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HomeMy WebLinkAboutSeptember2012GRANT COUNTY EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT/DISASTER SERVICES COMMITTEE MEETING GRANT COUNTY LAW ENFORCEMENT CENTER Lancaster WI 53813 September 10, 2012 The Grant County Emergency Management/Disaster Services Committee was called to order September 10, 2012 at 10:00 a.m. by Chairman Larry Wolf. The following members and personnel were present: EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT/DISASTER SERVICES COMMITTEE: Larry Wolf, John Beinborn, John Patcle, Robert Scallon, Vincent Loeffelholz, Patrick Schroeder. Excused: Lester Jantzen GUESTS: Steve Braun, Emergency Government, Sheriff Nate Dreckman, Grant County Sheriff’s Department, Chief Deputy Jack Johnson, Grant County Sheriff’s Department, Captain Anthony Sheckles, Grant County Sheriff’s Department, Grant County Coroner Ron Sturmer, Kelly Bird, Grant County Sheriff’s Department, David Timmerman, Media Representative, Ken Cerney, Blue River citizen, Julie Loeffelholz, Recording Secretary. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Meeting was called to order by Chairman Larry Wolf. Steve Braun verified the agenda has been posted by the County Clerk at the Administration Building, Courthouse, and also on the county Website. Vince, second by Bob, motioned to approve the agenda as mailed. The minutes were approved in a motion by Larry and seconded by Vince. All above motions carried. Old Business: Hazard Mitigation Update. Steve asked the committee members if they had any feedback or suggestions from the draft copies that were mailed to their homes. GCEM will be working more on public awareness. Other county departments have been tasked with things they can do to reduce the risk to citizens and property including zoning and tie downs in mobile home parks. Motion by Bob to send the plan to the full county board once it has been approved by WEM and FEMA. Motion carried. There is no new news regarding the recent AFG applications grants submitted by GCEM. New Business: Director’s Monthly Report: Steve spoke about the tornado which destroyed a farming operation and home outside of Patch Grove. The tornado was very intense and did not move far, only affecting one farm. The NWS has determined that the tornado was an EF 2. No one wa s injured as the residents were not home at the time. It was captured in several videos and photographs. Steve noted that bids are soon due for the new county-wide paging system. Steve has taken vendors out to the various tower sites to conduct surveys and has been answering technical questions as proposals are developed. Steve noted that there was a recent lighting strike that took out the paging system, and all of our "spare parts" were used to get the system back into service. Steve made the decision to not order any more replacement components to keep on hand, due to the cost and the fact that the system will be replaced in the coming months. This does, however, leave us somewhat vulnerable to disruptions. There is a backup system in place if the primary paging system would fail. Grants: No other grants are being considered at this time. Steve noted that the Village of Potosi would be receiving approximately$175,000 to repair and upgrade their sanitary sewer system. Damage was found that was a ttributed to the flooding of July 2010, and an appeal for additional funds was submitted to FEMA. 2013 Budget: Steve presented the 2013 budget proposal to the committee. Steve was able to decrease expenses in 3 areas. Additionally, State aid increased a small amount, providing additional funding to support the EM program. As the committee has discussed in prior years, the previous EMPG and LEPC carryover monies that we had chosen to draw from in past years have been depleted, which left a greater increase in the county dollars. Steve noted that at the time those decisions were made, the committee's feeling was that we should draw from savings rather than ask for additional county dollars, with the realization and general agreement that eventually t he funding would run out and we would be faced with a larger than average shortfall. The proposed department budget requested an increase of $10,061 in county funding. Pat Schroeder stated that he felt the department should come in with a zero percent increase in the budget, and suggested that the department may need to cut a position to make that happen. Pat made a motion to send the budget back to Steve and require a zero percent increase. The motion was seconded by Bob Scallon. Much discussion took place. Steve pointed out that on average, over the past ten years the emergency management department has brought an average of $1.3 Million per year in federal and state funding into Grant County, directly to benefit Grant County Taxpayers. With a propo sed county cost of $87,000 for the entire emergency management program, Steve felt this was an amazing return on a relatively small investment. Pat discussed the idea of charging individual communities for writing grants. Steve stated that idea had been discussed before and he did not support it for a number of reasons. Steve felt that although it would raise funds for the county, it would have a negative impact on Grant County's taxpayers since communities may choose to not write for as many grants, or may choose to do so without the guidance of the department and may not be as successful. Steve also felt it would be difficult to reach an equitable way to track and charge for services. Pat again reiterated that departments need to come in with a 0 -1% increase and that Steve would have to do that even if it meant cutting a position. Steve told the committee that one option to raise the $10,000 would be to sell a surplus boat that the department has. He noted that he was reluctant to do so, since funds from surplus property are currently set aside to offset the expense of obtaining and maintaining new federal surplus items. However, it was an option that the committee could choose in order to raise the $10,000 to fill the budget gap. Discussion followed. Larry called the question and the motion was reiterated. Motion Carried with Larry voting no. The consensus was that in order to meet the zero percent increase, $10,000 would be added to the budgeted revenue to account for the sale of th e boat. Public Forum: Ken Cerney attended the meeting. He informed the committee and staff that he was available to provide various trainings related to bombing incidents if we were interested in working with him. Steve will meet with him following the meeting. Motion to approve bills by Vince, second by Bob. Motion Carried. Motion by John B, second by Bob to adjourn the meeting until October 08, 2012 at 10:00 a.m. in the lower level of the Law Enforcement Center. Respectfully Submitted: Julie G. Loeffelholz Recording Secretary