HomeMy WebLinkAbout2008.06.20 CC Minutes - Debriefing at Washington CountyMINUTES FOR THE JUNE 20, 2008 HUGO TORNADO DISASTER DEBRIEFING AT
WASHINGTON COUNTY
The meeting was called to order at 9:00 a.m. by Deb Paige, Emergency Management Director for
Washington County
PRESENT: Haas, Petryk, Miron
ABSENT: Granger, Puleo
ALSO PRESENT: City Administrator Mike Ericson, Community Development Director Bryan Bear,
Public Works Director Chris Petree, Senior Engineering Technician Scott Anderson, Disaster
Recovery Coordinator Nate Ehalt, and State and County Officials and Agency Representatives
Deb Paige presented the after action report and stated the meeting was not intended to critique but to
focus on tasks and goals to improve on for future disasters.
Ground rules were that only one person talk at a time.
Many good things came out of Hugo similar to the I -35W bridge disaster. Discussion was to be about
what and why, not who.
A staging officer was needed. Jim Compton was the incident commander, Kevin Covard was safety
officer and communications officer.
There is a need for after -hour phone numbers in the Emergency Management Plan employee lists.
Activation, notification, staffing, deactivation and coordination of response were topics that need to be
addressed.
More radios needed in the first 24 hours.
Emergency operations center defined and/or official location to be defined. Meetings are one piece of
the effort.
MPCA official was critical that no official EOC was staged with flags and signs.
NIMS training was important — use command structure.
Address life safety issues first, then implement NIMS structure and organization.
8:00 a.m. briefing on Monday, May 26 with all agencies and organizations was huge.
North Ambulance was critical of number of ambulances empty with out crews
Update employees annually
Separation and removal of refuse debris was excellent — Lowell from County
Define roles of City Council Members versus Mayor and roles of all elected officials.
Good that there was a lack of egos in cleanup.
Residents were back in their homes ASAP- 1:00 p.m. the next day. Thanks to U.S. Senator Norm
Coleman's site visit with Mayor Fran Miron
Everyone liked the credentialing of homeowners and contractors.
Honesty and integrity of City employees was great.
Technology needs require money from County, State, Federal with budget for 800 megahertz.
MDT's in command cars would have been helpful.
GIS maps of neighborhood needed to be given to police and to volunteer agencies ASAP, not just
firefighters.
Saturday Volunteer cleanup day went extremely well. The City needed the days to prepare for the
event.
Molly O -Rourke has 20 items to improve on in the area of public information officer duties.
American Red Cross role- what are we good at and what can we improve on.
On line courses for NIMS are important training.
There are Washington County training opportunity next year in Washington D.C. at the National
Disaster Preparedness Center.
The meeting was adjourned at noon.
Respectfully Submitted,
Michael A. Ericson
City Administrator