Special City Commission Meeting

City of Deltona 2345 Providence Blvd. Deltona, FL 32725 Minutes Special City Commission Meeting Thursday, August 29, 2019 5:30 PM Deltona Commission Chambers HURRICANE PREPAREDNESS EMERGENCY BRIEFING 1. CALL TO ORDER: The meeting was called to order at 5:30 p.m. by Mayor Herzberg. 2. ROLL CALL – CITY CLERK: Present: 9 - Commissioner Avila-Vazquez Commissioner Bradford Commissioner King Commissioner McFall Commissioner Nabicht Vice Mayor Ramos Mayor Herzberg City Manager Shang City Attorney 3. PLEDGE TO THE FLAG: Mayor Herzberg led everyone in the pledge to the flag. 4. BUSINESS: A. Briefing on the disaster preparedness plan and Declaration of State of Emergency. Update and current plans for Hurricane Dorian. Mayor Herzberg stated Volusia County declared a state of emergency at 4:00 p.m. Fire Chief Snyder gave a brief update on Hurricane Dorian based on his phone conference with Volusia County today at 3:00 p.m. Forecasts have Dorian moving toward the East coast of Florida with tropical storm force winds hitting some time Sunday morning. Although he has no information from the 5:00 p.m. briefing it is his understanding that the information is not that different from the 3:00 p.m. briefing. Dorian is projected to make landfall Monday morning around Stuart as a Category 4 Hurricane and it is projected to slow down as it reached Florida. The models are fluid and the storm is projected to grow about 240 miles wide. Tomorrow a decision will be made whether to open shelters and Deltona's possible shelters would be located at Galaxy Middle (special needs), Pride Elementary (special City of Deltona Page 1 Printed on 9/7/2019 Special City Commission Meeting Minutes August 29, 2019 needs) and Pine Ridge High (pet friendly) Schools. Also, the Volusia County Fairgrounds is a possible pet friendly shelter. Special needs residents either have their own care or go to a special needs shelter, however, the resident should register at snr@floridadisaster.org before the storm hits. If the resident is unable to register they should go to a special needs shelter where all their information will be taken. Special needs shelters are not for those residents on 24 hour care, dialysis, bed ridden, ventilators, specialized wound care or need that higher level of specialized care. Those with higher level specialized care should get with their primary physicians who will find a bed in a local hospital or a local care facility for them. The City is preparing for the worst and hoping for the best and staff is securing all City facilities, readying equipment, stocking up on supplies, planning for increased staff needs, topping off fuel tanks, prepping generators and pumps, and maximizing the capacity of the City's RIB (Rapid Infiltration Basin) sites. Sandbags are now available at Dewey O. Boster, Festival Park and Lake Butler until 8:00 p.m. tonight and from 8:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m. on Friday and Saturday. There is a limit of 10 sandbags per Deltona resident and identification will be needed. There is a special needs list and tomorrow and Saturday staff will call everyone on the list to make sure they are okay. Lastly, tomorrow the EOC (Emergency Operations Center) will be set up at City Hall, Commissioner Avila-Vazquez asked for the special needs registration website and Fire Chief Snyder replied it is snr@floridadisaster.org and the phone number for the west volusia area is (386) 423-3395. Commissioner Bradford asked how the elderly and disabled can get sandbags and Fire Chief Snyder replied hopefully those residents can get assistance from family members and staff could help, but it will depend on the number of residents needing that help and they would call the non-emergency line. Commissioner Bradford asked in what winds does the Fire Department stop performing rescues and Fire Chief Snyder replied at sustained winds of 45 mph (miles per hour). Commissioner Bradford cautioned residents who are taking in other residents during the storm. Mayor Herzberg left the meeting at 6:15 p.m. and returned at 6:15 p.m. Commissioner Nabicht asked for any advise post storm and Fire Chief Snyder replied that post storm staff wants everyone to stay inside their house and not roam the streets because it is hazardous to do so immediately after a storm and he listed several different scenarios. Commissioner Nabicht explained that gas cans should be stored away from the permanent structure in case of a fire and advised everyone to be extra cautious. He urged everyone to stay tuned to whatever form of communication devise is working to get post storm information. Fire Chief Snyder suggested residents to go to the Fire Department's Emergency Management tab of the City's webpage for all kinds of tips and advise for storm preparedness and a link to Volusia County's special needs registration. Commissioner Avila-Vazquez advised that residents not leave trash cans, barbeque grills City of Deltona Page 2 Printed on 9/7/2019 Special City Commission Meeting Minutes August 29, 2019 and other items outside and when going to get sandbags to bring help and a shovel if possible because staff is limited. Mayor Herzberg suggested residents contact Code Enforcement for debris that is left out so it can be noticed. Sheriff Chitwood during the briefing stated that bridges will be shut down when sustained winds get to 39 mph and that he has two water rescue vehicles if needed. Public Works/Deltona Water Director John Peters stated today a third sandbag location was added as a relief point which opened at 11:30 a.m. instead of Noon due to the long lines that had formed. As of 5:15 p.m. his department has given out 10,500 sandbags, generally in the the department has given out 40,000 and there is 73,000 bags are available. On Wednesday staff started prefilling sandbags and was able to fill up approximately 1,500 bags prior to opening up today. For the future in June staff will start prefilling sandbags, place them on pallets and hopefully speed up the process. He thanked the City Manager and Assistant City Manager for their support to the department, the VCSO (Volusia County Sheriff's Office) for helping out with traffic control and most importantly his staff who are an incredible group of people. People tend to focus on when a hurricane will make landfall, but they have to remember that tropical force winds are typically 50 to 150 miles out in front and people should get off the roads in those conditions. He urged residents to listen for the words "tropical force winds" because that is when things will start to shut down. Commissioner Bradford asked what the flooding concerns where and what was being done to be proactive. Mr. Peters replied shutters are being put up at City facilities and all generators have been checked except City Hall's which will be done tomorrow. From an operational standpoint the customer service staff printed out the next two cycles of water bills and the first cycle went out today and the second will go out tomorrow. People have been put back on water if they had been disconnected until the event is over and customers with a balance have been differed. Staff has already cleaned inlets/pipes especially in key areas where there may be problems and their operational protocol has been changed with regards to the Alexander RIB site. Arrangements have been made for reclaimed water to go to another location and staff is working to get full capacity at the Alexander RIB site in anticipation of the storm. Staff has looked at the City's major bodies of water, the outfalls are cleaned up and with regards to Lake Gleason the outfall is clean, ready and water levels are down. Commissioner Bradford asked if there was a number residents could call regarding flooding and are there any previsions in place to offer ice and water to the residents. Mr. Peters replied residents would call the customer service line at (386) 878-8950 and his department does not have a program to offer ice and water to residents. Fire Chief Snyder stated that the emergency management focus has changed over the years. In the past there were "pods" where residents could get those resources, but now the goal is to get the local businesses back up and running as soon as possible and also, governments do not generally do that stuff. Commissioner Avila-Vazquez urged residents to assist the City and volunteer to help with City of Deltona Page 3 Printed on 9/7/2019 Special City Commission Meeting Minutes August 29, 2019 sandbags. Commissioner Nabicht stated in the past the City has utilized students from the local schools to help with sandbags and he suggested Ruben Colon, District 5 School Board Representative, reach out to the Principals for their participation to prefill sandbags. Mr. Peters replied that is an excellent suggestion and he will make the call in the morning. Commissioner Nabicht asked what the community can expect post storm in terms of debris removal and Mr. Peters replied there is a four step process. First staff clears the roads and pushes debris out of the roads. The contracts for the debris removal company and for the debris management site have been approved, signed and both have been notified. He explained that documentation process for FEMA (Federal Emergency Management Agency). Commissioner Nabicht urged residents to not burn debris and to be patient. Mr. Peters stated staff will also be monitoring the SCADA (Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition) and he explained why. Commissioner Nabicht asked if staff has had conversations with Volusia County and/or the St. Johns River Water Management District about pumping water to section 16 and the criteria to open up the big valve to the St. Johns River. Mr. Peters replied staff has been in communications with all parties with regards to the stormwater system, staff will be monitoring it closely and will react according to what is found, staff is prepared in all those avenues. Commissioner King asked if he could just pick up empty sandbags and fill them up himself at his home and Mr. Peters replied there are dual lines, one to fill up the bag and one to pick up an empty bag. City Manager Shang stated staff is taking the storm very seriously and she asked that the public do the same. She asked for the residents help to not put things out to the curb because Waste Pro has already picked up the garbage and the bulk waste so they will not be making a second run through the City. Garbage that is left out could cause a very dangerous situation depending on the wind speed and nobody wants that to happen. Mayor Herzberg stated when the City declares a state of emergency there is a position in the EOC for an elected official, usually the Mayor or his/her designee and she would like to appoint Commission Nabicht to that position because of his historical knowledge. Motion by Vice Mayor Ramos, seconded by Commissioner Avila-Vazquez, to appoint Commissioner Nabicht as the elected official to be present in the EOC. The motion carried by the following vote: For: 7 - Commissioner Avila-Vazquez, Commissioner Bradford, Commissioner King, Commissioner McFall, Commissioner Nabicht, Vice Mayor Ramos, and Mayor Herzberg Motion by Vice Mayor Ramos, seconded by Commissioner Bradford, in reference to our emergency Resolution No. 2019-44 to declare a State of Emergency. The motion carried by the following vote: City of Deltona Page 4 Printed on 9/7/2019 Special City Commission Meeting Minutes August 29, 2019 For: 7 - Commissioner Avila-Vazquez, Commissioner Bradford, Commissioner King, Commissioner McFall, Commissioner Nabicht, Vice Mayor Ramos, and Mayor Herzberg Resolution No. 2019-44 was adopted at 6:20 p.m. Mayor Herzberg stated at the press conference Sheriff Chitwood reiterated that when there is a state of emergency the penalties are enhanced for crimes, especially burglaries, and it will be enforced. She urged residents to check on their neighbors, the elderly and animals that may be left outside which is cruelty to animals. Also, if there is a concern about a resident contact the Fire Department or the Sheriff's Office. The Commission will post on their own social media the list of shelters as well as being posted on the City's website and its social media pages. Commissioner Bradford stated she saw where the CLC (Community Life Center) was setting up a citizen emergency response operation center which would be another place for residents to go for help. Commissioner Nabicht asked Commissioner King to give a benediction prayer tonight as the meeting at the closing of the meeting to get everyone through the storm. Mayor Herzberg stated the citizens information hotline is (386) 878-8511 and is at the bottom of the television or computer screen. Commissioner King led everyone in prayer. 5. ADJOURNMENT: There being no further business, the meeting adjourned at 6:56 p.m. ______________________________ Heidi K. Herzberg, MAYOR ATTEST: ________________________________ Joyce Raftery, CMC, MMC, CITY CLERK City of Deltona Page 5 Printed on 9/7/2019