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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