Public Works Debriefing post IEMC exercise

Emmitsburg, Maryland

December 6 to 10, 2004

Public Works staff who attended the IEMC (Integrated Emergency Management Course) in Emmitsburg, Maryland, met on December 15, 2004 for a debriefing of emergency response operations and lessons learned.  Representatives were present from the Douglas County Public Works Department as well.  The training provided a good opportunity to refine our response plans and skills.  Below are listed the relevant points of discussion.

1. Mutual aid agreements:  (county / MARC)

The Public Works Department has provided assistance to other communities in times of disaster and received offers of assistance from other communities during our response situations.  To date, we have not formalized relationships on the conditions of assistance. 

Ø Action item: Formulate Mutual Aid Agreements between the City of Lawrence Public Works Department and the Douglas County Public Works Department.  Consider relationship to other cities in Douglas County and whether mutual aid agreements would be beneficial with each one individually or simply work through the County.

Ø Action item: Research opportunities to participate in the mutual aid agreements facilitated by the Mid-America Regional Council for communities in the metropolitan area.

2. Equipment for emergency response 

The department cannot provide all equipment that might be needed in the event of any disaster (worst case scenario).  However, we do need to plan for the more likely scenario requirements of emergency response.  Equipment needs can be addressed through acquisition or by making contractual arrangements to provide necessary equipment on a priority basis.  

Ø Action item:  Review equipment availability and needs.  Determine what is appropriate to have within our fleet and what is more cost effective to rent during response operations.

Ø Action item:  Develop contracts with construction contractors who may have heavy equipment valuable during emergency response (e.g., RD Johnson, LRM, Hamm’s).  Contracts should be based on a prevailing non-emergency rate basis for equipment and operators and address the priority that will be given to emergency response needs of the City or County.

3. Training

The IEMC training highlighted the need for additional training with a wider cross section of managers and staff.  Training needs identified are outlined under the action item.

Ø Action item:  Annual review of the departments response plan with all employees.  This is the responsibility of division managers and supervisors on an on-going basis.

Ø Action item:  Incident Command System (ICS) training for all Public Works managers and supervisors in both the City and the County.

Ø Action item:  Public Works table top exercise that will include both City and County personnel, coordinated through Emergency Management. 

4. Miscellaneous issues

Coordination between the City and County departments will be critical for successful response in any large scale event response.  Coordination issues will be greatly facilitated by joint training and on-going communication for emergency response.  Other issues that could be addressed:

o Secondary source of fuel for County equipment.  This is a County action item, but the City may be able to provide assistance in fueling vehicles through a by-pass mechanism in emergency situations. 

o Review advisability of contracting snow removal at the airport.