CC PACKET 04061999 - Laserfiche WebLink

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l MEMORANDUM To: Michael Mornson, City Manager From: Kim Moore-Sykes,Management Assistant Date: April 6,1999 Subject: Y2k Contingency Plan We met to discuss a contingency plan in the event Y2k has more of an impact on the community of St. Anthony. Many of the team members felt that without some direction from the Council about the level of preparedness they desire and an allocation of funding needed for the desired level of preparedness, preparing a contingency plan is premature. Currently, the City has an emergency preparedness plan in the event of a disaster and it was felt that at this time, that plan is adequate and addresses many of the issues associated with the City's response to an emergency. The consensus of the City Council at the February worksession as we understood it, was that the emergency preparedness plan would be implemented if needed. Jay Hartman indicated that the Public Works has one generator and is able to rent additional generators that can power the City Hall/Community Center, the wells and the lift stations. If the City Council felt it was necessary, he would be able to rent or purchase additional generators for other facilities, such as the High School. Chief Johnson indicated that the school buildings will have to be wired to protect them from sudden power surges that will result when the power is reconnected. If not, the electrical wiring is in danger of being destroyed Hartman reported that while the generators will provide lights and power to the City Hall, they will not provide power for heat. The City Hall boilers are powered by natural gas. At the various NSP information sessions on Y2k,the topic of generators does come up. Each time,the NSP representative states that he would not recommend customers purchase generators for use in the event of any power outages unless the customer understands that the generator needs to be connected by an electrician because of the danger of fire and/or electrocution. NSP also cautions that in the event a power outage would last more than several hours,the customer needs a safe place to store the fuel so that it doesn't ignite or explode,which may also cause damage or harm to the neighboring properties. There seems to be a whole host of problems and cautions associated with residents using a generator and the Fire Chief agreed. Members of the Y2k Team agreed that at this point, educating of the Community about Y2k is as important as preparing a contingency plan. Chief Engstrom reported that this is easily done because the Community Policing and Neighborhood Watch programs are mechanisms that are • already in place to organize neighborhoods. He suggested that we set up neighborhood meeting dates and assign Team members and Councilmembers to attend each meeting. He likened them to round table discussions whereby Staff and Council listen to resident fears, concerns and