JULY 27, 2006

ATTENDANCE: Rev. Phylis Bolden, Chair; William Krummel

STAFF: Michael Dolhancryk, Director Emergency Management

GUESTS: Diane Lauricella, League of Women Voters; Kevin Poruban, Common Council; Deputy Chief Laurence Rilley, NFD

CALL TO ORDER

Rev. Bolden opened the meeting, noting that they did not have a quorum, and therefore no votes could be taken.

Rev. Bolden said that Ms. Lauricella, representing the League of Women Voters asked to address the Committee. Ms. Lauricella was granted permission to address the committee.

Ms. Lauricella explained that she was recently elected President of the League of Women Voters. She said that they hope to engage the Common Council, all of the committee chairs and the Personnel Director about their mission and how the League can help.

The League of Women Voters will lobby to change the title and job duties of the Director of Emergency Management. If that is not feasible, they suggest changing the title.

Ms. Lauricella talked about a recent Health Department violation given to a Ms. Lindstrom because of the tall grasses in her yard. She said that she tried to get a meeting with Tom Closter. She said that she will be pursuing the misinformation that has been put out to the public. Ms. Lauricella said that that is a healthy lawn and it is not true that mosquitoes breed in tall grasses. The Health Inspector needs to be sure he has the correct facts.

Ms. Lauricella said that she will ask Mr. Grant, chairman of the Personnel Committee to allow the League of Women Voters to be on the selection committee for a new Personnel Director.

Mr. Krummel asked Ms. Lauricella how she would characterized the flora he read about in the newspaper in respect to the rest of the City. She said that there are no wetlands on that street. Mr. Dolhancryk said that the Health Inspectors can’t be everywhere, and respond to complaints that come into their office.

Ms. Lauricella said that they are currently in a fact finding stage.

In response to Ms. Lauricella’s suggestion about changing the Director’s title, Mr. Dolhancryk said that it is a good title. The Mayor is the Commander and this position reports to the Mayor.

Mr. Dolhancryk said that Norwalk has the finest responders he has ever seen. They will have an exercise in October. He described the scenarios that will take place in the exercise.

Mr. Poruban pointed out that when he has toured various areas, he has noticed that there are natural areas with higher grasses. He asked if the idea was to cut down on the use of pesticides and if that is the case at Ms. Lindstrom’s home. Ms. Lauricella said that she has not seen the site, but the League of Women Voters will be seeking co-sponsorship to hold a forum to inform people about natural grasses.

Ms. Lauricella said that she has spoken with Mr. Moccaie in the past about plantings and how to have a different way of looking at lawns. She said that it is possible to have more natural lawns without the fear of harboring vermin and insects.

Mr. Poruban asked Ms. Lindstrom if she has had a conversation with the neighborhood association about this. She said she has not, but they will meet in two weeks.

APPROVAL OF MINUTES – JUNE 22, 2006

There was no discussion on this item.

CHAIRPERSON’S REPORT

Rev. Bolden thanked the Committee for their support and said that she was happy to have Mr. Poruban back. She said that she missed Rev. Olmstead-Sawyer and hopes that they can keep this Committee going forward and make a wonderful difference in the City.

Rev. Bolden said that she hoped everyone would bring their ideas to the Committee and welcomed any suggestions.

EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT

AUTHORIZE A SOLE SOURCE PURCHASE ORDER TO COMMAND SCHOOL TO CONDUCT TWO – ONE DAY INCIDENT COMMAND TRAINING SESSIONS FRO POLICE, FIRE AND OTHER OPERATIONAL AGENCIES ON AUGUST 29TH AND 30TH . FUNDS TO BE DRAWN ON HOMELAND SECURITY GRANT ACCOUNTS

Although there was no quorum present, the item could be sent, through the Chair to the Common Council.

Mr. Dolhancryk said that explained the item and said that last month they modified the incident command system to show the various departments what their roles would be during a major emergency. Mr. Krummel said that according to the City Charter, the President of the Common Council succeeds the Mayor.

AUTHORIZE THE MAYOR TO TAKE ALL NECESSARY STEPS TO APPLY FOR AND CONTINUE EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT PROGRAM GRANTS FOR 2006-2007

Mr. Dolhancryk said that he submitted the payroll stubs to the State for reimbursement to the Department.

This item was sent to the full Common Council.

CONSIDER A STREET LIGHTING REQUEST AT OAKWOOD AVENUE AND THE ENTRANCE TO SILVERMINE CONDO’S AND SCHEDULE A PUBLIC HEARING FOR IT

Mr. Dolhancryk said that he understood that this item has been reviewed by the Police Commission and the DPW. It is now up to this Committee to hold a public hearing.

It was agreed that a public hearing will be scheduled for the August 24, 2006 at 7:30 p.m.

TECHNICAL CORRECTION TO A PREVIOUS ACTION TO PURCHASE A NEW PUMPER

Mr. Dolhancryk explained that this is a technical correction. The name of the vendor should be, Marion Body Works, 211 West Ramsdell, Marion, WI 54950

FIRE DEPARTMENT REQUEST TO ISSUE A PURCHASE ORDER FOR A BREATHING APPARATUS COMPRESSOR

Chief Reilley said that this was a request to purchase an air compressor. Shipman was the lowest bidder who met their bid specifications. Rev. Bolden asked if this equipment is compatible with the existing equipment and Chief Reilley said that it was.

Mr. Poruban asked if other stations would be able to fill their bottles from the compressor during an emergency. Chief Reilley said that they would be able to.

OTHER BUSINESS

EMERGENCY OPERATIONS PLAN – JULY 1, 2006

Mr. Dolhancryk explained that in everyone’s packet there is a copy of the “Town and City of Norwalk, Connecticut emergency Operations Plan”, dated July 1, 2006. He said that the major disappointment is that the State plan is very generic and will not be of much use. The Faith based local organizations will be the ones to make the difference.

During an emergency, I-95, the Merritt Parkway and Route 1 will shut down fast and they need to be prepared to care for the local residents.

Mr. Dolhancryk said that he worries about the senior citizens who have no one watching out for them. He added that if they can get the City staff to understand that during an emergency it will not be “business as usual”, they will be ahead of the game.

The Committee reviewed and discussed the document.

Mr. Dolhancryk said that he will distribute sections of the document to the relevant departments and ask for their suggestions.

The document will be kept at the Emergency Dispatch Center and will be updated as needed.

The fiber optics system will allow the city wide emergency system to function.

Mr. Krummel said that the Committee members present this evening requested that Mr. Dolhancryk, as Director of Emergency Management, ensure that special attention be given to those economically disadvantaged citizens during an evacuation plan.

Mr. Dolhancryk said that the State has identified their mass evacuation centers that would be pre-set to accommodate 25,000 people. The plans call for Norwalk High School and Brien McMahon High School as the prime shelters.

Mr. Krummel said that he believed that during an emergency, the Emergency Operations manager would have the authority to request supplies from local retailers. Mr. Dolhancryk said that would happen by order of the Mayor. He added that on the Mayor’s order, they could turn hotels into shelters.

Since Hurricane Katrina, the Red Cross will support Churches if they want to open their doors as a shelter. The State has agreed to let the Red Cross use the Norwalk Armory as a shelter. Mr. Dolhancryk pointed out that it is a lot easier to support one shelter than several placed throughout the City.

The Committee discussed the emergency alert system. Mr. Dolhancryk described the way the reverse emergency 911 notification system works. He said that they no longer use sirens; people are notified by telephone. Mr. Poruban said that a lot of people no longer use traditional land-line telephones. Mr. Dolhancryk said that the reverse 911 system will send messages out to cell numbers and e-mail addresses; it depends upon how people want to be notified. Mr. Dolhancryk said that every citizen can fill out a form to provide their specific contact information. He said that all phone lines have a 911 data base.

Mr. Poruban asked about people without electronic means. Mr. Dolhancryk said that some people will fall through the cracks. It is important for people to check on those neighbors.

Rev. Bolden said that in the event of no power, many people will not be able to receive a call. She said that during the 1940’s there were Civil Defense programs. Rev. Bolden said that there should always be manual means of communications.

Mr. Dolhancryk said that that would be up to the Police and Fire Departments to go up and down the streets will bullhorns providing information to the residents. Mr. Poruban said that would not be a good use of resources, because they will be needed to handle crowd control. He said that if he had to choose, he would prefer the use of a manual-audible alarm.

Mr. Krummel requested that Mr. Callahan attend the next meeting to address the issue of the grass at Ms. Lindstrom’s home. He asked to have that item placed on the next agenda. Mr. Krummel said that he was upset with the comment made by Mr. Capuano and that he wants a City that functions fairly.

Mr. Poruban asked Chief Reilley about the fire hydrants in the northern section of Norwalk. He said that he had asked the prior Chiefs several times if they saw the need for a tanker truck. Chief Reilley said that it was not a good use of resources. They have an agreement to use the trucks from the surrounding towns.

There was no further business and the meeting was unanimously adjourned at 9:25 p.m.

Respectfully submitted,

Rosemarie Lombardi
Telesco Secretarial Services

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