HomeMy WebLinkAbout2012 05 30 CC MIN SS f
MINUTES
BALDWIN PARK CITY COUNCIL SPECIAL MEETING /STUDY SESSION
MAY 30, 2012, 6:00 P.M.
• COUNCIL CHAMBER - 14403 E. Pacific Avenue, Baldwin Park, 91706
CALL TO ORDER
The meeting was called to order at 6:04 p.m. by Mayor Lozano.
ANNOUNCEMENTS
Mayor Lozano announced that there was no quorum of the City of Baldwin Park City Council,
however, the purpose of this joint meeting of agencies is to bring all of the water agencies to
discuss what emergency response policies and procedures are in place, and the methods used
to alert the community in the event of an emergency shut down of wells in the San Gabriel
Valley.
PRESENT:
Mayor Manuel Lozano
Mayor Pro Tern Susan Rubio
ABSENT:
Councilmember Marlen Garcia
Councilmember Monica Garcia
Councilmember Ricardo Pacheco
ALSO PRESENT:
• City Clerk Alejandra Avila
Chief Executive Officer Vijay Singhal
Community Development Manager Marc Castagnola
City Planner Amy Harbin
AGENCIES AND REPRESENTATIVES PRESENT:
• Upper San Gabriel Valley Municipal Water District
Reymundo Trejo
Brian Urias
• San Gabriel Valley Water Company
Bob Nicholson
Neil Barrera
Frank Latuda
Dan Arrighi
• Valley County Water District
Linda Noriega
Tom Mortensen
Johnathan Contrero
Mariana Lake
• Valley View Mutual Water District
None
Page 1 of 4
• PUBLIC COMMUNICATIONS
Mayor Lozano opened Public Communications at 6:10 p.m.
Greg Tuttle, Baldwin Park business owner, opined that there should be safety features and
warning about contamination of water in the community; stated that there was very little
information disseminated to the community and that citizens were not made aware of the areas
or extend of the contamination; suggested that some kind of emergency notification should be
implemented to warn when there is a public hazard; also suggested installing fail-safe filters or
valves to prevent contamination.
Evelyn Reyes, Field Representative for Congresswoman Grace Napolitano, speaking on behalf
of the Congresswoman Napolitano, noted that the Congresswoman is a ranking member of the
Water and Power Subcommittee under the Natural Resources Committee in Washington, D.C.;
conveyed the Congresswoman's concern that she was not notified of the event until several
days later when she met with Kaiser Hospital staff who mentioned the water shut off; expressed
great concern for the health and safety of the community.
Seeing no others wishing to speak, Public Communications closed at 6:17 p.m.
OPEN SESSION/STUDY SESSION
1. STUDY SESSION TO DISCUSS CURRENT POLICIES AND PROCEDURES IN PLACE
AT THE WATER DISTRICTS/PROVIDERS TO NOTIFY BALDWIN PARK RESIDENTS IN
CASE OF EMERGENCIES. ALSO, DISCUSS AND EXPLORE POTENTIAL OPTION TO
• IMPROVE THE NOTIFICATION PROCESS.
Bob Nicholson, president of San Gabriel Valley Water Company (SGVWC), narrated a
PowerPoint presentation in which he gave an overview of the company, explained the recent
contamination incident and how the water company attempted to provide notification to the
community; noted that he had spoken to staff with the Los Angeles County Health Department
and was told that the level of contaminant in the water was relatively low and to refrain from
causing public panic with its notification; stated that the local media was notified, notices were
posted in various locations and on the SGVWC website, pointing out that the dissemination of
information was in compliance with the state regulations and codes; noted that some of the
challenges with notification included the boundaries of the service area. Following his
presentation, Mr. Nicholson responded to questions from Council.
Mayor Lozano inquired as to who Mr. Nicholson spoke to at the County Health District; also
inquired about the threshold of contaminants in the water that would be deemed acceptable for
human consumption.
Mayor Pro Tem Rubio pointed out that the regional school districts have a very effective
notification system and suggested that SVGWC look into either developing a system of their
own or perhaps partnering with the local agencies to provide notifications when an emergency
arises.
Greg Tuttle, Baldwin Park business owner, pointed out that posting notices on the SGVWC
website is presuming that everyone has a computer, which is not the case in this community;
also noted that a person would have to be notified of the event to even know or conceive going
to the website to look at notifications; voiced concern about the fact that the notification came
• out well after the contamination was discovered and that the accuracy of information provided
Page 2 of 4
by the media is questionable; stated that SVGWC should already have an emergency response
protocol rather than a knee-jerk reactive response.
• Cruz Baca, Baldwin Park resident, noted that she lives in an area where a great number of
senior citizens live and that she was greatly concerned about the lack of communication with the
community; stated that she went into her neighborhood, house to house, to advise her
neighbors that the was a warning not to consume or boil water from the tap; also stated that she
volunteered to bring bottled water those neighbors in need; asked what the community to do to
assist and cooperate in the event of a community emergency.
Mayor Lozano stressed the importance of all the agencies coming together to develop some
kind of cooperative emergency response procedure; noted that again that Valley View Mutual
Water District (VVMWD) was not in attendance at this meeting and directed staff to send a letter
seeking information as to what their emergency response procedures are; voiced discontent
with their lack of representation at this meeting.
Brenda Honevmiller, representative with Office of the Civil Defense and Disaster Management,
serving Pomona and San Gabriel Valleys; stated that she was in contact with several area
officials to discuss the event; noted that she had reached out to several County offices and
departments to put them on standby to insure immediate response if the situation escalated;
pointed to "Alert L.A.," a volunteer notification system that can be used to provide notice in the
case of an emergency but that the guidelines are very strict as to what is considered an
emergency (essentially limited to life-threatening situations) and this particular event did not
qualify.
Mayor Lozano and Mayor Pro Tem Rubio thanked Ms. Honeymiller for this information and
noted that it provided a great deal of insight into how such a situation would be handled at the
higher levels; noted that this knowledge will be helpful in determining how to plan for potential
future events; acknowledged Daniel Rodriguez, the City's Disaster Coordinator and his work
• with the police and fire departments.
Daniel Rodriquez, Emergency Coordinator for the City of Baldwin Park, noted that the citizens
emergency response training program, which is co-hosted with the City of Covina, currently has
52 attendees participating in training and additional courses will be offered in Spanish at the end
of the year; noted that there was a lot of behind-the-scenes communications and, in the event
that the emergency response center needed to be activated, it would have been operational
quickly and smoothly.
Linda Norieqa, Manager of the Valley County Water District, noted that VCWD is a public entity
but follows the same regulations and procedures as private water companies; noted that there is
an emergency response protocol in place and can be applied at a very localized level but is also
suitable for application at a regional level.
Tom Mortensen, also with the Valley County Water District, added that cooperative response is
a part of their program but that they must also follow direction from higher level agencies such
as the County Health Department as was the case in this situation.
Greg Tuttle suggested that Council obtain copies of the emergency preparedness documents
from each of the water districts so that the City is aware of each agency's protocol.
Brian Urias, with the Upper San Gabriel Valley Municipal Water District, stated that USGVMWD
hold monthly emergency response meetings to insure that managers throughout the district are
kept up to date of protocols; noted that they have an emergency response plan in place but that,
because they are a wholesale water provider, they are not necessarily involved at the same
level as many of the other agencies in the area.
• Terri Muse pointed out that, while most all of the agencies have an emergency plan in place, the
issue is more about the notification to the community; suggested that local agencies that really
Page 3 of 4
know the community (City, School District, Fire and Police Departments, Utilities) collaborate to
develop an effective notification process; the biggest issue here is that the community feels it
was not provided any information or notification until after the fact.
• Al Contreras stated that identifying the problem is the first step and notification should follow;
suggested that there should be fail-stops in place to shut off inflow/outflow to contain any
problems that exist; pointed out that, if a problem area is isolated then the notification can also
be isolated to only those areas that are effected; opined his confident that any one of the
agencies would be willing to step up and provide notification services if necessary.
Mayor Lozano expressed concern because the community was under the impression that the
contamination affected the entire city and not in a particular region; suggested that another
meeting be set in six months to review what changes have been implemented and what
additional changes could be implemented to improve communications.
Mayor Pro Tern Rubio echoed Mayor Lozano's comments in that she received several calls
from constituents who were concerned about the contamination and that the agencies need to
improve communications amongst themselves and among the other agencies such as the City
and the School District.
Ms. Norieqa stated that, because the boundaries of the various water providers are jagged at
best, many people do not know which provider they should contact to obtain additional
information.
Mr. Nicholas, in response to a question from Mayor Lozano, explained that there are many
points of entry for water flowing through a broad range of pipeline; noted that, at the time of the
contamination, the source for users was cut off, water was still flowing through the pipeline in
order to flush the contaminants out.
Mr. Urias noted that because his agency is smaller than the others in the area, he expressed
• hope that all agencies would work cooperatively to provide notification and containment rather
than leaving any individual agency responsible for handling all of it independently; noted that
collaboration is the best way to go.
Mayor Lozano and Mayor Pro Tem Rubio extended a thanks to all of the agencies for attending
this meeting and for providing valuable information not only to Council but to each other;
suggested that contact information should be shared amongst all agencies; suggested providing
a map that outlines the service areas for all of the different water agencies.
ADJOURNMENT
There being no further business, Mayor Lozano concluded the meeting a p.m.
1 �
ATTEST:
City Clerk
APPROVED: 5/4, /I S
•
Page 4 of 4