, BUT THERE WAS A FEELING WHILE THAT WAS HAPPENING, IS THAT EVERY TIME THAT HAPPENED, THAT WAS A FAILURE OF THE SYSTEM.
WHY IS IT THAT SOMEBODY NEEDED TO STEP FORWARD TO DO THAT? AND I, AND I DON'T THINK THAT'S THE RIGHT WAY TO LOOK AT THAT.
AND SEVERAL PEOPLE HAVE TOUCHED ON THAT IN THIS KIND OF DISASTER.
IT COMMUNITY HAS TO STEP FORWARD IN ORDER TO BE ABLE TO SURVIVE.
AND WHEN THE COMMUNITY DOES THAT, THAT'S NOT EVIDENCE OF A FAILURE OF A SYSTEM NECESSARILY.
ALTHOUGH THERE ARE THOUSANDS OF THINGS THAT WE NEED TO LEARN FROM AND DO BETTER, BUT IT IS NOT NECESSARILY BE THE FAILURE OF THE SYSTEM, JUST THAT SOME CHALLENGES ARE SO GREAT THAT YOU CAN'T BUILD A SYSTEM AROUND THAT, EXCEPT FOR BUILDING IN SOME KIND OF OPEN ENDED WAY TO RECOGNIZE THAT IN THIS LEVEL OF ACTIVITY, THERE'S GOING TO BE A NEED FOR THOUSANDS OF PEOPLE TO STEP IN.
SO WE NEED A SYSTEM TO BE ABLE TO ORGANIZE THAT AND COMMUNICATE WITH THAT, CELEBRATE THAT, BUT RECOGNIZE GOING INTO THE EVENT THAT IF WE REACHED TO THAT LEVEL, THAT'S PART OF WHAT A SUCCESSFUL SYSTEM LOOKS LIKE.
UH, BUT WE'RE NOT, WE HAVEN'T PLANNED FOR THAT.
WE HAVEN'T DESIGNED AROUND THAT.
AND I THINK THAT WE NEED TO, AND THEN THE LAST THING I WOULD CONCLUDE WITH IS I WOULD JUST SORT OF BE, YOU KNOW, JUST ANOTHER PERSON TO GET IN LINE, TO REMARK ON WHAT IT WAS THAT THE STAFF DID.
AND IT'S NOT JUST CITY STAFF, ALTHOUGH THEY WERE INCREDIBLE IT'S COUNTY, BUT IT'S BEYOND THAT.
IT'S SO MANY OF THE REGIONAL PEOPLE ARE THESE DESKS OF THE EOC THERE.
IT'S THE PRIVATE PARTNERS THAT ARE PRESENT.
IT'S IT'S THE DESK THAT THE GROCERY STORES TOOK INSIDE THAT ROPE.
UH, IT IS EVERYBODY COVERING YOUR HAND.
IT'S IT'S, IT'S, IT'S THE RED CROSS.
IT'S SO MANY PEOPLE THAT ARE GETTING CONFLICTING ISSUES FROM NOT ONLY WHAT THEY'RE SEEING ON THE GROUND, BUT WHAT THEY'RE HEARING NATIONALLY IN TERMS OF WHAT THEY CAN DO OR NOT DO AS PEOPLE ARE SORTING THROUGH THAT.
UH, AND I'LL TELL YOU THAT THOSE FOLKS WERE THERE LITERALLY STOP.
THERE WERE A LOT OF PEOPLE I'M SURE DIDN'T SEE THEIR FAMILY FOR, FOR TWO DAYS.
UM, THERE WERE A LOT OF PEOPLE THAT VOLUNTEERED AND SENT FOOD TO THAT, THE EOC AND FOR PEOPLE ALL AROUND THE CITY, WHICH WAS AN INCREDIBLY NICE THING, BUT IT GETS REALLY OLD AFTER FOUR OR FIVE DAYS THAT KIND OF FOOD THAT COULD BE DELIVERED.
UM, BUT JUST EVERYBODY IN AN ENVIRONMENT WHERE SO MANY PEOPLE ARE SCARED IN AN ENVIRONMENT WHERE THERE ARE SO MANY PEOPLE THAT ARE NOT GETTING WHAT IT IS THAT THEY NEED, PEOPLE WHO ARE JUST LITERALLY DYING ON THE INSIDE, BECAUSE THEY'RE NOT ABLE TO ACTUALLY
[01:50:01]
GET TO MEET THE NEEDS THAT THEY SEE AND ARE TRYING THEIR BEST TO TRY AND MAKE THAT HAPPEN IS THE ENVIRONMENT THAT WAS OPERATING.AND I JUST WANT TO ADD MY THANK YOU TO EVERYBODY, PUBLIC AND PRIVATE AND OTHERWISE, AND VOLUNTEERS AND PEOPLE THAT WERE OUT TO HELP THIS COMMUNITY GET THROUGH THIS.
THAT GETS US PAST THE TWO 45 POINTS.
I WOULD TURN US TO TRANSPORTATION.
IF IT'S POINT, IF PEOPLE ARE READY TO MOVE ON KATHERINE FOR THIS, DID YOU HAVE SOMETHING, NO COUNCIL MEMBER TALKING ABOUT? YEAH, THIS IS SORT OF A BRIDGING THING.
IT'S NOT REALLY DIRECTLY TO EOC, UM, MANAGER.
SO, YOU KNOW, I, I HAD COMPILED A LOT OF BASICALLY WE WEREN'T ABLE TO ADDRESS SOME ARE VERY STRAIGHTFORWARD, YOU KNOW, ABOUT WHO, WHO RECEIVES THE TRICIA REPORTS, UM, GENERAL LEVELS OF, OF, UM, TRAINING, YOU KNOW, THINGS THAT ARE JUST VERY ROUTINE.
AND I WONDER WHAT MIGHT BE OUR, OUR WAY MOVING FORWARD.
AND MAYBE WE CAN, I'LL JUST THROW THE QUESTION OUT THERE AND WE CAN COME BACK TO IT AT THE END AND THE WRAP-UP THAT SCHEDULED.
BUT MAYOR YOU HAD INITIALLY WHEN YOU AND I WERE TALKING WITH JASON ALEXANDER TALKED ABOUT THESE AS, AS BEING GOOD OPPORTUNITIES TO RAISE ISSUES, TO IDENTIFY ISSUES THAT WE'D LIKE THE MANAGER TO ADDRESS IN THE AFTER ACTION REPORTS.
SO THAT'S ONE OF THE THINGS THAT WE'RE DOING, BUT I WONDER IF WE COULD ALSO CREATE A PROCESS THAT I THINK YOU ALSO SUGGESTED WHERE COUNCIL MEMBERS CAN SUBMIT QUESTIONS AFTER THESE SESSIONS TOO, TO BECOME PART OF THAT.
AND I THINK THE BEST WAY TO DO THAT IS, IS THE SYSTEM WE ALREADY HAVE OF DOING IT THROUGH THE Q AND A PROCESS.
AND SO WHAT I'D LIKE TO SUGGEST IS THAT WE SET UP A QA PROCESS FOR THIS, UNDERSTANDING THAT AT THE MOMENT YOU ARE DEEP IN THE MIDST OF FINALIZING OR CONTINUING TO WORK ON THE AFTER ACTION REPORT.
AND SOME OF THOSE QUESTIONS AREN'T GOING TO BE ANSWERED FOR A BIT AND SOME OF THEM MIGHT BE ANSWERED IN THOSE REPORTS, BUT I DO THINK SOME OF THESE, I THINK HAVING A VERY CLEAR AND TRANSPARENT PORTAL WOULD BE OF HELP WHERE WE CAN SUBMIT OUR QUESTIONS, SEE WHAT OTHERS HAVE SUBMITTED AND THEN GET THOSE ANSWERS EITHER IN THAT SETTING OR IN THE AFTER ACTION REPORT.
SO THAT'S MY REQUEST AND THE OTHER REQUEST I HAVE, AND MAYBE AGAIN, WE CAN CYCLE BACK TO THAT AT THE END.
THERE'S A REALLY GOOD AFTER ACTION REPORT THAT WAS DONE AFTER HURRICANE HARVEY THAT I'VE BEEN GLANCING OVER THIS MORNING.
BUT, UM, I WOULD LIKE TO ASK THAT THAT BE ADDED AS BACKUP MATERIAL FOR OUR NEXT SESSIONS AND SOME OF THAT DEALS WITH SHELTERING AND RECOMMENDATIONS, BUT IT WAS A LARGE BODY OF RECOMMENDATIONS AND MANAGER AS YOU'RE PREPARING THE AFTER ACTION REPORT.
I AM ALSO INTERESTED IN KNOWING HOW MANY OF THOSE RECOMMENDATIONS HAVE BEEN IMPLEMENTED IN THE YEAR SINCE 2018.
SO I WILL ADD THAT TO MY QUESTIONS WHEN I SUBMIT MY QUESTIONS, BUT TO SPIN IT, TO MAKE THAT REQUEST, UM, IN BACKUP AND MAYOR.
SO I'LL JUST ALSO ADD OUR THANK YOUS TO OUR COUNCIL STAFF.
I KNOW MOST OF MY STAFF ALSO HAD LOST POWER OR WATER OR BOTH, UM, AND YOU KNOW, CONTINUED TO WORK THERE THAT WEEK.
AND I KNOW MANY OF, MANY OF MY COLLEAGUES, STAFF, UM, AND SOME OF MY COUNCIL COLLEAGUES WERE IN THAT SAME SITUATION.
SO IT CLEARLY SOME OF THESE THINGS PROBABLY WON'T REPEAT AGAIN.
UM, BUT THEY CERTAINLY WERE EXTRAORDINARY.
AND I ECHO THE I'M VERY INTERESTED IN THE CONVERSATION THAT WE HAVE ABOUT HOW WELL WE CAN EQUIP OURSELVES AND EACH OTHER TO, TO FACE THAT NEXT, UM, NEXT EMERGENCY, WHETHER IT'S THROUGH EXPANDED CERT TEAMS OR SOME OF THE OTHER, THE OTHER WAYS IN WHICH WE'VE DONE THAT IN THE PAST OR THAT OTHER CITIES ARE DOING.
SO SOME OF THOSE QUESTIONS ARE THINGS WE HAVEN'T HAD AN OPPORTUNITY TO TOUCH ON.
UM, AND THAT'S ONE OF THE REASONS I'M ESPECIALLY EAGER TO, TO HAVE A PORTAL WHERE WE CAN HAVE SOME OF THOSE ANSWERS, CORRECT.
MARY, I REALLY APPRECIATE YOU RAISING THE ISSUE OF VOLUNTEERISM, UM, IN ALL OF THIS.
AND I WANT TO CONNECT IT BACK TO PART OF THE CONVERSATION WE WERE HAVING EARLIER ABOUT PEOPLE BEING UNSURE, WHAT THINGS THE GOVERNMENT SHOULD BE DOING AND WHAT THINGS IT'S RIGHT FOR THEM TO BE STEPPING INTO.
AND SO I, I HOPE THAT BETWEEN HERE AND THE NEXT DISASTER, WE'RE ABLE TO TELL FOLKS, AND MAYBE EVEN USE THIS EXAMPLE TO SAY, THESE ARE THE THINGS THAT WE KNEW WE COULD DO.
THESE ARE THE THINGS THAT WE WISH WE COULD HAVE STEPPED UP AND DONE AS A LOCAL GOVERNMENT.
AND THEN HERE ARE THE THINGS THAT EVERYDAY PEOPLE DID THAT WE NEEDED THEM TO DO.
AND WE'RE GOING TO NEED YOU TO COME BACK AND DO AGAIN, HERE ARE PLACES YOU CAN SIGN UP TO DO THAT.
WE'RE GOING TO HAVE AN ORGANIZED WAY TO JUST REALLY CELEBRATE AND UPLIFT THAT.
UM, AGAIN, BECAUSE THERE WERE LOTS OF INSTANCES WHERE FOLKS SAID, AND SHOULD I ORGANIZE THIS WATER DISTRIBUTION OR FOOD DISTRIBUTION, OR IS THAT SOMETHING THE CITY IS SUPPOSED TO DO? AND WHAT WE WANT FOR THE NEXT DISASTER IS FOR PEOPLE TO NOT HAVE THAT QUESTION AS MUCH AND STEP INTO AND CELEBRATE AND GET DONE WHAT IT IS THEY'RE SUPPOSED TO DO WHILE KNOWING WHAT IT IS THAT WE ARE, WHAT WE ARE DOING.
[01:55:01]
I DON'T MEAN TO REALLY JUST REPEAT WHAT YOU SAID, MARY.I THINK IT IS BOTH FOR EMPHASIS, BUT ALSO I THINK A COMMUNICATION THING FOR FOLKS TO KNOW, UH, WHAT THEIR ROLE IS AND WHERE IT IS THAT THEY CAN GO.
I MEAN, I, I REALLY, REALLY APPRECIATE ALL OF THE HARD WORK OF ALL OF THE STAFF, BUT THERE WERE PEOPLE DIDN'T KNOW WHERE TO DROP OFF THINGS THAT THEY COULD DROP OFF OR WHERE TO VOLUNTEER, WHERE THEY COULD VOLUNTEER AND THE INCREDIBLE WORK BEING DONE BY SOME OF THE EXISTING VOLUNTEER NETWORKS.
THEY CAN ONLY MANAGE SO MANY PEOPLE.
UM, AND SO, SO AGAIN, I THINK THAT THESE ISSUES ARE LINKED, UH, WHAT YOU JUST RAISED AND WHAT WE TALKED ABOUT AT THE BEGINNING OF THE MEETING.
UH, AND BEFORE I CLOSE OUT, OF COURSE, MY EXTREME GRATITUDE AND THANKS, AND THANKS AS ALWAYS TO EVERYBODY THAT WORKED SO HARD DURING THE DAY.
ALL RIGHT, WELL, I'M THANK YOU.
AND IF THERE'S TIME, YOU COMMUNICATE TO THE EOC EXPRESS, OUR COLLECTIVE APPRECIATION TO THAT, UH, WIDE RANGING GROUP OR ERIC CARTER AS WELL, WHO CO-LEAD, UH, THE EOC WITH YOU COUNTY, UH, EMPLOYEE, UH, MAKE SURE THAT HE RECEIVES THAT SPECIAL.
THANKS FOR JOINING YOU IN LEADING THAT EFFORT.
UH, AND THANK YOU, COUNCIL MEMBERS FOR YOUR SUPPORT.
UH, AND, UH, UM, LIKE IT'S BEEN SAID, WE, UM, TH THERE'S ALWAYS AN OPPORTUNITY TO LEARN AND TO IMPROVE, AND THAT'S WHAT WE'RE HERE TO DO AND MAKE SURE THAT WE'RE READY FOR WHATEVER COMES IN THE FUTURE.
SO LET'S SPEND THE NEXT HALF AN HOUR OR SO TALKING ABOUT, UH, AUSTIN TRANSPORTATION, UH, MANAGER, IF WE CAN MOVE TO THAT TOPIC, STAFF ARE GETTING MOVED OVER.
UH, CERTAINLY WE CAN DO A BROAD OVERVIEW, BUT I THINK THE POINT OF THIS AS YOU PREFERENCE MAYOR AND COUNCIL MEMBER TOPO, JUST WORK, WE'RE PREPARED TO ANSWER QUESTIONS, TO ANSWER QUESTIONS AND JUST TO LISTEN TO, GEEZ,
UM, YOU KNOW, I, ONE OF THE THINGS I'M REALLY INTERESTED IN, AND I KNOW MY, MY CONSTITUENTS AND, AND Y'ALLS, UM, ARE INTERESTED IN IS JUST THE GENERAL, THE GENERAL PROCEDURES WITH REGARD TO STREET PAYMENTS.
LIKE, SO DIRECTOR SPILLER, MAYBE YOU COULD TALK US THROUGH, YOU KNOW, WHAT WERE YOUR PREPARATIONS LIKE BEFORE THE STORM, IN TERMS OF IDENTIFYING STREETS? UM, DID YOU, PRE-TREAT SOME, ONCE THE STORM HIT, WELL, I'VE BEEN TOLD, I ASKED TOO MANY QUESTIONS AT ONCE, WHICH IS ALWAYS THROUGH, SO I'M GOING TO JUST STOP THERE.
UM, BUT I'M INTERESTED IN LIKE THE WHOLE SUBJECT OF, UM, OF THAT.
LIKE, AND THEN HOW DID YOU DECIDE WHICH ONES TO TREAT? WHY DON'T WE TREAT MORE STREETS? COULD WE IN THE FUTURE? SURE.
THAT ACTUALLY NEEDS TO BE PITCHED TO RICHARD MENDEZ, OUR PUBLIC WORKS DIRECTOR.
UM, HE CAN BETTER SPEAK TO THE PAYMENTS WHEN WE GET TO THE RECOVERY.
I CAN CERTAINLY ADD INFORMATION ON, UH, WHICH STREETS WE, UH, HELPED PUBLIC WORKS PLOW FIRST.
AND THE EXTENT TO THAT, WHAT DO YOU THINK RICHARD IS ON? I SWAPPED TO ME.
RICHARD MINDELL IS A DIRECTOR AT PHILLIP.
THANK YOU FOR YOUR QUESTION, COUNCIL MEMBER OR, UH, TOBO UH, YES, PRETTY EVENT.
YOU KNOW, WE HAD BEEN WATCHING THE WEATHER FORECAST ALONG WITH, UH, ALL THE OTHER EMERGENCY RESPONSE DEPARTMENTS.
AND, UH, OUR PREPARATIONS ACTUALLY BEGAN, UH, AT LEAST TWO OR THREE DAYS PRIOR TO THE FORECAST TO, UH, FIRST DROP OF FREEZING PRECEPT.
AND SO THOSE PREPARATIONS ARE PRIMARILY AROUND IMPLEMENTING OUR SNOW AND ICE RESPONSE PLAN.
PUBLIC PARKS MAINTAINS A SNOW AND ICE WEATHER RESPONSE PLAN AND UPDATES IT PERIODICALLY.
AND ONE OF THE FIRST THINGS THAT WE DO IS WE INITIATE OUR DEPARTMENT INCIDENT COMMAND STRUCTURE.
AND SO WE ASSIGN AN INCIDENT COMMANDER AND THEN DEPARTMENT HEADS OVER OPERATIONS, LOGISTICS, FINANCE, ALL THOSE, UH, TRAINING COMPONENTS AS OUTLINED IN THE NATIONAL INCIDENT MANAGEMENT SYSTEM TO ENSURE THAT WE HAVE ROLES AND RESPONSIBILITIES TO, UH, FULLY AND SUCCESSFULLY IMPLEMENT OUR RESPONSE PLAN.
SO DAYS AHEAD, WE START PREPARING OUR RESOURCES THAT WE ANTICIPATE WE'LL NEED TO PROVIDE THAT RESPONSE.
IN TERMS OF PERSONNEL, EQUIPMENT
[02:00:01]
AND MATERIAL FOR PERSONNEL, WE PLACE OUR CREWS ON NOTICE THAT THEY WILL BE BEGAN, UH, FOR THAT EVENT.I BELIEVE IT WAS ON THAT SATURDAY MORNING, UH, REQUIRING ME TO REPORT TO ROTATING 12 HOUR SHIFTS TO PROVIDE 24 HOUR COVERAGE.
WE ALSO DO AN INVENTORY WORKING WITH OUR FLEET DEPARTMENT OF ALL OF OUR NECESSARY VEHICLES, UH, THAT WILL BE REQUIRED FOR THAT RESPONSE.
AND FOR THE CITY OF AUSTIN, THAT'S PRIMARILY THE 16 DUMP TRUCKS AND SAND SPREADERS, UH, UNLIKE MANY CITIES UP NORTH, UH, WE DO NOT PROACTIVELY PRE-TREAT OUR ROADWAYS AND BRIDGES WITH A SALT OR BRINE SOLUTION TO PREVENT THE FORMATION OF ICE OR FREEZING PRESET.
UH, WHAT WE DO IS WE APPLY A AGGREGATE MATERIAL, COG DOLOMITE, UH, ONCE WE OBSERVED THE FIRST FORMATIONS OF ICE PARTICLES, AND THESE ARE TYPICALLY ON OUR ELEVATED STRUCTURES LIKE BRIDGES, UH, WITH THAT MATERIAL, DOES, IS IT WORKS WITH THE, UH, VEHICLE TRAFFIC TO BREAK UP THE ICE AND INCREASE TRACTION.
SO WE ENSURED THAT THOSE EQUIPMENTS WERE FULLY AIRBUS HAVE PLENTY OF FUEL.
AND THEN, AND OF COURSE OUR MATERIAL STORES, WE OPERATE OUT OF THREE PRIMARY SERVICE LOCATIONS, UH, THROUGHOUT THE CITY, NORTH CENTRAL AND SOUTH.
UH, ACTUALLY THOSE INVENTORIES ARE CHECKED IN ADVANCE OF WINTER SEASON.
SO WE ENSURE THAT WE HAVE ADEQUATE STORES, UH, BEFORE, EVEN THE FIRST, UH, UH, FORECASTED, UH, FREEZING DAY OCCURS, ENSURE THAT MATERIAL IS READY.
UH, SO THAT WHEN WE DO ANTICIPATE AFTER WATCHING THE FORECAST CLOSELY, UH, THOSE FIRST, UH, UH, FREEZING PARTICLES, WE GET SNOW OR ICE.
UH, WE ALSO HAVE CREWS THAT GO OUT, UH, OUT ONSITE THEY'RE ASSIGNED VEHICLES, AND THEY GO TO THOSE LOCATIONS THAT WE KNOW FROM EXPERIENCE TEND TO FREEZE OVER, UH, FIRST AND AT THE FIRST SIGNS OF THAT PRECEPT, THEN WE MOBILIZE, UH, THOSE CREWS.
UH, SO OUR PREPARATIONS BEGIN, UH, DAYS IN ADVANCE OF WHEN WE ANTICIPATE FOR THE FIRST WINTER WEATHER, UH, PRECIPITATION.
THE CHALLENGE HERE IS THAT FOR THIS SPECIFIC, UM, UH, WEATHER INCIDENT, UH, YOU KNOW, THIS IS A REACTION TYPE REACTIONARY, UH, MOBILIZATION.
WE ARE ALSO RESPONDING TO CALLS THROUGH THE EOC TO PROVIDE THIS, UM, MATERIALS TO ENSURE SAFE ACCESS AROUND CRITICAL FACILITIES LIKE OUR FIRE, EMS HOSPITALS, UH, ULTIMATELY EVEN TO OUR WATER TREATMENT PLANTS, WE RESPONDED TO A NUMBER OF CALLS, UH, FOR THAT AS WELL AS OUR OWN AUSTIN, UM, AIRPORT.
AND SO, UH, OUR CREWS, UM, WERE PLACED ON 24 HOURS SHIFTS, UH, A TOTAL OF 140 AND STREET AND BRIDGE ALONE, AND NOT ONLY INVOLVED IN TRADING, UH, SLICK ROADWAYS AND BRIDGES AND CRITICAL INFRASTRUCTURE, BUT ALSO SUPPORTING THE OTHER RELIEF EFFORTS, UH, PROVIDING, UM, UH, TREATMENT AHEAD OF TRANSPORT FOR INDIVIDUALS TO WARMING CENTERS, UH, PROVIDING DELIVERY OF WATER.
ONCE WE STARTED EXPERIENCING THE WATER OUTAGES AND THEN ALL THE OTHER, UH, UH, REQUEST THAT CAME TO PUBLIC WORKS THROUGH THE EMERGENCY OPERATIONS CENTER.
THAT'S JUST A BROAD OVERVIEW OF OUR, OUR OPERATIONS.
UM, I WILL ADD WORKING CLOSELY WITH ROB AND HIS TEAM.
UH, ONCE WE REALIZED THAT THE DURATION OF THIS EVENT WAS GOING TO BE FOR A LONG WAY BEYOND WHAT WE HAVE EVER NORMALLY EXPERIENCED RECENTLY, THAT WE HAD TO TURN A LOT OF OUR ATTENTION TO OUR CRITICAL ROADWAYS.
AND WE WERE SUPPLIED A LIST OF HIGH PRIORITY ARTERIAL ROUTES TO ENSURE THAT OUR EMERGENCY SERVICES COULD REACH OUR POPULATION.
AND THOSE TOTAL OF ABOUT 200 MILES OF ROADWAYS, WE CONCENTRATED EFFORTS MIDSTREAM ON, UH, PLACING TREATMENT, AS WELL AS CLEARING, UH, THOSE ROADWAYS, WHICH WE WERE SUCCESSFUL IN DOING YES.
AND RICHARD, THIS IS ROB SPILLER WITH AUSTIN TRANSPORTATION.
I CAN ADD SOME ADDITIONAL DETAIL CAUSE I KNOW THAT I WAS ON THE QUESTIONS.
HOW DO WE IDENTIFY ROADWAYS COURSE? YOU KNOW, RICHARD MENTIONED THAT THEY RESPONDED
[02:05:01]
TO SPECIFIC REQUESTS, FIRE STATIONS, AIRPORT, UH, HOSPITAL FACILITIES, AND SO FORTH.UH, BUT OUR CRITICAL ROADWAY NETWORK IS OUR NETWORK THAT WE USE TO, UH, PRIORITIZE OPERATIONAL DECISIONS WITHIN THE CITY.
AND SO IT'S COMPRISED OF OUR MAJOR ARTERIALS THAT ARE IDENTIFIED BY THE, THOSE THAT HAVE THE HIGHEST TRANSIT RIDERSHIP AND VEHICLE USAGE.
AND SO, AS YOU CAN IMAGINE, IT IS THE LARGER ROADWAYS, THE, YOU KNOW, THE LARS, THE 15 STREETS THAT RUN BERG, THE RATA FOR DRIVES A SWATTER AND WHEN CANON AND I PROVIDE YOU THOSE DIRECT, UH, UH, EXACT LIST, BUT IT REALLY SPANS THE ENTIRE CITY, INCLUDING MLK AND, AND, UH, PLEASANT VALLEY IN SPRINGFIELD.
AND SO IT REALLY IS BASED ON THE VOLUMES OF BOTH TRANSIT ROUTES, UH, AND TRANSIT RIDERSHIP, AS WELL AS, AS CARS.
CAUSE WE KNOW THAT THAT'S A GOOD INDICATOR OF WHERE PEOPLE ARE COLLECTING AND WANTING TO TRAVEL.
AND SO WE USE THOSE AS, UH, UH, AS OUR, IF YOU WILL MAKE SHIFT IDENTIFIED ROUTES FOR PLOWING, ESPECIALLY DURING THE RECOVERY.
UH, WE DON'T HAVE A LIST OF STREETS THAT ARE PRIORITIZED SPECIFICALLY, UH, FOR, FOR SNOW REMOVAL BECAUSE IT IS SUCH A RARE EVENT, BUT OBVIOUSLY WE USE SOMETHING THAT WAS SIMILAR THAT, THAT WE THOUGHT MADE SENSE.
UH, WITH REGARDS TO THE SIGNALS, YOU KNOW, WE HAVE ALMOST 600 SIGNALS, UH, IN THE CITY AND LIKE MANY OF OUR RESIDENTS, WE LOST POWER TO THOSE SIGNALS FOR MULTIPLE DAYS.
UM, YOU KNOW, IN TERMS OF PREPARATION, UH, WE HAVE BEEN INSTALLING BATTERY BACKUPS FOR OUR SIGNALS.
SO WE HAVE ABOUT HALF OF OUR SIGNALS EQUIPPED WITH BATTERY BACKUPS, BUT THOSE ONLY LASTS BETWEEN SIX AND EIGHT HOURS.
AND SO THEY'RE REALLY DESIGNED TO ADDRESS THE HIGH FREQUENCY, LOWER IMPACT EVENTS.
AND SO AFTER THAT INITIAL SIX OR EIGHT HOURS, UH, WE CLEARLY RAN OUT OF POWER IN THOSE SIGNALS EITHER WENT DARK OR IN THE FLASH FOR SOME PERIOD OF TIME.
I WILL SAY THOUGH THAT WITH THE OTHER TECHNOLOGIES THAT WE HAD BEEN IMPLEMENTING, UH, MORE THAN HALF OF THOSE SIGNALS CAME BACK UP, UH, AND, UH, AUTOMATICALLY AND BACK INTO OPERATION.
AND WE WERE ABLE TO GET THE REST OF THAT HALF VERY QUICKLY BASED ON RICHARD'S, UH, PLOWING OF THOSE CRITICAL ARTERIALS BACK UP AND RUNNING, UH, BECAUSE OF THOSE BIGGER ARTERIALS WHERE OUR CONCERN, OBVIOUSLY, BECAUSE MORE CARS GOING HIGHER SPEED, UH, IS A HIGHER EXPOSURE FOR CRASH RATES AND SO FORTH.
UM, OUR CAMERA SYSTEM, UH, YOU MAY ALSO KNOW THAT WE OPERATE A LARGE NUMBER OF CAMERAS.
AND SO WE WERE ABLE TO USE THOSE UNTIL WE LOST POWER OURSELVES, UH, TO COMMUNICATE THAT KATE ABOUT ROAD CONDITIONS, YOU KNOW, OUR PREFERENCE WAS PEOPLE NOT BEHIND THE ROAD, QUITE HONESTLY, UH, BECAUSE, UM, ARE THEY IN FREQUENCY, UH, OUR TEXAS DRIVERS, NO MATTER HOW MANY TIMES THEY GET A CHANCE TO GO, SKIING JUST ARE NOT GOOD SNOW DRIVERS.
AND SO WE WERE REALLY ENCOURAGING PEOPLE TO STAY OFF THE ROAD.
UH, AS WE GOT INTO THE RECOVERY, I ACTUALLY WAS MAKING, UH, UH, UH, TWITTER VIDEOS FROM THE ROAD, ENCOURAGING PEOPLE TO DRIVE SAFE IF THEY HADN'T GET OUT IN THE ROAD, BUT OTHERWISE STAY AT HOME PREFERABLY.
AND WE DID SEE SOME HARDY BICYCLERS THAT WERE TRYING TO SPIKE ON.
WE WERE ENCOURAGING CYCLISTS AS WELL AS PEDESTRIANS.
UH, I ACTUALLY TOOK A PRETTY HARD FALL DURING THE EVENT.
UH, AND SO YOU DIDN'T EVEN HAVE TO BE IN A CAR.
YOU COULD BE WALKING ACROSS THE PAVEMENT AND LOSE IT.
AND SO, UH, UH, WE'RE ENCOURAGING EVERYONE TO TRY TO STAY HOME AS LONG AS POSSIBLE.
TIM AND THEN COUNCIL MEMBER FOR THIS.
UM, SO YOU'LL HAVE TO LET ME KNOW WHETHER OR NOT THIS IS NOT THE APPROPRIATE TYPE OF TRANSPORTATION.
UM, BUT MY, MY QUESTION, WE'LL COME BACK TO SOME QUESTIONS THAT I HAD AROUND OUR FLEET AND WELL, I MEAN, THAT'S, THAT'S THE QUESTION MORE OR LESS, YOU KNOW, HOW, HOW DO WE JUSTIFY PREPARING OUR FLEET, GIVEN THAT, YOU KNOW, THE LIMITED FREQUENCY WITH WHICH WE WILL HANDLE THIS? LIKE, HOW DOES, HOW DOES THAT WORK? WE JUST HAVE IT IN CASE WE HAD THE EQUIPMENT IN CASE YOU NEED IT.
UM, I GUESS I'M JUST TRYING TO FIGURE OUT WHAT THAT LOOKS LIKE.
UM, AND THEN HOW DO WE ACCOUNT FOR THE EXPENSE I'VE NEEDED TO, YOU KNOW, MAKE CERTAIN THAT OUR FLEET IS PREPARED FOR, YOU KNOW, I WATCHED YOU PROBABLY DID TOO.
I WATCHED, YOU KNOW, FIRETRUCKS AND EMS RACE STRUGGLE OUT THERE.
AND SO JUST TRYING TO MAKE SURE THAT WE DON'T FIND OURSELVES IN A POSITION AGAIN TO WHERE, YOU KNOW, OUR HARD WORK AND FIRST RESPONDERS DON'T HAVE WHAT THEY NEED IN OUR FLEET COUNCIL MEMBER.
CAN, I CAN SPEAK BRIEFLY FROM PUBLIC WORKS PERSPECTIVE, YOU KNOW, THE EQUIPMENT THAT WE UTILIZE
[02:10:01]
FOR THE RESPONSE, UH, WE'RE NOT INFALLIBLE PARTS, NOT DEDICATED SNOW CLEARING EQUIPMENT.UH, IT WAS DUMP TRUCKS, FRONT END LOADERS, BOBCAT'S, UH, MOTOR GRADERS THAT HAD A BLADE THAT WE TYPICALLY USE FOR ROAD WORK.
UH, NOT THE IDEALS, NO FINDING EQUIPMENT LIKE A SNOWPLOW, BUT, UM, SINCE WE DON'T UTILIZE THEM ON A VERY FREQUENT BASIS, UH, YOU KNOW, THAT FLEET IS, IS NOT JUST, UH, USED DURING THE WINTER FOR STORMS. WE USE YEAR ROUND, UH, FOR ALL OF OUR STREET WORK.
UM, I WOULD CERTAINLY SUPPORT WHAT RICHARD SAYS THAT IT IS TYPICALLY MORE COST-EFFECTIVE TO HAVE EQUIPMENT THAT YOU USE ALL THE TIME THAT CAN BE PRESSED INTO SNOW REMOVAL WHEN NECESSARY, UH, BECAUSE OTHERWISE THAT EQUIPMENT OFTEN SITS AROUND FOR THAT RARE OCCASION.
AND THEN YOU HAVE TO DEAL WITH EQUIPMENT THAT'S NO LONGER WORKING BECAUSE OF LACK OF USE OR WHATEVER.
UM, BUT, UM, IF THAT'S WHAT I WOULD OFFER, UM, I DON'T KNOW IF OUR SLEEPS, DIRECTOR'S HERE TO TALK MORE SPECIFICALLY ABOUT, UH, YES.
THANKS COUNCIL MEMBER MADISON.
THIS IS RICK CARLA, AND I'M SITTING IN FOR JENNIFER WALLS.
UM, I COULD SPEAK, UH, FOR THE FLEET RELATED ASSETS AND HOW TO UPFIT SOME OF THESE VEHICLES.
I'VE HAD FLEETS THAT RANGE FROM THE NORTHEAST ALL THE WAY DOWN TO HAWAII.
MR. HARLAN, IF YOU'LL OFFER ME JUST ONE SECOND, A GRACE, AND I THINK IT WAS JUST THAT 40 MILE GUSTA WHEN THAT JUST KNOCKED SOMETHING INTO MY WINDOW, BUT I JUST NEED TO MAKE, OKAY.
I GUESS I'VE GOT SOME WEATHER COMING IN NOW AS WE SPEAK.
UH, THERE'S ALWAYS THIS, UH, RETURN ON INVESTMENT IN A TRADE-OFF RIGHT.
THERE'S WE'VE AGAIN, LIKE EVERYBODY HAS SAID, WE'VE NOT HAD THIS SORT OF EVENT HAPPEN SINCE THE FORTIES.
TO THIS EXTENT, FREEZING WEATHER IS A UNIQUE ISSUE FOR US HERE.
WE, THE COLD IS ONE THING, BUT THEN WHEN YOU GET INTO THE ICE, THEN YOU START SEEING THE LACK OF TRACTION, THE ROAD CLEARING ISSUES.
AND I CONCUR WITH MR. SPILLER AND MR. MENDOSA, UH, YOU DON'T REALLY NEED THAT EQUIPMENT ALL THE TIME, BUT THERE IS THIS TRADE-OFF WHERE MAYBE A SELECT FEW PIECES OF EQUIPMENT THAT WE COULD RETROFIT ON SOME OF THE VEHICLES, MAYBE NOT ACROSS ALL OF THEM, BUT ON SOME LIMITED BASIS TO TRY TO RESPOND TO SOME OF THOSE ROAD CONDITIONS.
ALSO, WE CAN LOOK INTO OPPORTUNITIES TO, UM, MAYBE LEASE SOME OF THESE OUTFITS, UH, IN THE FUTURE.
SOME, SOME, A DETACHABLE AND REATTACH TABLE OF FITS ON SOME OF THE VEHICLES TO HELP CLEAR SOME OF THE ROADWAY.
AND THEN AS FAR AS THE WAY, UH, SOME OF THE VEHICLES WERE TRAVELING UP AND DOWN THE ROAD, WE HAVE CHAINING OPERATIONS THAT WE WERE TRYING TO PUT IN PLACE.
AND I KNOW THAT THERE WAS A PERIOD OF TIME WHERE IT LOOKED LIKE IT WAS GOING TO BE A RATHER DRY EVENT.
AND THEN THE PRECIPITATION CAME DOWN AND IN THE FREEZE TOOK PLACE, AND THEN IT TURNED EXTREMELY SLICK.
AND THAT WAS THAT MOMENT OF TIME WHERE YOU GOT CHAINS ON YOUR VEHICLES BEFORE THAT EVENT OCCURRED.
SO IF YOU DELAYED IN GETTING THE CHAINS, PUT ON YOUR VEHICLES, THEN YOU WERE THEN PUT INTO A POSITION THAT WAS DANGEROUS AND POTENTIALLY STRESSING THE VEHICLE OUT IN THE FIELD SOMEWHERE.
NOW I WILL TELL THAT, UM, WE DID HAVE, UH, MOBILE FLEET OPERATIONS THAT WERE OUT THERE.
WE HAD SEVEN MOBILE FLEET MAINTENANCE CREWS THAT WERE OUT OPERATING AND GOING AROUND AND TRYING TO ASSIST THOSE VEHICLES AND PUTTING CHAINS ON FOR THE OPERATIONS AND TRYING TO HELP THEM GET BACK ON THE ROAD.
TOWING SERVICES WERE, UH, IN ADVANCE OF THE STORM NOTIFIED TO HELP MOVE THOSE VEHICLES OUT OF BAD SITUATIONS, UM, WHERE THEY HAD TO GET INTO WHEREVER THEY WERE GOING TO FOR THE EMERGENCY, BUT THEY MAY HAVE NEEDED TO BE PULLED OUT OF THAT.
SO THERE WERE A NUMBER OF DIFFERENT CHALLENGES IN THAT, AND IT WAS THAT TIMING THOUGH, THAT REALLY CAUGHT PEOPLE OFF GUARD A LITTLE BIT WHERE IT WAS SOMEWHAT DRY, AND THEN IT GOT INTO THE WET, AND THEN THE COURSE, THE FREEZING TAKES PLACE.
AND IN TEXAS, THAT'S THE RISK WE FACE.
WE'VE GOT A LOT OF PRECIPITATION THAT COMES IN OFF THE GULF.
IT SITS OVER THE TOP OF US, BUT WHEN YOU GOT THESE COLD FRONTS THAT COME IN, SO YOU'VE GOT THE RAIN FIRST AND THEN THE FREEZE TAKES PLACE.
WE'VE GOT TO GET THE TIMING OF GETTING OUR CHAINS PUT ON THE VEHICLES IN ADVANCE, I THINK IS THE BIGGEST PART OF WHAT WE CAN DO TO PREVENT SOME OF THIS.
BUT TO MY UNDERSTANDING, A LOT OF THE PROBLEM WAS THAT WE DIDN'T HAVE THE CHAINS.
WE HAD A LOT OF EQUIPMENT THAT EITHER FAILED, BECAUSE LIKE YOU SAID, IT HADN'T BEEN USED IN SO LONG OR JUST WAS NON-EXISTENT FOR, UM, STATIONS FOR VARIOUS STATIONS.
AND THAT'S, THAT'S MY GENERAL CONCERN.
IT'S NOT EVEN THAT, YOU KNOW, WE HAVE EQUIPMENT THAT WE DON'T USE AS FREQUENTLY AS WE COULD.
IT'S LIKE SOME DIDN'T HAVE IT AT ALL OR SOME HAD
[02:15:01]
IT, BUT THEN WHEN THEY ATTEMPTED TO DEPLOY IT, IT WAS BROKEN.UM, SO I JUST WANT TO MAKE SURE THAT WE BUILD OUT SYSTEMS AROUND, UM, MAINTENANCE CHECK AND, YOU KNOW, SOME CONTROLS AROUND THAT EQUIPMENT.
BUT THEN I ALSO SUBSEQUENTLY DO HAVE THE QUESTION ABOUT, AND I GUESS MAYBE ULTIMATELY THIS WILL BE A BUDGET QUESTION, BUT, YOU KNOW, FOR A PLACE LIKE US, THAT DOESN'T NECESSARILY USE THIS EQUIPMENT FREQUENTLY.
UM, I CAN SEE HOW IT DOESN'T NECESSARILY JUSTIFY THE EXPENSE OF REALLY GOING ALL OUT, YOU KNOW, IN ONE, LIKE IN ONE PURCHASE OF EQUIPMENT.
BUT I DO THINK WE SHOULD HAVE SORT OF A PHASED PLAN FOR PUTTING TOGETHER THE KIND OF FLEET THAT CAN ADDRESS LIKE COUNCIL MEMBER ALTAR, YOU KNOW, POINTED OUT AND HAS BEEN POINTING OUT TO US ON MULTIPLE OCCASIONS, YOU KNOW, CLIMATE REALITY.
AND THIS, THIS IS OUR RENEWABLE OR GARDENING ZONE HAS CHANGED.
YOU KNOW, THINGS ARE CHANGING, EVERYTHING'S CHANGING.
I WANT TO MAKE CERTAIN THAT, YOU KNOW, WE ARE PUTTING PLANS INTO PLACE TO BE PREPARED MOVING FORWARD.
AND WE'LL TAKE THAT UP AS AN ACTION ITEM FOR US TO LOOK INTO AND TRY TO SUPPORT THAT IN TERMS OF MAINTAINING AND REDDING, THOSE VEHICLES IN ADVANCE OF A WINTER OPERATIONS, FOR SURE.
AND JUST REAL QUICK TIP TO MAKE SURE I WAS CLEAR.
I WOULD ALSO LIKE TO SEE, I THINK MY COLLEAGUES WOULD TOO LIKE TO SEE, YOU KNOW, WHAT OUR PLAN, YOU KNOW, SOME PHASED APPROACH TO PLANNING FOR HAVING THE APPROPRIATE EQUIPMENT.
UH, MY QUESTIONS AROUND HOW WE COMMUNICATED ABOUT THE ROAD CONDITIONS, UM, DID WE HAVE REAL-TIME UPDATES ON HAZARDOUS ROADS AND ONCE THEY HAD BEEN ADDRESSED OR TENDED TO, DID WE GIVE THOSE UPDATES? AND IF SO, WHAT DID THOSE UPDATES LOOK LIKE? AND IF WE DIDN'T DO WE, IS THAT ONE OF YOUR RECOMMENDATIONS OR WILL THIS COME UP IN THE AFTER ACTION REPORT IS THAT WE NEED TO INVEST IN THAT TYPE OF TECHNOLOGY? UM, I KNOW IN MY NEIGHBORHOOD WE HAD NEIGHBORS WHEN THEY WOULD POST PHOTOS OF THE ROAD CONDITIONS AND LET US KNOW HOW, HOW IT WAS LOOKING LIKE.
AND SO, UM, I THINK IT'D BE GOOD FOR US TO HAVE SOME FORM OF COORDINATED COMMUNICATION AND GETTING THAT INFORMATION OUT THERE.
MY COUNSELOR WENT TO, IS THIS ROB SPILLER? AND I DON'T KNOW IF RICHARD WANTS TO ADD SOMETHING AFTER THIS, YOU KNOW, THROUGH OUR MOBILITY MANAGEMENT CENTER, AS WELL AS OUR PRESENCE IN THE OSI.
UH, WE WERE CERTAINLY PUTTING OUT INFORMATION, UH, USING TWITTER AND OTHER MECHANISMS, UH, KNOWING THAT SOME PEOPLE DON'T HAVE ACCESS TO TWITTER.
WE, WE USE THAT BECAUSE THE NEWS STATIONS ALSO PICK UP THAT INFORMATION AND THEN REBROADCAST AND RE COMMUNICATE THAT OUT AGAIN, YOU KNOW, THIS SITUATION WITH SO MANY PEOPLE OUT OF POWER, UH, WE THOUGHT THAT WAS THE BEST WAY TO GET THAT INFORMATION OUT.
UM, I, YOU KNOW, I CAN'T SPEAK SPECIFICALLY ABOUT, YOU KNOW, WHEN IT WAS READY OR SAFE, WE TYPICALLY WERE, LIKE I SAID, CONTINUE TO RECOMMEND PEOPLE NOT TRAVEL UNTIL THEY, THEY, ON THEIR OWN RECONNAISSANCE DECIDED IT WAS A SAFE IN THEIR NEIGHBORHOOD AND MEETING PEOPLE COULDN'T GET OUT OF THEIR DRIVEWAYS, BUT THE ROADS WERE RATHER SAFE.
ONCE YOU GOT TO THE ROADWAY, I WILL TELL YOU THAT WE ARE IN THE PROCESS OF INSTALLING WEATHER STATIONS WITHIN OUR TRAFFIC MANAGEMENT CENTER.
UH, AND WE HAVE THREE THAT WE'RE MOVING TO, UH, DEPLOY THAT WE'LL TALK ABOUT ROADWAY OR DETECT ROADWAY, UH, SURFACE FRICTION, AS WELL AS TEMPERATURE AND PRECIPITATION.
UH, WE'VE NOT TYPICALLY HAD THOSE BECAUSE AGAIN, I DON'T THINK WE'VE HAD A LOT OF COLD WEATHER, UH, ACTIVITIES.
WE RELY ON TEXTILES WHO HAS WEATHER STATIONS ON THEIR SYSTEM, UH, TO REALLY GIVE US A GENERAL UNDERSTANDING OF THE ROADWAY SYSTEM, BUT WE'RE ADDING OUR OWN.
UH, AND WE'RE LOOKING AT WAYS TO PARTNER WITH PRIVATE ENTITIES TO PUT MORE WEATHER STATIONS OUT THERE.
REALLY THE PURPOSE THERE IS TO HELP DECISION MAKERS, MAKE GOOD DECISIONS ON WHEN TO, UM, UH, CANCEL SCHOOL OR, OR SHUT DOWN, UH, ELEMENTS TO GIVE BETTER INFORMATION OF WHAT PARTS OF THE COMMUNITY ARE FREEZING WHEN, AND SO I THINK THAT WILL HELP IN THE FUTURE AS WELL.
UH, NOT IN RESPONSE TO THE EXISTING STORM, BUT I'D REALLY ALREADY AS A PLAN IMPROVEMENT.
RICHARD, DO YOU HAVE ANYTHING MORE TO SAY JUST CLOSELY COUNCIL MEMBER, DEFINITELY COMMUNICATING OUT TO THE PUBLIC, UH, THE STATUS OF OUR MOBILITY INFRASTRUCTURE IN TERMS OF THEIR CONDITION, AND ALSO A SPECIFIC MORE WHICH BRIDGES AND, AND, UH, THOROUGHFARES, UH, PUBLIC PARKS HAD TRADED OR CLEARED WOULD BE, UH, UH, AN AREA FOR IMPROVEMENT.
AT THIS POINT, WE WERE ONLY REPORTING NUMBERS, UH, TO THE EOC, UH, JOINT INFORMATION CENTER IN TERMS OF, WE TREATED THIS MANY BRIDGES, THIS MANY LANE MILES, UH, I DID STAND UP AN INTERNAL, UM, GIS MAPPING OF, UH, DEPICTING THOSE ROADWAYS THAT WE PLANNED TO CLEAR AND ADD CLEAR.
HOWEVER, RIGHT NOW, UH, IT'S JUST
[02:20:01]
ON AN INTERNAL SERVER AND WE WERE LOOKING TO THAT AS AN IMPROVEMENT GOING FORWARD.UH, MANY CITIES UTILIZE AVL VEHICLE LOCATION AND GPS SERVICES TO REF, TO DEPICT A REAL TIME, UM, UH, STATUS OF THE, UH, UH, THE ROAD CLEARING ACTIVITIES.
AND THAT'S CERTAINLY SOMETHING THAT WE'LL BE LOOKING INTO.
I'D LIKE TO MAKE ONE POINT THERE.
I JUST, I THINK I WANT TO PIGGYBACK ON, UH, WITH RICHARD MENDOSA WAS JUST TALKING ABOUT WITH THE AVL GPS SERVICES.
I DON'T KNOW IF YOU ALL KNOW THIS OR NOT, BUT WE ARE INSTALLING ABL GPS SERVICE ACROSS ON AN ENTERPRISE LEVEL ACROSS THE ENTIRE FLEET AT THIS POINT NOW.
AND WE'VE GOT ROUGHLY ABOUT 700 OF THE 7,000 ASSETS ALREADY DEPLOYED AND ARE MOVING TO ANOTHER 2200 OF THEM IN THE NEXT MONTH OR SO, UH, EXPECT TO HAVE THE FLEET COMPLETELY DEPLOYED WITH AVL GPS THAT USES, AGAIN, THE GOOGLE GOOGLE MAPS IN THIS KIND OF ROAD, PREDICTIVE ROAD ANALYSIS.
SO YOU COULD SEE LIVE REAL TIME ROAD CLEARING AND ROAD CONDITION FOR OUR OWN FLEET AND ASSETS AT THIS POINT.
BUT I JUST WANT TO MAKE SURE YOU ALL WERE AWARE OF THAT.
AND YEAH, I THINK THAT'S WHAT I'M THINKING IS THAT GIS MAP WOULD BE SUPER HELPFUL FOR THE COMMUNITY TO BE ABLE TO GO ONLINE AND SEE, YOU KNOW, WHERE THE HOT SPOTS ARE, THE HAZARDOUS CONDITIONS ARE LOCATED AND DO YOU KNOW IF THEIR BRIDGE IS SAFE AGAIN TO TRAVEL? UM, THAT'S THE TYPE OF INFORMATION THAT WE'LL FOR COMMUNITY AND I, AND A COMMENT I'D LIKE TO MAKE IS THAT WHEN WE DESIGNATE OUR COMMUNITY RESILIENCE HUBS, IF WE CAN ALSO ENSURE THAT WE'RE FLAGGING THE ROADS AROUND THAT HUB AS CRITICAL INFRASTRUCTURE, WE ENSURE THAT IN TIMES OF EMERGENCY THAT THEY ARE ON THE PRIORITY LIST TO BE CLEAR TREATED AS WELL.
AGAIN, UH, PUBLIC WORKS WAS TAKING CALLS DIRECTLY FROM THOSE DIFFERENT EMERGENCY POINTS AND MAKING SURE, YOU KNOW, THE HOSPITALS AND THE FIRE ENGINE AND FIRE STATIONS FOR EXCESS PEOPLE.
BUT CLEARLY AS WE MOVE INTO A, UM, A MORE VOLATILE CLIMATE SITUATION, WE'LL NEED TO ADD THOSE TO THAT SORT OF CRITICAL LIST.
AND AS I SAID, WE REPURPOSED A CRITICAL ARTERIAL LIST THAT WE USE FOR EVERYDAY OPERATIONS, UH, FOR THE PLOWING RECOVERY.
AND SO, BUT THAT'S VERY GOOD POINT.
I THINK MY QUESTION WILL LEAD BACK TO CONSTANTLY REFINE TESSA'S POINT HERE IN A MINUTE, BUT I THINK IT WOULD BE USEFUL TO HEAR REFLECTIONS FROM YOU ALL AT FLEET AND PUBLIC WORKS, THE MANAGER OR WHOMEVER ELSE ON THAT, THAT TRANSITION FROM TELLING FOLKS REALLY TO STAY AT HOME AND TO STAY OFF THE ROADS TO WHAT IT WAS THAT WITHIN THE CITY, WE STARTED THINKING THAT THE APPROPRIATE COMMUNICATION WAS TO TELL PEOPLE, TO GO GET TO A FRIEND OR A FAMILY MEMBER'S HOUSE BECAUSE THE WATER WAS LIKELY NOT COMING BACK ANYTIME SOON, OR THE POWER WASN'T COMING BACK ANYTIME SOON.
AND WE KNEW PEOPLE WERE STARTING TO LEAVE THEIR OVENS ON.
CAN WE REFLECT ON THAT MOMENT? AND I, IF I REMEMBER, RIGHT, I THINK SOME OF THE COMMUNICATION ON THAT STARTED HAPPENING POTENTIALLY AFTER IT WAS STARTING TO GET DARK WHEN IT MIGHT BE MORE DANGEROUS FOR PEOPLE TO GET ON THE ROAD.
SO I KNOW THERE WAS AN INTERNAL STRUGGLE ABOUT WHEN TO SAY THAT AND HOW TO SAY IT.
BUT I THINK THAT WAS A QUESTION WE WERE CONSTANTLY GETTING WAS WHEN DO WE TELL FOLKS IT IS SAFE TO DRIVE AND HOW TO COMMUNICATE TO PEOPLE THAT THEY COULD, UM, LET, LET ME, UH, PROVIDE AN ANSWER.
AND AGAIN, I THINK WE WERE IN A QUANDARY TO SAY THAT THE ROADS WERE SAFE BECAUSE THEY WEREN'T SAFE.
WE WERE TELLING PEOPLE, LISTEN, PLEASE, IF YOU DON'T HAVE TO TRAVEL, STAY WHERE YOU'RE AT, BUT YOU HAVE, YOU HAVE TO SHOW EXTREME CAUTION BECAUSE AGAIN, IT JUST WASN'T THE DRIVING SURFACE AS THEY CAME TO THESE LARGER INTERSECTIONS, THAT'S WHERE THE RISK OF A CRASH IS, UH, REGARDLESS OF THE SURFACE CONDITIONS.
AND SO WE WERE BEING VERY CAREFUL TO ENCOURAGE PEOPLE NOT TO DRIVE, BUT IF THEY HAD TO, TO BE CAREFUL.
AND IN FACT, WE DID MAKE THAT, UH, COMMUNICATION, I THINK AT ONE POINT AS I LISTEN, IF YOU, IF YOU'VE GOT TO MAKE A MOVE, DO IT BEFORE IT GETS DARK, CAUSE CONDITIONS DETERIORATE ONCE IT GETS DARK.
AND SO WE TRIED TO GIVE THE BEST INFORMATION, UH, WITHOUT SAYING THAT THE ROADS WERE QUOTE UNQUOTE SAFE.
UH, WE DID IT AT ONE POINT, THE RECOVERY SAID THAT THE ROADWAY SYSTEMS WERE GENERALLY OPEN, BUT THAT, UM, THAT DRIVERS SHOULD STILL USE CAUTION.
SO JUST POINT OF CLARIFICATION.
UM, THAT'S, THAT'S KIND OF THE, A VERY TRICKY JUDGMENT CALL.
AND, UH, EVEN THE CITIES OF NORTH, THEY DON'T CLEAR THE ENTIRE ROADWAY NETWORK.
THEY USUALLY RESOURCE ONLY TO FIGURE ARTERIALS
[02:25:01]
AND COLLECTORS.UM, BUT THEN AGAIN, UH, MY EXPERIENCE WITH DRIVING HERE IS THAT MANY OF OUR, OUR, UH, FOLKS ARE INEXPERIENCE AND EVEN OUR, UH, CLEARED ROADWAY DURING AN ICE STORM IS GOING TO HAVE SOME WINTER PRECEPT ON IT.
AND, UM, AND YOU KNOW, FOR THOSE THAT ARE NOT ACCUSTOMED TO DRIVE ON THAT MATERIAL, IT CAN STILL BE A CHALLENGE.
I JUST WANT TO SAY THAT EVEN WHEN WE GOT TO THE END OF THE, WHAT WAS THOUGHT TO BE THE ICE STORM ON THE 19TH OF FEBRUARY, THERE WERE STILL DANGEROUS SPOTS ALL OVER THE PLACE UNDERNEATH THE BRIDGES AND OVERPASSES THAT EVEN IF YOU DID GIVE THAT ALL CLEAR AND THAT THE ROADS WERE SAFE AND THERE WERE HOTSPOTS OR SPOTS WHERE YOU COULD GET INTO WHERE YOU WOULD FIND YOURSELF QUICKLY IN TROUBLE.
SO I THINK THAT THAT MESSAGE OF CAUTION AND DON'T GO OUT ON THE ROADWAYS, WAS BEING ECHOED ACROSS THE ENTIRE COMMUNITY FOR A VERY LONG PERIOD OF TIME AND NEEDED TO CONTINUE.
EVEN AFTER WE THOUGHT THE ROADS WERE ACTUALLY CLEAR AND IT WAS WARMING UP, RIGHT.
AND JUST A POINT OF CLARIFICATION, I'M REMINDED BY OUR, UH, VERY QUALIFIED, UH, EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT AND COMMUNICATION STAFF THAT WE ARE PROVIDING THAT MESSAGE THROUGHOUT THE WHOLE EVENT FROM THE BEGINNING TO THE END.
UH, I SHOULD HAVE SAID WE, WE REEMPHASIZE THAT FACT AS WE WENT INTO THE RECOVERY OR IN THE EMERGENCY SITUATION, WHEN PEOPLE NEEDED TO MOVE COUNCILMAN AND COUNCIL MEMBER, YOU, YOU HIT ON A, UH, CHALLENGE THAT WAS JUST EXTREMELY, UH, IMPACTFUL FOR OUR COMMUNITY, BUT REALLY WHERE THERE WERE NO GOOD ANSWERS.
I MEAN, THESE ARE, THESE ARE SITUATIONS WHERE EVERY INDIVIDUAL HAD TO TAKE THAT LEVEL OF A RISK ASSESSMENT.
IF YOU WILL, YOU KNOW, IS IT MORE IMPORTANT TO GET TO ANOTHER PLACE? OR WHAT ARE THE CONDITIONS THAT I CAN, UH, BE IN MY OWN HOME IF I CAN STAY HERE, EVEN IF I DON'T HAVE HEAT OR WATER.
UH, BUT THE NUANCES OF THAT IS DIFFICULT TO COMMUNICATE.
AND I KNOW OUR TEAM DID AN EXTRAORDINARY JOB TO TRY TO BOTH TELL PEOPLE TO STAY OFF THE ROAD, BUT IF YOU NEED TO, UH, GO TO A SHELTER OR ACCESS TO A FRIEND'S HOUSE, UH, DO SO DURING THESE HOURS OF POSSIBLE.
AND SO KNOWING THAT EVERY SITUATION IS DIFFERENT, UH, THOSE WERE SOME OF THE MESSAGES THAT WE TRIED TO CONVEY, BUT I SEE THAT, UH, JESSICA KING IS ON THE LINE TOO.
CAUSE I KNOW THAT THE JOINT INFORMATION SYSTEM REALLY STRUGGLED WITH HOW TO COMMUNICATE THAT.
AND AT WHAT POINTS IN TIME, JESSICA, WE DID, UM, THAT WAS A DIFFICULT TIME BECAUSE IN LARGE PART THERE WE EXPERIENCED AND HEARD AND EVEN HAD FRIENDS AND FAMILY WHO WERE CONCERNED ABOUT THEIR ABILITY TO GET MEDICATION OR, UM, OR UTILIZE THEIR MEDICAL DEVICES.
AND SO ALL THESE PUNCHES COMBINED AND WORKING WITH EOC AND OUR STAFF, THE GUIDANCE WE PROVIDED WAS IF YOU ARE ABLE TO STAY AT HOME, STAY AT HOME, UM, IF YOU MUST, AND THE DECISION TO HAVE MUST HAS TO BE BORN BY THAT PERSON WHO HAS TO MAKE THAT DECISION FOR THEMSELVES.
BUT IF YOU MUST TRAVEL, THEN TAKE THESE PRECAUTIONS.
AND THEN WE PROVIDED THEM WITH GUIDANCE ON HOW TO PREPARE THEMSELVES FOR TRAVEL, ESPECIALLY KNOWING THAT IT IS HIGHLY POSSIBLE THAT THEY COULD GET STUCK ON THE ROAD OR ON THEIR WAY TO A SAFE LOCATION.
SO IT COULD BE THEMSELVES WITH EXTRA BLANKETS WATER IF THEY HAD IT EMERGENCY KITS, EVERYTHING THAT THEY NEEDED TO DO TO GET TO THEIR DESTINATION SAFELY WAS A CRITICAL PART OF OUR MESSAGING BECAUSE IN THE END, THE DECISION WAS THERE THEIRS TO MAKE THAT MOVE.
BUT IN MANY WAYS, WHAT ARE THE THINGS THAT WE ENCOURAGE PEOPLE TO DO AS THEY MADE THAT DECISION REALLY RESTED WITH, PLEASE HELP US PROTECT OUR STAFF.
PLEASE HELP US PROTECT POLICE OFFICERS, FIREFIGHTERS, EVERYBODY WHO WOULD HAVE TO RESPOND IF AN EMERGENCY OCCURRED.
AND THEN MORE IMPORTANTLY, JUST REDUCING THE LIKELIHOOD OF INJURIES ALONG THE WAY.
SO THAT WAS THE EMPHASIS THAT WE HAD UNTIL ROSE REALLY BECAME VERY, VERY CLEAR AND, UM, AND MOVEABLE AND THE PART WHERE I WAS GOING TO CIRCLE BACK TO COUNCIL MEMBER
AND THEY DON'T KNOW WHETHER THAT IS STILL RELEVANT NOW OR NOT.
UH, SO I, AND THEN IF WE DON'T HAVE SOME OF THAT INFORMATION REALLY CLEARLY TELLING FOLKS THAT WE, WHAT, WHAT WE, WHAT WE DON'T KNOW, I DO RECALL THAT, YOU KNOW, THERE WAS A POINT WHERE WE DID START EMPHASIZING TO PEOPLE MORE WHAT MS. KING LAID OUT ABOUT BRINGING BLANKETS OR HAVING FOOD IN THOSE THINGS WITH YOU.
UM, BUT I THINK THERE WAS A PERIOD OF TIME BETWEEN THE BEGINNING AND THAT POINT WHERE THE MESSAGES SEEMS MIXED AND WHERE PEOPLE DIDN'T KNOW WHAT THE RULES WERE.
[02:30:01]
SO I, I THINK, YOU KNOW, I THINK OUR LEARNING FROM THIS IS WHEN, WHAT IS, IS FOR US TO TRY TO REALLY GET THAT UPFRONT WITH FOLKS, WHETHER THAT BE IN THE MAYOR AND MANAGERS, PRESS CONFERENCES, OR JUST REALLY CLEARLY LAYING OUT TO PEOPLE WHEN, WHEN IT IS THAT WE DECIDED YOU MAYBE SHOULD GO TO A FRIEND'S IF YOU THINK, UM, THAT RISK IS THAT GREAT, BECAUSE I THINK THERE WAS, UH, A MIDDLE POINT IN TIME WHERE IT WAS REALLY, WE WERE GETTING CONSTANT COMMUNICATION FROM PEOPLE THAT THEY WERE UNCLEAR, WHETHER WE WERE TELLING THEM, STAY AT HOME, NO MATTER WHAT, THEY'RE THE RELEVANT PIECE.I THINK PEOPLE NEED SOME INFORMATION ABOUT WHAT THEIR SENSE OF THE RELATIVE DANGER IS.
UM, AND, AND WE, I THINK I JUST HAVE TO TRY TO GIVE PEOPLE THAT INFORMATION AS EXPLICITLY AS IT IS, EVEN IF IT'S BAD NEWS ON ALL ENDS, VANESSA, JUST TO KIND OF COMMENT TO BUILD OFF OF WHAT CUSTOMER CASADA IS SAYING.
NO, I THINK IT'S IMPORTANT THAT WE HAVE THESE LIVE MAPS AVAILABLE TO PROVIDE IMPORTANT INFORMATION TO OUR COMMUNITY.
NOT ONLY FROM OUR, THE CONDITIONS OF OUR ROADS, BUT TO OUR WATER SYSTEM, CHAR OR ELECTRIC SYSTEM, ALL OF THOSE ARE CRITICAL PIECES OF INFORMATION, BUT I ALSO THINK IT'S IMPORTANT THAT OUR APPROACH SHOULD ALWAYS BE MEETING THE PEOPLE WHERE THEY ARE.
AND IN SAYING THAT, I MEAN, TEXTING THEM INFORMATION OF HERE'S THE LINK TO FIND THE MAP, YOU KNOW, HERE'S THE LATEST INFORMATION BECAUSE, YOU KNOW, TOO, IT'S A LOT TO ASK A COMMUNITY MEMBER TO FIND OUR TWITTER PROFILE OR TO FIND THAT WEBSITE TO FIND THE MAP.
AND SO WE REALLY HAD TO LEAN INTO TEXT MESSAGING AS A VITAL WAY, A VITAL TOOL TO GET THIS INFORMATION OUT TO THE COMMUNITY.
AND WE HAVE THAT, IT SEEMS LIKE ACROSS VARIOUS DEPARTMENTS, WE HAVE THAT REVERSE NINE ONE ONE CALL SYSTEM THAT WE'VE BEEN USING, OR I THINK WE'VE BEEN USING FOR OUR VACCINES.
AND SO, UM, IT SEEMS LIKE IT NEEDS TO BE A COORDINATED TOOL ACROSS MULTIPLE DEPARTMENTS ON HOW WE REALLY LEAN INTO THAT AS, UH, AS, UM, AS A METHOD OF COMMUNICATION COUNCIL MEMBER, IF I COULD SPEAK TO THAT BRIEFLY, THERE IS A SYSTEM THAT WE DO UTILIZE AND IT'S, IT'S, IT'S BASED OFF, UM, RIGHT NOW, THE ONE IN CENTRAL TEXAS SYSTEM.
UM, BUT I THINK THAT THEY'RE, WELL, WE'D SAY REVERSE NINE ONE ONE.
I THINK THAT SOMETIMES THERE IS THIS EXPECTATION THAT THE REVERSE NINE ONE, ONE SYSTEM HITS ALL CELL PHONES AND ALL LANDLINES.
AND THERE IS A LOT OF COMPLEXITY BEHIND THAT, THAT I HAVE NO BUSINESS TRYING TO EXPLAIN.
UM, BUT I DO KNOW THAT IT IS SOMETHING THAT WE HAVE TALKED ABOUT, UM, VERY FREQUENTLY.
AND WE ARE LOOKING TOWARDS A LONG-TERM SOLUTION THAT WILL ALLOW US TO TEXT MESSAGE, UM, OUR RESIDENTS INFORMATION AND, AND USE THAT MORE BROADLY.
SO THAT IS PART OF THE AFTER-ACTION DISCUSSION THAT WE ARE ALREADY, THAT WE HAVE INCLUDED AT LEAST FROM A CPO PERSPECTIVE.
UM, AND CERTAINLY FROM A COMMS PERSPECTIVE AMONG ALL THE COMMUNICATION STAFF, THAT IS SOMETHING THAT WE WOULD LIKE TO LOOK INTO AS WELL.
IT ACTUALLY MIGHT BE A BRIDGE TO PUBLIC SAFETY.
UM, SO MR. SPELLER IN A PRIOR FORUM IN THE MOBILITY COMMITTEE, WHEN WE TALKED ABOUT THE STORM AFTERMATH, UM, I ASKED YOU ABOUT TEXTILES AND ONE 83, I THINK IT WAS IN PARTICULAR BEING KEPT OPEN.
UM, AND IT HAPPENED THAT OUR, UH, DISTRICT REP FOR TECHSTOP WAS ON THE LINE AND ANSWERED, AND BASICALLY SAID THAT THEY WANTED TO KEEP THE ROAD OPEN TO KEEP IT CLEAR.
UM, AT THE SAME TIME, I KNOW THAT WE HAD OUR FIRE DEPARTMENT PERSONNEL, UM, HAVING TO RESPOND AGAIN AND AGAIN TO THE SAME SPOTS FOR ACCIDENTS OVER AND OVER AGAIN.
AND THERE WERE NO MECHANISMS TRY AND PUT OFF RAMPS OR TO CUT OFF, YOU KNOW, ANY MECHANISMS THERE THAT WERE CONTRIBUTING TO, UM, THOSE ACCIDENTS THAT JUST KEPT PUTTING PEOPLE IN DANGER.
I'M OUR FIREFIGHTERS IN DANGER.
UM, SO I'M CURIOUS IF YOU HAVE ANY ADDITIONAL INFORMATION TO SHARE ON THAT AND OR HOW YOU PLAN TO HAVE THOSE CONVERSATIONS WITH TEXTILES.
SO THAT, SHOULD WE BE IN THAT SITUATION AGAIN, WE CAN TAKE SOME ACTION, UM, THAT THAT WOULD BE, UM, YOU KNOW, USEFUL TO PROTECT BOTH PEOPLE AND OUR FIREFIGHTERS.
WELL, WE DON'T CONTROL THOSE ROADS, BUT IT CAN USE OUR RESOURCES, UM, IN WAYS THAT MAY NOT BE PRODUCTIVE.
UM, YOU KNOW, DURING THE STORM, I MADE SEVERAL PERSONAL CALLS TO DISCUSS DIRECTLY WITH, UH, TEXTILE DISTRICT ENGINEER, UH, YOU KNOW, ABOUT SHARING
[02:35:01]
SERVICES, IF YOU NEEDED HELP OR IF WE NEEDED HELP BACK AND FORTH, BUT THAT'S PRETTY STANDARD.UM, YOU KNOW, IT WAS A FRUSTRATING SITUATION BECAUSE WE WERE SEEING THE CRASHES AND TRYING TO COMMUNICATE THAT THAT NEED TO, UH, ON THE STATE ROADWAY.
I DON'T HAVE WITH ALREADY ON THE STATE FREEWAY SYSTEM, INTERSTATE SYSTEM, I KNOW OUR POLICE HAVE SOME ADDITIONAL AUTHORITY AND, AND, UM, WITH, UH, APPROPRIATE NOTIFICATION CAN CERTAINLY CLOSE RAMPS IF NECESSARY.
SO, UM, I THINK THAT'S AN AREA TO LOOK AT AND, AND I WOULD OFFER TO, TO INVITE TECH STOCK TO BE PART OF OUR AFTER-ACTION, UH, THINKING BECAUSE IT DOES NEED TO BE MULTI-AGENCY SINCE DIFFERENT AGENCIES OPERATE WITHIN OUR JURISDICTIONS HERE.
SO I THINK THAT'S THE WAY TO GET AT IT IS TO INVITE THEM, UH, THROUGH THE EOC TO, TO PARTICIPATE IN THE AFTER ACTION LEVEL.
WHAT KIND OF COMMUNICATION WAS HAPPENING WITH AFD AND ATD OR, UM, YOU KNOW, WE WERE COMMUNICATING THROUGH THE ERC.
I HAD STAFF AT THE IOC FULL-TIME AND SO THAT'S REALLY THE PLACE FOR THAT COMMUNICATION TO OCCUR IN THERE.
UM, SO THE SPECIFIC COMMUNICATION ON THIS, I CAN, UH, I DON'T HAVE THAT INFORMATION RIGHT NOW, COUNCIL MEMBER BUDGET.
IT CERTAINLY DID THAT FOR ME, BUT I KNOW THAT I HAD STAFF ACTIVE IN THE EOC, UH, THROUGHOUT THE, THROUGHOUT THE STORM.
IN FACT, WE SHOULDERED SOME OF THE RESPONSIBILITY FOR THE ENTIRE TRANSPORTATION SORT OF UNITS, BECAUSE I HAD STAFF THAT COULD WALK TO THE SOC.
UM, UH, AND FORTUNATELY WE WERE ABLE TO TRAIN.
UM, I WOULD LIKE TO ASK THAT THEY BE PART OF I'M SORRY, IT WAS SOMEONE ELSE TRYING TO RESPOND TO COMPUTER.
UM, I WOULD JUST REALLY ASK THAT, NOT BE PART OF THOSE CONVERSATIONS IN THE AFTER ACTION AND THAT, UM, YOU BRING IN SOME OF THOSE, UM, THE ITALIAN OR, OR WHATEVER YOU, WHATEVER THE APPROPRIATE TERM IS FOR THE FIREFIGHTERS THAT WERE DEALING WITH THOSE CRASHES AGAIN AND AGAIN, AND, UM, LEARNING FROM THE EXPERIENCES THAT THEY HAD, UM, DURING THAT TIME AND, AND, UM, YOU KNOW, THE EFFORTS THAT THEY NEEDED TO, TO ADDRESS, UM, THE CHALLENGES THAT THEY WERE EXPERIENCING AND SEEING, YOU KNOW, YOU COULD KEEP THE ROAD GOING, BUT CLOSE OFF RAMPS, AND THAT WOULD BE A SOLUTION, UM, IF NECESSARY, BUT THAT WASN'T AN OPTION COUNCIL MEMBER.
I WILL CERTAINLY REACH OUT TO THE DISTRICT ENGINEER, WORKING WITH JUAN ARCHIE'S AND OUR ASSISTANT CITY MANAGER, UH, JUDY FIDANKA, TO, TO REQUEST THE TECHSTOP PARTICIPATE IN THAT.
AND I KNOW WE ALSO HAD, YOU KNOW, THE FIRE DEPARTMENT, WE HAD, UM, ENGINES ON CITY PARK ROAD, WHICH IS NOT A CITY ROAD.
UM, AND I DON'T KNOW IF IT NOT BEING A CITY ROAD, HAD ANYTHING TO DO WITH HOW LONG IT TOOK TO GET THOSE ENGINES.
UNSTUCK, I CAN'T SPEAK TO THE SPECIFIC, RIGHT, BUT I THINK THAT SOME OF THESE EXAMPLES NEED TO BE, I DON'T EXPECT YOU TO ADDRESS THE SPECIFICS RIGHT NOW.
I'M JUST EXPRESSING THAT I THINK THESE NEED TO BE LOOKED AT IN THE AFTER ACTION BECAUSE THERE'S THESE CROSS JURISDICTIONAL ISSUES THAT ARE AFFECTING POTENTIAL RESPONSES FOR OUR FIRST RESPONDERS IN PARTICULAR, IN THIS CASE.
SO WE WANTED TO THE NEXT TOPIC BEFORE WE DO, UM, KIND OF FOLLOWING UP ON ALISON, ANOTHER HISTORICAL NOTE, ONE OF THE THINGS THAT WERE MOST DISRUPTIVE FOR OUR COMMUNITY ABOUT TRANSPORTATION AND THE INABILITY TO USE THE ROADS WAS THE FACT THAT WHILE WE HAD GROCERY STORES IN OUR CITY THAT SOLD OUT ON SUPPLIES AND THEN HAD A JAR SHELLS BARE, SOME OF OUR GROCERY STORES HAD WAREHOUSES THAT WERE FULL OF PRODUCT AND THEY COULDN'T GET THE PRODUCT TO US.
UH, THERE WAS A WAREHOUSE THAT EVERYBODY WAS LOOKING AT HIM REPEATEDLY CALLING, UH, TO, TO CHECK ON UP THERE, WACO.
AND WE HAD TECH SITES AND DPS READY TO ESCORT A ARMADA, UH, 18 WHEELERS TO US WITH FOOD, BUT THEY COULDN'T GET OFF THE SITE AND THEY HAD NO TOOLS OR EQUIPMENT THAT WOULD ENABLE THEM TO HAVE CLEARED THE 18 WHEELERS.
SO THEY COULD JUST GET OFF THE WAREHOUSE SITE.
I WOULD ADD THAT TO THE LIST OF THINGS THAT, THAT SOMEBODY NEEDS TO BE PREPARED TO DO SO THAT WE'RE NOT MISSING THAT STREAM, BUT THAT ALSO POINTS OUT IN THIS SITUATION LIKE WE WERE DEALING WHERE A LOT OF WHAT WE NEED IN TERMS
[02:40:01]
OF SUPPLIES ARE NOT HERE LOCALLY, WHICH GETS OUT REALLY PART AND PARCEL OF WHAT'S HAPPENING AROUND US.UH, THOSE KINDS OF THINGS GET EXACERBATED WHEN YOU'RE TALKING ABOUT, FOR EXAMPLE, UH, IN THE PANDEMIC, UM, OUR ABILITY TO GET FOOD OUT OF OTHER AREAS IS IN PART DEPENDENT ON ME AND THE ACTIVITY LEVEL AND, AND WHY THOSE ARE THERE.
PLACES COULD BE DOING IT OTHER SAVINGS, REGARDLESS OF WHAT CONDITION WHEREIN IT'S THE FIRST TIME I SAW THAT SECOND TIME WAS WITH THE GETTING THE 18 WHEELERS OFF SITE.
SO I'D ADD THAT TO YOUR LIST OF THINGS WHERE YOU'RE TALKING TO TEXTILE MTPS ALL RIGHT.
SO LET'S MOVE NOW TO THE THIRD AREA, WHICH IS A RESTROOM WE'RE GOING TO COVER TODAY, UH, PUBLIC SAFETY, UH, AND KATHY, I'M GOING TO RECOGNIZE YOU TO LEAD US OFF LIKE THAT HELPS ORIENT PEOPLE TO KIND OF, UM, THANKS VERY MUCH.
WELL, MAYBE WE COULD START BY TALKING ABOUT SOME OF THE RANGE OF INCIDENTS AND INVOLVEMENTS THAT PUBLIC SAFETY WAS RESPONDING TO COUNCIL MEMBER ALTAR.
YOU RAISED, YOU RAISED SOME OF THESE, UM, IN YOUR CONVERSATION ABOUT THE FIRE DEPARTMENT AND THE ROADS.
I TH I THINK ONE OF THE DISCUSSIONS THAT, THAT AT LEAST SOME OF US ON COUNCIL, OR, OR I AM LESS FAMILIAR WITH IS THE WAYS IN WHICH THE WAYS IN WHICH MEDICALLY VULNERABLE INDIVIDUALS, UM, HAD TO BE TRANSPORTED AND HOW YOU DID THAT.
BUT ALSO, UM, YOU KNOW, SOME OF THE CHALLENGES THAT OUR PUBLIC SAFETY FOLKS FACE, UH, AS THE STORM UNFOLDED.
AND SO MAYBE WE COULD START WITH, UM, SHALL WE START FIRST WITH THE FIRE DEPARTMENT AND THEN MOVE ON AND TALK CHIEF CHECON AND EMS. WE COULD GO ONE ON ONE BY ONE, AND YOU CAN TELL US ABOUT, YOU KNOW, SOME OF, SOME OF THE WAYS IN WHICH YOUR STAFF WERE RESPONDING TO THE EMERGENCY AND SOME OF THE CHALLENGES YOU FACED.
UM, THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR THIS OPPORTUNITY, OPPORTUNITY TO COUNCIL MEMBERS.
UH, BEFORE I BEGIN, LET ME JUST START OFF.
I WANT TO, IT'S IMPORTANT TO THAT.
THANK, UM, MS. WALLS FROM FLEET, AND THOSE ARE FROM PUBLIC WORKS AND WARRANTIES, EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT, AND SOME OF OUR STATE PARTNERS, UH, WHO REALLY PROVIDED THE SERVICE THAT WE NEEDED IN THE FIRE DEPARTMENT TO MAKE A LOT OF THINGS HAPPEN IN THE OUT OF NINE DAYS, PERIOD, WE RESPONDED TO OVER 5,000 CALLS.
WOULD IT BE A WATER MAIN BREAK, GAS FLEET, MEDICAL CALLS, AND SOME OF THE CHALLENGES WE HAD, UH, UH, YOU KNOW, AGAIN, ALSO THE, WE WORK VERY WELL WITH THE EOC, THE EMERGENCY OPERATIONS CENTER, AS WELL AS THE DEPARTMENT OPERATES ITSELF.
BUT THE CHALLENGE WITH WORKING WITH THE EOC WAS TRYING TO GET OUR INTERNAL STAKEHOLDERS TO FOLLOW THE ELC PLAN CALLED INTO THE ELC.
WE NEED THINGS DONE VERSUS TRYING TO WORK ON YOUR OWN, UH, TO GET THINGS DONE.
SO SOME OF THE CHALLENGES WE HAD IN THIS ICE STORM WAS ALL THE FUEL WITH, UH, AGAIN, TO GUM UP.
HOWEVER, FLEET OVERCAME THAT THEY SAID THERE WAS DIFFERENT TYPES OF US WAS VERY, VERY IMPORTANT.
UH, WE HAVE SOME STAFFING CHALLENGES.
MEMBERS CAN GET THE WORK, BUT THOSE WHO TRIED TO COME TO WORK, WHO, WHO CARS GOT STUCK, THEY ENDED UP WALKING TO WORK AND CIVILIANS IN THE COMMUNITY, GAVE THOSE FIREFIGHTERS A RIDE TO THE NEAREST FIVE PATIENTS TO GET TO WORK.
UH, SOME OF OUR FIREFIGHTERS, UH, WORK ANYWHERE BETWEEN 48 TO 96, IF NOT LONGER HOURS, THEY VOLUNTEERED TO STAY ON BECAUSE THEY KNEW FIRE PRIZE CONVICT THE WORK STUBBORN.
THE FIREFIGHTERS CAME AND WORKED THE DAY BEFORE THE STORM BECAUSE THEY KNEW IF THEY DIDN'T COME TO WORK, UH, 24 HOURS EARLY, THEY WOULDN'T THAT THEY WOULD NOT BE ABLE TO GET TO WORK.
SO THE FIREFIGHTERS RARELY CAME THROUGH, UH, PROVIDERS.
UH, YOU KNOW, IF WE, WE SAY OUR MISSION GOAL BEYOND OUR, UM, WHAT WE ASKED YOU TO DO, I NAMED GO BEYOND OUR MISSION, FOR EXAMPLE, UH, UH, WHEN THE GENERATOR WENT OUT AND SOME OF THE VAST THINGS SITES, THE FIREFIGHTER WENT TO PICK UP THE VACCINE AND RELOCATE THE VACCINES TO AREAS THAT HAD GENERATOR GENERATORS.
SO THE VACCINE, ONCE BALL, THE FIRE STATION BECAME ONE OF THE STATION THAT'S NEEDED.
WE BECAME VERY CREATIVE WHEN, UH, WHEN THE MAIN WIND AND WATER MAIN BEGAN TO FREEZE.
WE USED OUR FIVE INCH HOSE LINE TO ASK YOU TO BRING THE WATER MAIN ABOVE GROUND, TO KEEP WATER FLOWING IN CERTAIN COMMUNITIES.
UM, UH, OUR APPARATUS BECAME FIRE.
WE HAD TO TRANSPORT PATIENTS TO THE HOSPITAL, UH, BECAUSE THE AMBULANCE COULDN'T GET UP THE HILL, EVEN WHEN I WAS SNOW CHAMBER BRAKE, UH, I LATER LEARNED THAT WE HAVE FIREFIGHTERS GO TO THE HOME LOCAL HOME DEPOT BUYING CHAINS TO MAKE THEIR OWN SNOW CHANGE FOR THE APPARATUS.
SO THEY CONTINUE TO RESPOND TO CALLS.
[02:45:01]
THIS, THIS REALLY BECAME UNUSABLE FOR US.UH, THE CHALLENGE WE HAD BEEN WITH SOME OF THE INDUSTRY, FOR EXAMPLE, WE HAD A CHEMICAL PLANT OR A CREMA CHEMICAL, UH, FACILITY THAT THE WALL IN LINE FOR THAT PLANT BROKE DOWN.
AND SO WE HAD TO GET WATER TENANTS FROM OUR PART IN A SMALLER DEPARTMENT TO BRING IN WITH WATER SO WE CAN KEEP THE CHEMICAL PLANT SYSTEM COOLED DOWN.
SO WHEN I HAVE EVACUATED THE WHOLE COMMUNITY, UM, THE LIST GOES ON AND ON.
AND ON THAT, THAT THE CLEANER THAT RAN OUT OF WATER, THE HOSPITAL WATERLINE BROKE.
WE HAD TO MAKE SURE WE GET WATER TO THE HOSPITAL, TO THE ASTHMA CLINIC, UH, OUR BATTALION COMMANDERS UNIT PUT BLANKETS AND FOOD AND WATER IN THEIR UNITS TO MAKE SURE THAT PEOPLE WHO EXPERIMENT HOMELESSNESS WOULD HAVE BLANKETS HAVE WATER HEALTH, FOOD.
UH, WE HELPED STAFF TO WALK MORMON STATION AS NEEDED, RESPOND TO SEVERAL DIFFERENT GASOLINE WATERLINE BREAKING AND THE VARIOUS INDUSTRY.
I THINK IF I'M NOT MISTAKEN AND CHIEF WADE OR CHIEF BRIAN CAN SPEAK ON THIS, BUT SOME FACILITIES THAT HAD WATERLINE THAT BROKE, WE HAD TO REMOVE THE WATER.
SO THOSE BINS NOT LONGER STAY OPEN, BUT IT WOULD NOT HAVE A MAJOR IMPACT ON THE PHONE SERVICE.
I THINK IT WAS THE AT AND T IF I'M NOT MISTAKEN, WE GOT TO REMOVE SOME WATER FROM, TO KEEP THE PHONE SERVICE OPEN.
UH, WE RESPOND TO TREES DOWN IN THE ROAD, TREES ON THE HOUSES.
ANOTHER BIG CHALLENGE WAS RESPOND TO THAT AS FAR AS IN THE NEIGHBORHOOD WITH VERY LOW WATER PRESSURE, IN SOME CASES, THE WATER AT ALL, AND THEN HAVE THE FIREFIGHTERS COME BACK TO THAT SAME LOCATION AFTER TO MAKE SURE THAT THOSE RESIDENT HOME WAS BORE UP THE SAFE COVER TOPS, COVER PILE BOARD TO TRY TO MINIMIZE ALL THE DAMAGES, EVEN AFTER THE FIRE, UH, TO TRY TO MINIMIZE CAUSE LIKE I SAID, THE DAMAGE TO THE RESIDENT.
SO, BUT, UH, IT WAS, IT WAS A CHANCE FOR US, BUT WE TRY AND RETURN AS MANY CHALLENGES AS WE COULD TO OPPORTUNITIES.
AND I THINK WE WORK PRETTY WELL WITH OUR PARTNERS IN TURN A PARTNER AND THAT'S TURNER, I'M A POLICY HERE ALLOW TWO FIRES AND CHIEF WAY TO ADD ON CASE.
YOU DID A VERY GOOD JOB OF CARBON.
A LOT OF THE THINGS THAT WERE DONE, THERE WERE SOME MAJOR THINGS LIKE CHIEF BAKER DISCUSSED ABOUT HELPING WITH KEEPING THE BOILERS RUNNING FOR THE HOSPITALS, DIALYSIS CLINICS FOR, UH, CAUSE FOLKS WERE SEVERAL DAYS PAST NEEDING DIALYSIS TO GET THOSE UP AND RUNNING AGAIN, UH, LEADING WATER TO, TO MAKE THAT HAPPEN.
UH, OUR CREWS ALSO DID A LOT OF OTHER THINGS THAT A LOT OF FOLKS NEVER HEAR ABOUT AS FAR AS MAKING SURE LIKE AN INDIVIDUAL HOMES WHERE SOMEONE RUNNING LOW ON OXYGEN, THAT THEY WERE GIVEN OXYGEN BOTTLES TO TAKE CARE OF THEIR DEED OR A REGULATOR TO BECAUSE THEIR OXYGEN WAS HOOKED UP TO SOMETHING THAT REQUIRED POWER NO LONGER HAD POWER OR LEFT THE GENERATOR BEHIND FOR THE DURATION OF IT SO THAT THEIR OXYGEN WORKED FOR THEM WHEN EVERYTHING ELSE WAS, WAS, UH, WORKING, UH, FOR THEM AND THEIR ENVIRONMENT, UM, TRANSPORTING FOLKS TO SOMEPLACE WHERE THEY COULD BE WARM, UH, EVEN OFF DUTY, DOING THINGS VOLUNTARILY WHERE THEY COULD, UH, WORK IN ADDITIONAL SHIFTS BECAUSE, UH, OTHER OF THEIR FELLOW FIREFIGHTERS WERE UNABLE TO GET IN DUE TO BEING, UH, STUCK AT HOME THAT THE ROADS WERE FROZEN.
UM, THE, UH, AND MELISSA GOES ON, UH, JUST VERY PHENOMENAL THE, THE, THE, THE WORK THAT THEY DID TO, TO TAKE CARE OF ALL THE, THE AUSTIN COMMUNITY, ALL THE PEOPLE IN THE FIRM, WHETHER IT WAS MINOR MEDICAL ISSUES, MAJOR ONES, A LOT OF SITUATIONS WHERE THERE WAS, UH, THERE WAS THE RBJ TOWER WHERE THEY RAN OUT OF POWER AND THEY HAD ONE ROOM THAT HAD HEAT.
SO HELPING THEM MOVE THEM OFF THE VARIOUS FLOORS TO THE BOTTOM FLOOR, WHERE THERE WAS, WAS HEAT.
AND THEN ONCE THAT WAS RETURNED, THE, THE POWER TO TURN THE BUILDING, TO MOVE THEM BACK TO THEIR INDIVIDUAL RESIDENCES, WHERE THEY COULD, UH, BE MORE COMFORTABLE, UH, SETTING UP SHELTERS, UH, FOR, FOR WARMING, THAT THEN TURNED INTO FULL-TIME SHELTERS AND WORKING THROUGH THE LOGISTICS THAT COME WITH THAT THAT'S NOT THE NORMAL SHELTERING OPERATION WE EXPERIENCED DURING HURRICANES.
UM, AND THEN PROBLEM SOLVE ALONG THE WAY.
HIS CHIEF MENTIONED ABOUT TIRE CHAINS, BREAKING AND FINDING SOLUTIONS THEY'RE BUILDING THEIR OWN, OR MACGYVERING SOMETHING ALONG THE WAY TO MAKE THOSE WORK, TO, TO CONTINUE DOING THE, THE JOB THAT THEY'RE CALLED TO DO.
I'LL PAUSE HERE AND SEE IF CHIEF WAV WANTS TO ADD ANYTHING ADDITIONAL TO THAT.
AS FAR AS THE RESPONSE, I THINK Y'ALL COVERED IT VERY WELL, BUT THE VARIOUS THINGS I WILL SAY, IF I CAN COVER REAL QUICKLY, THE, BEFORE WE STARTED THE PREPARATIONS DAYS BEFORE IT WAS COMING, AND THAT WAS ENSURING THAT WE HAD TIRE CHAINS THAT WAS TALKING WITH, UM, THE EOC AND HE SOME, AND THE OTHER PUBLIC SAFETY PARTNERS, MAKING SURE WE ALL KIND OF HAD A PLAN.
WE HAD TO BRING A NUMBER OF FIRETRUCKS THAT CURRENTLY RESIDE OUTSIDE DUE TO THE STATION CONSTRUCTION
[02:50:02]
AND GET THOSE COVERED, UH, BECAUSE WE KNEW THE WEATHER WAS COMING.SO, UM, WE TRIED TO PLAN AS MUCH AS WE COULD FOR THAT TO TAKE CARE OF THE FLEET, KNOWING THAT WE WERE GOING TO PUT THEM INTO FULL USE, EVEN WITH A, WHAT WE WOULD CALL AN UPSTAFFING PLAN.
SO WE PUT AN ADDITIONAL 10 APPARATUS, LIKE OUR BRUSH TRUCK, OR FOUR BY FOUR UNITS THAT ARE CODE THREE CAPABLE AND ONLY PUT TWO PEOPLE ON IT TO TRY TO HANDLE THE NUMEROUS, UH, WHAT WE THOUGHT THE WATER MAIN BREAKS OR WATERLINE BREAKS USUALLY COME WITH THE THOUGHT, THAT'S WHAT WE NORMALLY SEE IN AUSTIN IS EVERYTHING FREEZES.
THEN WHEN IT THAWS, WE GET THE WATER MAIN BREAKS.
WE PUT THE TEAMS TOGETHER EARLY BECAUSE WE STARTED SEEING ALL THE BREAKS DURING THE MIDDLE EARLY STAGES OF IT.
SO WE HAD A PLAN IN PLACE FOR THAT.
UH, WE SET UP NOT ONLY A PERSON AT THE EOC FOR ALL THE COORDINATION, UH, WE HAD FULL-TIME REPRESENTATION THERE.
WE ALSO ALSO OPENED UP OUR DEPARTMENT OPERATIONS CENTER, WHICH INCLUDED MYSELF AND OUR SHIFT COMMANDER 24 SEVEN AT THE SHIFT COMMANDER'S OFFICE.
UM, SO WE COULD TRY TO HANDLE THE NEEDS AND WORK THOSE EITHER THROUGH OUR OPERATIONS OR PUSH THEM UP TO THE EOC, SUCH AS THE, THE NUMEROUS FIRE STATIONS THAT WENT DOWN WITHOUT POWER.
CAUSE WE WERE AFFECTED AS WELL.
UH, THE WATERLINE BREAKS, UM, FLEET WAS INCREDIBLE AT FIXING THE NUMEROUS APPARATUS AS THEY WERE GOING DOWN.
AND, AND I HAVE TO REMIND YOU ALL IS IT WAS SO COLD THAT OUR APP, OUR APPARATUS, EVEN THOUGH THEY WERE RUNNING CONSTANTLY, THE WATER WAS FREEZING IN THE PUMPS AND THE LINES, DESPITE THE HEAT FROM THE LARGE ENGINES, THAT'S HOW COLD IT WAS.
AND FLEET WAS INCREDIBLE OF COMING OUT, DOING WHAT THEY COULD TO KEEP THOSE APPARATUS RUNNINGS.
A COUNCIL MEMBER ALTAR MENTIONED, UM, EARLIER ABOUT THE, UH, THE FIRETRUCK THAT WAS OFF CITY PARK ROAD.
WE HAD A NUMBER OF FIRETRUCKS THAT SLID OFF THE ROAD.
UM, PUBLIC WORKS WAS DOING EVERYTHING THEY COULD TO GET TO IT.
THE ROADS WERE NOT SAFE ENOUGH TO GET THE LARGE VEHICLES OUT THERE TO TOW HIM OFF THE SIDE OF THE ROAD.
UM, SO IT WAS UNSAFE FOR THEM TO GO, BUT THEY HAD A PLAN AND THEY KNEW THE MOMENT THAT THEY COULD GET TO IT BECAUSE WE HAD WORKED THROUGH THE EOC AND OUR PARTNERS.
THERE WAS A PLAN SET IN PLACE.
SO, UH, I THINK, UM, WORKING THROUGH EVERYBODY, WORKING THROUGH THE EOC, UH, OUR, OUR MEMBERS AND THE OTHER AGENCIES DID AMAZING, UH, COORDINATION, TRYING TO COVER ALL OF THE CHALLENGES THROWN AT US.
AND I THINK, AGAIN, YOU KNOW, I WANT EVERYONE TO UNDERSTAND HOW IMPORTANT IT WAS THAT FLEET PROBABLY WORKS.
UH, THEY REALLY CAME TO THE FIRE DEPARTMENT AID AND RESCUE THROUGH THIS ICE STORM, MAKING SURE THAT THE FIRE STATION, UH, GENERATOR WAS WORKING PROPERLY AS IT COULD HAVE BEEN MOVING THOSE FIVE TOYS, DEALT WITH STUFF, MAKING SURE WE HAD ENOUGH SAND OR SALT IN FRONT OF THE FIVE STATES TILL WE COULD RESPOND.
AND AGAIN, MY HATS OFF TO WARN.
SO T'S, I MEAN, UM, WE, I DON'T REALLY BELIEVE THAT WE UNDERSTAND HOW BLESSED WE ARE IN AUSTIN TO HAVE A EMERGENCY OPERATION DEPARTMENT WITHIN THE CITY.
I MEAN, MY HACKLE HOUSE, THE ONE, HE WAS PUTTING RABBITS OUT OF A HAT AND HE DID A GREAT JOB.
SO I'LL PAUSE FOR ANY QUESTIONS THAT ANYONE MAY HAVE FOR US.
WE'LL DO OUR BEST TO ANSWER, SORRY, COLLEAGUES, UH, MAYOR PRO TERRAN, AND THEN BRAG.
THANK YOU FOR THAT CHIEF AND CHIEFS.
I DO HAVE KIND OF A QUESTION ABOUT JUST RECOGNIZING HOW MANY CALLS Y'ALL WERE MAKING FOR WATER MAINS.
I JUST WONDER IF BY WAY OF BEST PRACTICES, NATIONALLY IS, IS THE DEPLOYMENT OF OUR FIRE DEPARTMENT, THE MOST EFFICIENT WAY TO HANDLE A BIG WATER LEAK LIKE, LIKE THAT.
I MEAN,
I THINK WHAT WILL HELP YOU WITH MORE? WE HAD SOME TYPE OF INFLAMMATION FOR THE HOMELESS TO LEARN HOW TO TURN OFF THE WATER TO THE HOME, PUTS A LARGE WATER MAIN VERSUS, UM, THE BEST PLAN OF ACTION THAT'S USED ALL OVER THE COUNTRY IS TO SEND THE FIRE DEPARTMENT OUT.
UNFORTUNATELY, IN THIS CASE, WE WERE JUST OVERWHELMED WITH THE NUMBER OF WATER MAIN BREAK, UM, COSTS WE CAN GET THERE QUICKER THAN THE WATER DEPARTMENT CAN CAUSE WE HAVE MORE APPARATUS AND MORE SPACE AND LOCATED.
UH, BUT WE CAN TEACH THESE HOMEOWNERS, GIVE THEM ADVANCED NOTICE ON HOW TO TURN THE WATER OFF, UH, TO COME TO THE HOME.
UH, BUT YES, THE FIRE DEPARTMENT IS REALLY ONE OF THE BEST, UM, UNITS TO USE APARTMENTS IN USE.
AND THEN MY OTHER QUESTION IS ABOUT,
[02:55:01]
UM, THE SITUATION THAT YOU ALL HAD WITH THE, UM, I THINK YOU DESCRIBED IT AS THE FUEL GOT GUMMED UP.I'M JUST CURIOUS, EVEN THOUGH THEY WERE ABLE TO RECONCILE THAT CHALLENGE, I'M CURIOUS TO KNOW WHAT WE'RE PUTTING INTO PLACE, SO THAT, THAT DOESN'T OCCUR AGAIN.
UH, I'M GOING TO ACHIEVE WASTE PEOPLE ON THERE, BUT I DON'T, I'M NOT SURE IF WE NEED TO CHANGE A FEW BECAUSE IT DOESN'T HAPPEN THAT OFTEN, BUT THAT TWO WAY WHO HAVE MORE EXPERTISE IN THE AREA THAN I DO.
WE'RE CLEAR TO SAY WHAT IF AND WHEN WE SHOULD FIND OURSELVES IN ANOTHER SITUATION SIMILAR TO THIS, TO WHERE WE HAVE A WEEK TO PREPARE, DO WE SIPHON ALL THE FUEL, A LOT OF OUR, YOU KNOW, ENGINES AND REPLACE IT WITH SOMETHING.
I JUST WANT TO KNOW IF WE HAVE THAT KIND OF, IF WE'RE GOING TO BE ABLE TO PREEMPT IT NEXT TIME.
SO I DON'T KNOW IF WE EVER WANT TO GO TO A SIPHONING, BUT, BUT MAYBE THE BIGGER DISCUSSION AND WHAT WE HAVE MENTIONED, UH, TO FLEET IS WE'RE CURRENTLY USING BIODIESEL AND BIODIESEL IS WHAT WILL GUM UP AT A CERTAIN TEMPERATURE WHILE WE HAVE NOT SEEN IT.
UM, THE TEMPERATURES THIS LONG DOESN'T MEAN THAT WE CAN'T HAVE IT FOR TWO DAYS OR THREE DAYS AND STILL RUN INTO THE SAME PROBLEMS, WHICH WAS EXTREMELY CHALLENGING.
I THINK WHAT, MAYBE WE NEED TO EXPLORE THAT AS A CITY IS, AND MAYBE FOR THE DEPARTMENTS THAT HAVE TO RESPOND DURING THE EMERGENCY IS, IS BIODIESEL SOMETHING THAT WE SHOULD BE USING, UM, FOR THE WARMER MONTHS AND THEN MAYBE FOR A THREE MONTHS PERIOD, WHEN WE USUALLY SEE THE COLD WEATHER DECEMBER, JANUARY, FEBRUARY, MAYBE IT'S THAT ONE, IT'S KIND OF WEIRD TO SAY CLEAN DIESEL, BUT YOU GO TO THE MORE TRADITIONAL DIESEL AND BIODIESEL AND THAT A WAY YOU DON'T HAVE TO PLAN FOR A, UM, IS IT GOING TO FREEZE FOR THREE DAYS OR FOUR DAYS? WE JUST KNOW DURING, UH, ESSENTIALLY A THREE MONTH PERIOD, POSSIBLY WE USE A CLEAN DIESEL.
I THINK THOSE ARE OPTIONS THAT WE NEED TO HAVE DISCUSSIONS WITH FLEET, UH, ABOUT THAT.
AND I THINK, UH, IF I COULD ELABORATE A LITTLE BIT FURTHER, I DO BELIEVE FLEET RECOGNIZE THAT ON THIS OCCASION AND DID PLAN AHEAD AND THEY DID GET THE, THE REGULAR DIESEL IN PLACE.
THE, THE PART THAT WASN'T RECOGNIZED WAS THAT THE BIODIESEL THAT WAS IN THE CURRENT VEHICLES HADN'T PROCESSED THROUGH AND PUT THEMSELVES IN A SITUATION WHERE THE TANKS WERE FULL OF REGULAR DIESEL.
SO, UH, THE, THE INTENT WAS THERE.
IT WAS JUST SOME LESSONS LEARNED ALONG THE WAY, UH, ON, ON A FEW OTHER COMPONENTS WHEN YOU PUT IN PLACE.
AND I THINK WHAT CHIEF WADE SPOKE TO THERE ABOUT MAYBE LOOKING AT A, A, UM, AN ANNUAL PLAN OF ROTATING THE DIESEL OUT AT A CERTAIN POINT, THAT WAY THERE'S NOT EVEN AN ISSUE AT ALL, AND EVERYTHING CAN RUN SMOOTHLY THROUGH, UH, EVEN COLD WEATHER WITHOUT HAVING TO MAKE, UH, EMERGENT DECISIONS OR ADJUSTMENTS ALONG THE WAY, HEY, THIS IS RECURRING WITH FLEET SERVICES.
I THINK THAT THE LESSON LEARNED HERE, UH, AND COUNCIL MEMBER MADISON, I THINK YOU'RE A HUNDRED PERCENT CORRECTLY.
WE HAD BIODIESEL THAT WAS IN OUR TANKS AND WE NEEDED TO ADD AN ANTI JELLING ADDITIVE ADDITIVES TO, TO HELP THOSE VEHICLES OUT WITH THE FUEL THAT WAS ALREADY ON BOARD IN THOSE VEHICLES.
AND THEN WITH CHIEF WADE, I, I THINK, YOU KNOW, AND WITH AFD, YOU GUYS, THERE'S A GREAT POINT.
I THINK WE JUST MOVED TO A SEASONAL CHANGE FROM BIODIESEL TO A NUMBER TWO DIESEL DIESEL THAT HAS A LOWER CLOUDING OR GEL POINT ON IT.
SO WE BELIEVE THAT THOSE ARE GOOD MOVES TO MAKE AND MESSAGE RECEIVED ON THIS END HERE.
AND THEN THE ONE LAST QUESTION I'LL ASK, WELL, I'LL START WITH A MASSIVE COMPLIMENT, UM, UH, TEETH KNICKS PUT OUT A THING THAT SAID, HEY, UNION MEMBERS, A LOT OF Y'ALL HAVE FOUR WHEEL DRIVE VEHICLES OR, OR JUST ARE ADEPT AT DRIVING.
A LOT OF YOU COME FROM STATES THAT ARE MORE ACCLIMATED TO THIS KIND OF WEATHER AND DRIVING.
AND AUSTIN FIREFIGHTERS RESPONDED TO THE CALL.
AND I MEAN, NOT THEM IN UNIFORM WITH THEIR APPARATUS.
I MEAN, ON THEIR PERSONAL TIME, THEY STILL WERE OPERATING FROM A POSITION OF SERVICE AND ANSWERED THE CALL.
I JUST WANT TO KNOW MOVING FORWARD.
UM, I GUESS WE FIGURED OUT HOW TO ARTICULATE WHAT IT IS THAT I'M TRYING TO SAY HERE.
MY, MY THOUGHT AROUND THAT WAS IT, IS THERE A WAY FOR US TO HAVE, UM, I'M NOT A ROLODEX, BUT LIKE A DIRECTORY OF SORTS.
UM, I, YOU KNOW, COMMISSIONER PAVILION SAYS IT ALL THE TIME, ASSET MAP AND ASSET MAP LIKE THESE, THESE ARE THE THINGS THAT WE DO WELL, THESE ARE THE THINGS THAT WE MAY HAVE IN CASE OF AN EMERGENCY.
THESE ARE, CAUSE THAT WAS JUST A MOMENT OF THINKING OUTSIDE OF THE BOX, WHICH HELPED A LOT OF PEOPLE.
UM, THAT SAID, THOUGH, I JUST WANNA, I WONDER HOW WE CAN OPERATIONALIZE IT, OR THAT WAS JUST A ONE-TIME THING.
YOU KNOW, IN CASE OF AN EMERGENCY, WE JUST HAPPEN TO HAVE THAT, THAT BENEFIT SHOW UP FOR OUR COMMUNITY.
[03:00:02]
YOU DON'T SEEM TO HAVE THE ASSETS WHO CAN GET RESOURCES AS WE NEED IT FROM THE STATE AND LOCAL LEVEL WITH CHIEF SMITH.DID I COMMAND THEM FOR, BUT I WANT TO CAUTION US ON USING, UH, ALL THROUGH THE PERSONNEL.
I DON'T KNOW THAT COME A WORKMAN'S COMP ISSUE THAT COME A LEGAL ISSUE, UH, HOW THAT PLAY, UH, SINCE CHIEF NIT MADE THE CALL, IT DID NOT HOLD A CITY IN HARM'S WAY.
UH, UH, SO I I'M JUST CAUTIOUS AND USING
UH, IF WE CALL THEM, THEY'RE NOT OFF DUTY.
IF I CAUGHT A FIREFIGHTER COME IN THE COMPETITION, NOT THE ISSUE, THE ISSUE IS REALLY, CAN WE DO IT ILLEGALLY? AND WHAT RESPONSIBILITIES DO THEY HAVE TO THOSE MEMBERS WHO ARE CALLED IN? UH, THAT'S WHY IT'S SO IMPORTANT TO GO THROUGH THE EOC SO WE CAN DOCUMENT IT SO WE CAN MAKE SURE THAT THEY HAVE THE RIGHT DOCUMENTATION WITH REIMBURSEMENT.
AND WE HAVE THE RIGHT, UH, LEGAL BUFF CHECK, THEN WORK MACOMP BOSS, CHECK HR, BOSS, CHECKING, ET CETERA, ET CETERA.
YOU, THERE WAS SOMEBODY BEHIND THE DASH.
I DON'T REMEMBER WHO WAS THERE ANYBODY ELSE, GREG? IT WAS ME, BUT, UH, MAYOR PRO TEM HANDLED MOST OF IT.
I DID HAVE ONE OTHER QUESTION, WHICH IS, YOU KNOW, WE, WE DID HAVE A SIGNIFICANT NUMBER OF PEOPLE GET SICK FROM HER ABOUT CARBON MONOXIDE POISONING.
AND, UH, PROPUBLICA IS DATA SHOWED THAT OVER A THIRD OF THEM WERE IN THE RUNBOOK LANE AREA WHERE YOU HAVE ELECTRIC APPLIANCES, UH, BUT PEOPLE BRINGING IN GAS GRILLS AND OTHER, UM, CARBON MONOXIDE, UM, POWERED, YOU KNOW, OTHER THINGS THAT MAKE CARBON DIOXIDE TO STAY WARM.
AND SO I WANTED TO KNOW FROM THE FIRE DEPARTMENT, SINCE WE ARE GOING AFTER INSTALLING, UM, SMOKE ALARMS AND SMOKE DETECTORS IN PEOPLE'S APARTMENTS AND HOMES, ARE WE INSTALLING ONES THAT ALSO DETECT CARBON MONOXIDE? UH, I KNOW, YOU KNOW, THAT MANY OF US ON COUNCIL IN 2017 VOTED TO REQUIRE, UH, THOSE CARBON MONOXIDE DETECTORS IN HOMES THAT HAVE GAS APPLIANCES.
BUT I THINK WE HAD A LOT OF PEOPLE GET REALLY SICK FROM WHO HAD ELECTRIC APPLIANCES, BUT THERE WERE IN THESE OLDER HOMES AND THEY BROUGHT IN GRILLS AND THE LIKE, SO, UM, HAVE WE LOOKED TAKEN A LOOK AT THAT AND WHAT CAN WE DO TO NOT JUST EDUCATE PEOPLE, BUT FRANKLY, TO, TO, TO GET MORE CARBON MONOXIDE DETECTORS, EVEN IN PLACES WHERE PEOPLE USE ELECTRIC, THAT'S A VERY GOOD QUESTION.
I WOULD DOUBLE CHECK IF I'M NOT MISTAKEN, WE DO HAVE THE COMBINATION CARBON OUTSIDE AS WELL, THE SMOKE ALARM, BUT I NEED TO DOUBLE CHECK FOR OUR GONE RECONCILED.
I'M JUST NOT A HUNDRED PERCENT SURE THAT THAT'S, THE WATER BEGAN TO CHANGE.
I THINK WE CAN START ADDING THOSE NOTICES LIKE INTO THE WATER BILL OR THE POWER BILL AND PEOPLE KNOW, UH, GETTING THEM SOME, SOME PUBLIC SERVICE ANNOUNCEMENT ABOUT CALL MANASSEH, I'LL PAUSE.
BUT I THINK CHIEF, UH, VIRUS GOING TO ADD TO THAT, YOU SAY SOMETHING CHIEF RS THERE WAS PASSED.
THERE WAS A, UH, A JOINT EFFORT WITH CODE COMPLIANCE AND THE AUSTIN FIRE DEPARTMENT, THERE WERE A LARGE NUMBER OF DETECTORS PURCHASED THAT ARE NOT ONLY SMOKE ALARMS, BUT ALSO CO2 DETECTORS AS WELL.
THOSE HAVE BEEN, UH, WILL BE INSTALLED.
SO MOST CERTAINLY WE CAN DO THAT.
AND, UH, WE CAN TOTALLY PUT MESSAGING OUT.
LIKE CHIEF SAID IN THE, THE NOTICES FROM, UH, THE GAS DEPARTMENT, ELECTRIC DEPARTMENT, AS WELL AS OUR OWN SOCIAL MEDIA TO LET FOLKS KNOW THOSE WERE AVAILABLE AND WE'D HAPPY TO GO BRING THEM TO THEM, GET THEM INSTALLED.
SO TO BE CLEAR, THE ONES THAT WE'VE BEEN INSTALLING AND FOLKS' HOMES ARE FIRE ONLY, BUT WE NOW HAVE A SHIPMENT OF ONES THAT HAVE FIRE NCO.
AND I JUST THINK IT'S AN IMPORTANT REMINDER FOR US ABOUT EVEN WHERE YOU WOULDN'T EXPECT, YOU NEED TO SEE A DETECTOR.
THERE ARE STILL REAL RISKS ASSOCIATED WITH LIKE CARBON MONOXIDE.
MAYOR, CAN I JUMP IN IT'S ON THE SAME TOPIC? UM, I HAD LOOKED THAT UP.
I WONDER IF GREG AND I READ THE SAME ARTICLE AND WE'RE CURIOUS ABOUT KIND OF WHAT THE CODE SAID ABOUT THOSE ALARMS AND LOOKED AT THE ONES IN MY APARTMENT, WHICH DOESN'T HAVE ANY GAS APPLIANCES.
AND EVEN THOUGH THAT SAME COMPANY MAKES THE ONE THAT DOES FIRE AND CARBON MONOXIDE, THE ONES THAT ARE IN MY APARTMENT DON'T HAVE THAT.
SO TO THAT POINT, UM, IF YOU CAN ASSIST PEOPLE WITH INSTALLING THEM, CAN YOU HELP APARTMENT RENTERS WITH THAT? OR WOULD IT HAVE TO BE THE LANDLORD THAT, YOU KNOW, A HOMEOWNER OR A LANDLORD OF AN APARTMENT BUILDING THAT WOULD NEED TO APPLY FOR THAT? CAN YOU TELL ME HOW THAT MIGHT WORK? PROBABLY FOR THE APARTMENT COMPLEX? UM, UH, IT WOULD HAVE TO BE THE
[03:05:02]
APARTMENT ON THE BOTTLE PROBABLY GOING TO GO INTO PRIVATE OWN RESIDENCE, NOT INTO A APARTMENT LOCATION, BUT THAT DOES NOT MEAN THAT WE CANNOT EDUCATE THE APARTMENT OWNERS ON WHAT THEY SHOULD DO, MAKE A RECOMMENDATION AND PUT THEM TO DO MORE THAN WILLING TO DO THAT.I KNOW IT'S PROBABLY SOMETHING SINCE THE CODE IS WRITTEN, UH, YOU KNOW, WE DON'T HAVE GAS APPLIANCES THAT IT'S FINE TO JUST HAVE THE FIRE ALARM, BUT IT JUST SEEMS LIKE SOMETHING THAT CAME ON EVERYONE'S RADAR DURING THE STORM.
BUT, UM, I WOULD HOPE THAT OUR APARTMENT RENTERS WOULD HAVE ACCESS TO THE SAME SAFETY MEASURE SAYS AS LANDLORDS AND HOMEOWNERS THAT CAN DO THAT ON THEIR OWN BEHALF.
ANYBODY HAVE ANY QUESTIONS FOR THE APD CHIEF, KATHY, PRETEND, YOU KNOW, I DON'T HAVE ANY SPECIFIC QUESTIONS.
I WAS HOPING HE COULD DO THE SAME KIND OF OVERVIEW, BUT IF MY COLLEAGUES HAVE SPECIFIC QUESTIONS, UM, I KNOW WE'RE RUNNING SHORT ON TIME, BUT I GUESS I WOULD ASK CHIEF CHACONE IF HE COULD DO AT LEAST A, YOU KNOW, A SHORT OVERVIEW OF THE KINDS OF CHALLENGES THAT YOUR OFFICERS FACED, CERTAINLY COUNCIL MEMBER.
AND, UH, THANK YOU, MAYOR COUNCIL MEMBERS, UM, JOE
SO, UH, I JUST WANT TO GIVE YOU, UM, BECAUSE, UH, IN THE INTEREST OF TIME, A PRETTY HIGH LEVEL OVERVIEW OF SOME OF THE, UM, SOME OF THE THINGS THAT WE RAN INTO DURING THAT WEEK.
UM, AND, UH, WE'VE BEEN WORKING ON OUR AFTER ACTION REPORTING, UH, SINCE THE INCIDENT OCCURRED AND OUR WORKING WITH
UH, WHENEVER THE EOC WAS OPEN, AS WELL AS STANDING UP OUR OWN DOC, UH, OPERATION CENTER, UM, THAT, THAT, UH, HELPED TO, UH, AS WE HAD NEEDS WITHIN THE DEPARTMENT THAT WE COULD FULFILL OURSELVES OR THAT WE PASS THROUGH THE DOC TO GET TO THE EOC.
SO, UH, ONE OF THE THINGS THAT CHIEF BAKER REALLY LED WITH, WHICH I THINK IS SO IMPORTANT IS, IS THE, UH, HAVING, HAVING, UH, DEPARTMENTS THAT REALLY, UH, ARE FAMILIAR WITH THE INCIDENT COMMAND STRUCTURE AND THE EMERGENCY OPERATION CENTERS, AND ARE ALL KIND OF DOING THINGS THE SAME WAY.
AND WE DON'T HAVE PEOPLE THAT ARE DUPLICATING EFFORTS THAT HAS BEEN AN ISSUE IN PRIOR, UH, EMERGENCIES LIKE THIS.
AND, UM, THE FIRE FIRE DEPARTMENT HAS ALWAYS KIND OF LED THE WAY AND BEEN THE EXPERTS IN DOING THAT BECAUSE OF THE WAY THAT THEY WERE FIRE SCENES.
UH, I THINK WE, AS A POLICE DEPARTMENT ARE GETTING MUCH, MUCH BETTER AND, AND WE, I, I FELT LIKE DID A REALLY GOOD JOB IN THIS INCIDENT OF FOLLOWING THE INCIDENT COMMAND STRUCTURE.
UM, THE TYPES OF INCIDENTS THAT WE WERE REALLY WORKING OF COURSE, COLLISIONS AND ROAD CLOSURES.
SO WE SAW A LOT OF, UM, UM, COLLISIONS THAT WERE OCCURRING AND WE HAVE TO MANAGE A LOT OF THOSE, UH, OVER THE PHONE HAVING HAVING PEOPLE, BECAUSE WE JUST DIDN'T HAVE THE RESOURCES FOR AS MANY AS WE'RE COMING IN TO BE ABLE TO SENSE THAT WE WERE WORKING THOSE THAT HAD THE MOST SERIOUS INJURIES, UM, AND HELPING PEOPLE OVER THE PHONE FOR THEM.
IT WAS, IT DIDN'T, UM, UH, MY HEAD THAT'S OFF TO OTHER CITY DEPARTMENTS THAT, UH, YOU KNOW, WROTE IN BRITAIN AND, UH, AND OTHERS THAT PRE-STAGE BARRICADES ON ROADS THAT WE KNEW WERE GOING TO, THEY HAVE HAZARDOUS CONDITIONS AND ARE PRONE TO ICING, SO THAT WHEN WE GOT THOSE REPORTS, OUR OFFICERS WERE QUICKLY ABLE TO GO OUT THERE AND TO BE ABLE TO, UH, TO BLOCK THOSE OFF A VERY MANPOWER AND KIND OF RESOURCE INTENSIVE REQUEST WAS SECURITY AT SHELTERS AND WATER DISTRIBUTION SITES.
WELL, FROM WHAT WE NORMALLY, UM, GET DURING COLD WEATHER EVENTS, WHICH IS USUALLY A, ONE OF OUR REQUESTS, SIX P TO SIX, A, THIS WAS 24 HOURS ROUND THE CLOCK FOR EIGHT DAYS.
AND, UM, AND BECAUSE OF THAT, HOW, HOW BIG AND WIDESPREAD THIS EVENT WAS, UH, WE HAD, UM, WE HAD TO HAVE MANY, MANY OFFICERS THAT WE, UH, WE BROUGHT IN AS MANY AS WE COULD, UM, THAT WERE OFF DUTY TO MAN THOSE, AND THEN LATER HOW TO, UH, BRING IN OTHERS THAT WERE, UM, THAT WERE ON DUTY TO ASSIST WITH IT AS WELL.
AND THEN ONE OF THE OTHER, UH, IMPORTANT THINGS, I THINK, YOU KNOW, LIKE WE DID WAS PROVIDING EMERGENCY TRANSPORTATION, UH, FOR THOSE WHO DIDN'T HAVE IT, UM, YOU KNOW, THE NORMAL, UH, MODES OF TRANSPORTATION FOR PUBLIC TRANSPORTATION WERE CURTAILED BECAUSE OF THE ROAD CONDITIONS.
AND WE BROUGHT IN UNITS SUCH AS OUR, OUR SWAT TEAM OR HIGHWAY ENFORCEMENT UNITS, SUCH AS MOTORS AND, AND, UH, AND OTHERS IN HIGHWAY ENFORCEMENT THAT WERE SPECIFICALLY TASKED WITH, UH, WITH GETTING WITH COMMUNICATIONS TO FIND OUT FOR THOSE WHO MIGHT BE STRANDED SOMEWHERE, UM, ON THE COMMUNICATION SIDE, UH, JUST TALKING BRIEFLY ABOUT SCITECH, UM, YOU KNOW, THERE WERE A NUMBER OF LOGISTICAL ISSUES, UH, NOT THE LEAST OF WHICH WAS STAFFING AND, AND,
[03:10:01]
UH, MAKING SURE THAT WE WERE ABLE TO GET PEOPLE TO WORK.AND FOR THOSE THAT ACTUALLY GOT THERE, MANY OF THEM HAD TO STAY BECAUSE THEY COULDN'T LEAVE BECAUSE OF ROAD CONDITIONS.
UM, THE FOOD SITUATION, UH, WE HAVE SINCE WORKED OUT A GOOD DEAL WITH, UH, SOME OF OUR PARTNERS AT HEB AND SO FORTH THAT, UM, THAT, UH, SIGNIFICANTLY HELPED US DURING THIS INCIDENT, UM, AS WELL AS HAVING ENOUGH FUEL AND, AND, UH, WATER, UH, BOTH PORTABLE WATER AND WATER TO RUN FACILITIES, UM, ON HAND FOR A NUMBER OF DAYS, WE WERE SUPPOSED TO HAVE A CISTERN THAT WOULD LAST FOR SIX DAYS.
SO, YOU KNOW, WE'RE WORKING THROUGH ALL OF THOSE ISSUES.
UM, STAFFING OVERALL IN OUR DEPARTMENT WAS, WAS CHALLENGING.
UH, MANY OF OUR OFFICERS, UM, COULD NOT, UH, COULD NOT GET ON THE ROADWAY BECAUSE OF THE, THE ROAD CONDITIONS.
UM, AND THEN OTHERS, AS I SAID, UH, WE SET UP, UH, COTSEN AND JUST, UH, WE, WE RENTED HOTEL ROOMS FOR OFFICERS SO THAT THEY COULD JUST, UH, BE VERY CLOSE TO WORK AND WERE, AND MANY WERE WORKING AROUND THE CLOCK, INCLUDING OUR OFFICERS AT THE AIRPORT, UM, FA UH, FINALLY WITH REGARD TO OUR, UH, THE VEHICLES.
SO, UH, IT'S BEEN MENTIONED ALREADY FUEL AVAILABILITY, UH, BECAUSE OF POWER OUTAGES BECAME AN ISSUE, UH, FLARES AND CONES BECAME VERY SCARCE AND, UH, TIRE CHAINS WERE A PROBLEM FOR US.
SO SOME OF OUR MAKES AND MODELS OF VEHICLES PERFORM BETTER ON ICE THAN OTHERS.
UM, SO WE ARE, UH, YOU KNOW, DIVERSIFYING WORKING WITH CITY FLEET IN JENNIFER'S GROUP TO DIVERSIFY OUR FLEET, UH, TO HELP WITH THIS IN THE FUTURE.
I'LL GO AHEAD AND STOP THERE AND JUST, UH, SEE IF THERE ARE ANY QUESTIONS AS SOMETHING ELSE I CAN ANSWER.
I THINK ACTUALLY THAT BRIEF OVERVIEW WAS SUFFICIENT.
UM, I WANTED TO JUST ACKNOWLEDGE, UM, SOME OFFICERS AND UNFORTUNATELY DIDN'T GET THEIR NAME WHO, YOU KNOW, WERE DOING AS OUR OFFICERS REGULARLY DO WHATEVER'S ASKED OR NEEDED OF THEM THAT'S APPROPRIATE.
UM, AT THE TIME THAT THE WATER CAME BACK ON, I WAS WALKING IN MY NEIGHBORHOOD AND, UM, CONGREGATION BETH ISRAEL, WHICH HAPPENS TO BE MY TEMPO, HAD HAD AN ALARM GO OFF AND THEY HAD A WATER MAIN BREAK AND THEY WERE TRYING TO TURN THE WATER OFF.
UM, AND SOME OFFICERS WERE, WERE THERE AND IT WAS, YOU KNOW, SOME REALLY STRONG AND PERSISTENT OFFICER THAT ULTIMATELY WAS ABLE TURN THE WATER OFF AND, AND SAVE THE DESTRUCTION OF THE TEMPLE, UM, FROM THE WATER LEAK THAT HAD JUST APPEARED.
AND, UM, THEY WERE VERY GRACIOUS ABOUT IT.
AND I'M SURE IT'S JUST ONE OF MANY EXAMPLES OF OUR OFFICERS, UM, DOING ODD THINGS DURING THE STORM, UM, KIND IN THEIR, IN THEIR DAILY WORKS.
UM, SINCE I DID GET THERE, GET THEIR NAMES AND ACKNOWLEDGE THEIR, THEIR, UM, ASSISTANCE COUNCIL MEMBER ALTER.
I APPRECIATE YOU MENTIONING THAT.
AND, AND, UM, MUCH LIKE OUR COUNTERPARTS AT FIRE AND EMS, WE WERE CHALLENGED, BUT I FEEL LIKE WE REALLY ROSE TO THE CHALLENGE AND, UM, AND OUR OFFICERS, UH, WITHOUT COMPLAINT, UH, YOU KNOW, DID THE VERY BEST THEY COULD
SO THANK YOU FOR, UH, THANK YOU FOR MENTIONING THAT, WHY THOSE ARE ALL OUR TOPICS, KATHY, SORRY TO ASK THIS QUESTION, BUT I'M STILL CONFUSED ABOUT WHY THANK YOU, BY THE WAY, TO CHUCK HOLLAND FOR THE, FOR THE OVERVIEW AND ALSO FOR ALL OF THE WORK THAT YOUR OFFICERS DID.
UM, AND THANK YOU TO BOTH, UM, AF AND APD FOR REALLY HIGHLIGHTING THE ROLE OF FLEET.
I THINK THAT'S NOT A STORY THAT THAT HAS BEEN TOLD REALLY.
AND SO, UM, THANKS TO THOSE BOOKS SOUND LIKE, YOU KNOW, THE EFFORTS THAT REALLY HELPED SO MANY OTHER DEPARTMENTS CONTINUE TO FUNCTION A MAYOR.
WE HAVEN'T HEARD FROM EMS YET.
I JUST WANTED TO REMIND YOU OF THAT.
I KNOW WE'RE AT OUR TIME, AND IF WE DON'T HAVE TIME TO ADDRESS IT HERE, MAYBE THIS COULD BE IN THE Q AND A, BUT I'M STILL CONFUSED ABOUT WHY, WHAT HAPPENED WITH THE CHAINS, LIKE WHY THEY WERE, WERE THEY INSUFFICIENT? WAS IT THAT THEY, THE CONDITIONS WERE JUST SO MUCH MORE INTENSE THAN THE CHAINS WE HAD AVAILABLE.
AND SO AGAIN, IF IT'S NOT, IF IT'S TOO COMPLICATED TO GO INTO HERE, MAYBE WE CAN HEAR ABOUT IT IN THE AFTER-ACTION REPORT, BUT, UM, THOSE ARE SOME OF THE QUESTIONS THAT I'M CONTINUING, THAT ARE CONTINUE TO LINGER IN COUNSEL.
BRANDON, I CAN ANSWER IT REALLY QUICK FOR US.
THE CHAINS HAVE TRADITIONALLY WORKED, WORKED VERY WELL.
IT WAS THE DURATION OF HOW LONG WE HAD TO KEEP THEM ON IS WHEN WE SAW OUR START TO BREAK AND
[03:15:01]
WHICH WE HAD TO DO REPAIR.SO MORE OF THE DURATION OF IT INSTEAD OF JUST A ONE NIGHT, UH, ISSUE.
I WANT TO MAKE, I'LL LET YOU FINISH THAT ANSWER TO THAT QUESTION.
AND I ALSO WANT TO GET TO EMS CHIEF, THE BETAS.
I WAS JUST GOING TO SAY IT WAS MUCH OF THE SAME FOR US, UH, THE DURATION AND JUST THE NUMBER OF CHAINS THAT WE HAD.
WE WERE UNPREPARED FOR THE LENGTH OF THE EVENT.
SEARCH ME MS. ERNESTO RODRIGUEZ, CHASE FOR BMS. UH, JUST, UH, I'M GOING TO GIVE A REAL BRIEF OVERVIEW, AND THEN I'M GOING TO TURN OVER TO, TO CHIEF BROWN FOR A LITTLE BIT MORE DETAIL.
UH, FIRSTLY LET'S, UH, RECOGNIZE THE INCREDIBLE STAFF IT'S THE EMS DEPARTMENT, BECAUSE THEY DID SOME SUPERHUMAN LIFTING DURING THIS EVENT AND THAT'S, THAT'S FAMOUS TRUE, UH, FOR ALL OF THE OTHER EMPLOYEES OF THE CITY WHO PITCHED IN AND WORKED IN AREAS, DOING THINGS THEY DON'T NORMALLY DO TO GET US THROUGH THIS.
UH, SOME OF THE SIGNIFICANT THINGS THAT HAPPENED WITH EMS IS OUR VOLUME OF CALLS INCREASED BY FOUR TIMES.
NORMALLY WE RUN ABOUT 400 CALLS IN A DAY.
WE WERE HITTING 1600, UH, DURING THE WINTER STORM, WHICH IS PRETTY SIGNIFICANT FOR US.
UH, WE HAD, UH, A LOT OF TROUBLE WITH OUR PERSONNEL GETTING TO WORK, UM, BECAUSE THEY COULDN'T TRAVEL IN THE, UH, IN THE STORM AND ICE IN THE SNOW.
UM, WE HAD, UM, THE LOSS OF ELECTRICITY WAS A BIG ISSUE, UH, FOR MANY OF THE RESIDENTS OF OUR COMMUNITY, BECAUSE MANY OF THEM ARE DEPENDENT ON MEDICAL EQUIPMENT AND THEY, THEY STRUGGLED TO MAINTAIN THEIR HEALTH AND THEIR WELLBEING IF THEY CAN'T OPERATE THEIR EQUIPMENT THAT PROVIDES OXYGEN AND, AND OTHER, UH, AND OTHER, UH, MEDICAL CARE FOR THEM, UH, THE LOSS OF HEAT THAT WE EXPERIENCED, UH, CAUSED PEOPLE TO, UH, TO DEFER TO OTHER UNSAFE METHODS, TO CREATE HEAT, UH, LIKE BRINGING IN, UH, GRILLS AND BURNING AND STUFF THAT INCREASED CARBON MONOXIDE EXPOSURES.
UM, AND THEN THERE WAS A LOSS OF FOOD AND, UH, COMMUNITY COULDN'T GET FOOD BECAUSE OF THE CLOSURE OF THE STORES AND ALL OF THAT, THAT WE'VE TALKED ABOUT, UH, THE SAME AS TRUE FOR OUR FIRST RESPONDERS.
WE HAD A REALLY DIFFICULT TIME FINDING FOOD FOR EVERYONE.
I THINK SOME OF THE MOST SIGNIFICANT THING WAS THE LOSS OF INFRASTRUCTURE THAT WE EXPERIENCED THE LOSS OF NATURAL GAS, ELECTRICITY, FOOD, WATER MEDICATIONS, ONCE MOBILITY, ALL THOSE THINGS THAT, THAT WE, UH, RELY ON EVERY DAY TO MAKE OUR LIVES GO SMOOTHLY.
UM, I THINK MOST PEOPLE IN COMMUNITY AND FIRST RESPONDERS INCLUDED, WE CAN MANAGE A LOSS OF ONE OR TWO OF THOSE THINGS FOR A LITTLE WHILE, BUT WE SUSTAINED LONG PERIODS OF LOSS OF MOST OF THAT INFRASTRUCTURE FOR A LONG PERIOD, WHICH, WHICH, UH, CAUSED A LOT OF, A LOT OF PROBLEMS WITH PEOPLE TRYING TO GET HELP WHEN THEY NEEDED IT.
UM, I'M GOING TO TURN IT OVER TO CHIEF BROWN AT THIS POINT.
AND LET HIM TALK A LITTLE BIT ABOUT, UH, SOME OF THE THINGS THAT WE DID IN PREPARATION AND SOME OF THE THINGS THAT WE GET DURING THE EVENT TO TRY TO MANAGE EVERYTHING, UH, CHIEF BROWN OR YOU WANT, I AM TAKING CHIEF BROWN, CHIEF OF STAFF AT TRAVIS COUNTY EMS. THANK YOU.
UH, MAYOR, MAYOR PRO TEM COUNCIL BEFORE THE STORM.
WE, UM, WE, UH, DEPLOYED OUR, UH, FOUR BY FOUR UNITS THAT WE HAVE AVAILABLE.
WE HAVE SEVERAL ADMINISTRATIVE VEHICLES THAT ARE FOUR BY FOUR CAPABLE.
WE DEPLOYED THEM THROUGHOUT THE, THE AREA SO THAT WE COULD RESPOND TO, UH, UH, EMERGENCIES THAT OUR AMBULANCE WAS NOT BE ABLE TO RESPOND TO AS THE STORM PROGRESSED.
UH, WE ACTUALLY, UH, AS THE CHIEF MENTIONED, RENO STARTED SEEING A LARGE INCREASE IN CALL VOLUME AND IT, UH, IT WASN'T TRADITIONALLY, AS WE'VE SEEN IN PREVIOUS STORMS OF JUST SLIPS FALLS, UM, TRAFFIC ACCIDENTS AND THINGS LIKE THAT.
WE WERE ACTUALLY SEEING VERY SICK PATIENTS AS TIME WENT ON DUE TO THE LACK OF, UH, DIALYSIS OR EVEN THE METHADONE CLINICS BEING CLOSED.
UM, WE WERE PRESSED INTO SERVICE TO, UH, PROVIDE SOME MEDICATIONS THAT COULD BRIDGE SOME PEOPLE OVER FROM THEIR, UH, MISSING DIALYSIS OR EVEN, UM, UH, PERSONNEL THAT WERE SUFFERING WITHDRAWALS, UM, UH, WITH SOME, UH, BUPRENORPHINE.
SO, UM, WE DID SOME VERY UNUSUAL THINGS TO HELP THOSE THAT WERE MOST IN NEED.
UH, I WOULD ECHO CHIEF RODRIGUEZ COMMENTS THAT OUR STAFF DID AN AMAZING, UH, IF NOT SPECTACULAR JOB WITH EVERYTHING WE COULD, UH, GIVE THEM, UH, WE'RE DOING AN, UH, UH, AN AFTER ACTION REPORT TO SEE WHAT WE, WE DID GOOD AND WHAT WE DID BAD AND WHERE WE COULD IMPROVE IN THE FUTURE.
UM, WE'VE BEEN WORKING, WE'VE GOTTEN FEEDBACK FROM OUR INTERNAL STAFF, UM, OUR SUPERVISORY COMMAND STAFF.
WE'VE WORKED WITH, UM, OFFICE OF THE CHIEF MEDICAL OFFICER, UH, AND WE'LL, UM, PUT TOGETHER AN AFTER ACTION REPORT AND, UM, AND BEGIN TO SEE WHAT WE CAN DO IN THE FUTURE TO MAKE SURE THAT WE, UH, ARE BETTER PREPARED.
[03:20:02]
POLIX ELLISON.UM, THIS ISN'T SPECIFIC FOR EMS. SO SOMEONE ELSE HAS A QUESTION FOR EMS MAYOR PRO TEM.
I CAN NOT RECALL RAISING MY HAND.
UH, CHIEF STOOD TO ALL THREE OF YOU PLEASE CONVEY THE APPRECIATION OF THE CITY TO THE, TO, TO THE RANKS.
UM, I, IT JUST SEEMS LIKE YOU GUYS WERE EVERYWHERE DURING THAT PERIOD OF TIME.
UH, AND, UH, I KNOW THAT EVERYBODY GOT STRESSED, YOU GUYS, AS MUCH AS ANYBODY ELSE, UH, BEING ON THE LINE.
I ALSO WANT TO ADD MY, THANKS TO ALL OF YOUR UNITS AND ALL THE STAFF IN THE CITY, UM, WHO HELPED US NAVIGATE THIS, UM, STORM? UM, I DON'T KNOW, MAYBE THIS IS COVERED SOMEWHERE COUNCIL MEMBER TO-GO, BUT I HAD A QUESTION ON THE FINANCES AND FEMA, UM, AND HOW THAT WAS WORKING, BECAUSE OBVIOUSLY IF WE HAVE ALL OF THESE UNITS, UM, 24, SEVEN EXTRA OVERTIME AND ALL OF THAT, WHICH WAS ABSOLUTELY NECESSARY, UM, THAT IS A POTENTIAL BIG FINANCIAL HIT.
AND I JUST WAS TRYING TO, I WOULD LIKE TO BETTER UNDERSTAND HOW THIS IS APPROACHED WITH RESPECT TO FEMA, UM, AND REIMBURSED.
WELL, WE HAVE ONE WITH, UM, THAT'S AN EXCELLENT QUESTION.
UH, TODAY, UH, WE ONLY HAVE CATEGORY B, WHICH IS EMERGENCY PROTECTIVE MEASURES AS AN ELIGIBLE ITEM THROUGH FEMA.
UH, AND TO DATE, WE HAVE ABOUT $1.8 MILLION IN EXPENSES, UH, THAT, UH, WE'RE WORKING WITH FEMA TO PROCESS.
AND, UH, THAT WOULD BE REIMBURSED AT 75%.
UH, IN ADDITION TO THAT, THERE ARE AN ADDITIONAL ABOUT 7.1 MILLION IN OTHER CATEGORIES OF DAMAGES THAT INCLUDE DEBRIS REMOVAL, UM, BUILT INTO ANY EQUIPMENT UTILITIES AND PARKS AND RECREATION FACILITIES, UH, THAT WE'RE, WE PROVIDED THAT INFORMATION TO THE STATE AND THE STATE IS WORKING WITH FEMA AND, UH, AND IN HOPES THAT THOSE ADDITIONAL CATEGORIES BECOME ELIGIBLE TO THE STATE OF TEXAS AND THEN ELIGIBLE TO, UH, TO THE CITY OF BOSTON AS WELL.
SO WE'RE SO WORKING THROUGH THAT PROCESS, TO THAT RECOVERY PROCESS, BUT ONLY TO DATE RUN OUT, WHAT DO WE HAVE ELIGIBLE IS ABOUT $1.8 MILLION, LIKE I SAID, AT 75% REIMBURSED.
AND IF YOU CAN JUST KEEP US POSTED AS WE LEARN MORE ABOUT THAT, AND IF THERE'S ANYTHING THAT WE CAN DO IN SUPPORT, TALKING WITH OUR DELEGATION, ET CETERA, UM, PLEASE LET US KNOW.
THINK EVERYBODY, INCLUDING THE MARKS OF ANYTHING WE'RE DONE THE LAST FEW MINUTES.
I MEAN, THIS IS A, A CRITICAL CONVERSATION FOR OUR COMMUNITY ABOUT HOW WE TAKE A HISTORIC EVENT LIKE WINTER STORM URI, UH, AND MAKE SURE THAT WE ARE DOING EVERYTHING WE CAN TO TAKE LESSONS FROM IT AND, UH, RESPOND, UH, BETTER IN THE FUTURE.
UH, WE KNOW THAT THERE WERE UNIQUE CIRCUMSTANCES THAT EXISTED HERE, UH, BUT THAT DOESN'T MEAN THAT WE CAN'T BE MORE RESILIENT IN HOW WE APPROACH MORE EVENTS, UH, BECAUSE WE DO KNOW THAT WE'LL BE SEEN MORE, UH, IN OUR FUTURE.
SO I JUST REALLY APPRECIATE THE DISCUSSION AND DIALOGUE TODAY.
A LOT OF THESE COMMENTS WILL BE INCORPORATED INTO OUR AFTER ACTION REPORTS.
UH, WE ARE SETTING UP A Q AND A, UH, UH, OPPORTUNITY, MUCH LIKE WE DO WITH OUR REGULAR COUNCIL MEETINGS.
AND SO, UH, WORKING THROUGH KATIE TO SET UP OUR Q AND A PROCESS SO WE CAN MAKE SURE THAT WE'RE RESPONDING WITH ANYTHING THAT HASN'T BEEN DISCUSSED TODAY, UH, FOR, UH, THE FUTURE.
AND THEN AS YOU, AS YOU MENTIONED, MAYOR SETTING UP A WEBPAGE WHERE ALL THOSE CAN BE CONSOLIDATED INTO ONE, UH, ACCESS POINT FOR THE PUBLIC.
SO THANKS AGAIN FOR THE DISCUSSION.
I'LL JUST END ON THE ACKNOWLEDGEMENT APPRECIATION OF ALL THE STAFF, OUR COMMUNITY, AND THE LEADERSHIP OF THE COUNCIL.
I MEAN, EACH OF YOU PLAYED SUCH A SIGNIFICANT ROLE IN SUPPORTING OUR TEAM AND SUPPORTING OUR COMMUNITY, UH, THROUGH THIS EVENT.
AND HOPEFULLY WE WON'T GO THROUGH SOMETHING LIKE THIS, UH, BUT WE KNOW WE WILL GO THROUGH SOMETHING, UH, SIGNIFICANT IN THE FUTURE AND WE WILL GET THROUGH IT TOGETHER AND WE WILL BE STRONGER AS A RESULT.
[03:25:01]
ONE LAST THING THAT I WAS THINKING WAS SOMETHING ALONG THE LINES OF A PSA, UM, SAID TALK ABOUT SOME OF THOSE THINGS THAT WE DISCUSSED THAT, YOU KNOW, PEOPLE SHOULD JUST KNOW HOW TO DO, YOU KNOW, A REAL COMPREHENSIVE CAMPAIGN, YOU KNOW, STOP, DROP, AND ROLL, CLICK IT OR TICKET, YOU KNOW, THOSE KINDS OF THINGS THAT PEOPLE JUST NEVER FORGET.YOU JUST DO IT OUT OF FORESIGHT.
I JUST WONDER, UM, WHAT, WHAT THAT WOULD LOOK LIKE ON OUR END, UM, AROUND THINGS LIKE, YOU KNOW, NOT BRINGING GRILLS INSIDE, BUT THERE'S A CARBON MONOXIDE RISK.
YOU KNOW, EVERYBODY IN OUR COMMUNITY SHOULD JUST KNOW, YOU CANNOT DO THAT UNDER ANY CIRCUMSTANCES YOU MAKE YOURSELF SICK, YOU COULD DIE IF YOU DO THIS.
AND SO I WONDER WHAT THAT WILL LOOK LIKE FOR US, UM, AS WE, OKAY, THANK YOU.
BRINGING HER TO ASSISTANT MANAGER.
THE LAST REMINDER, UM, THAT PEOPLE CAN SIGN UP.
UM, AGAIN, IF WE CAN ENCOURAGE COMMUNITY MEMBERS OR ORGANIZATIONS OR VOLUNTEERS TO COME SPEAK AT THOSE COMMUNITY TESTS VERSUS MEETINGS, I THINK THAT WILL, THAT WILL REALLY BE A VALUABLE PIECE OF THIS ONGOING CONVERSATION.
AND THEN WISE COLLEAGUES, WE'RE READY TO GO TO THE Q AND A BOARD WITH OTHER THINGS THAT YOU HAVE TO MAKE SURE THE MANAGER, IF THERE IS IN THE AFTER ACTION THERE WITH THAT AT 1131, UH,