Emergency Preparedness Committee

Emergency Preparedness Committee (EPC) City of Takoma Park Thursday, April 28, 2022 7-8.30 pm via ZOOM AGENDA Issue/ item Person Est. Time/ minutes March meeting notes acceptance; Ron Hardy, 10 Discussion of when in-person EPC meetings Dianne Cherry, should begin Jim Della- Giacoma --Takoma Park, Montgomery County & State Ron Hardy, 10 Reports Patrick Fleming Recap of Trip of Montgomery County EOC Trip Jim, Kathy, 30 Next steps? Additional Training Opportunities? Mandy, Ron Upcoming Events and Opportunities All 20 Community Outreach Updates Jim (Takoma Stormwater Solutions Forum is May (Chris will 10) provide more info next week via email!) Any new items All 10 Next Meeting: May 26, 2022 Organization Name Meeting Minutes April 2022 EPC agenda at 7:00 PM (Held on Zoom) Present: Acting Chair: Dianne Cherry. Attendees: Buddy Daniels, Jim Della-Giacoma (Secretary), Ami Gadhia, Ron Hardy, Tom Horne, Troy Jacobs, Kathe Quinn, and Claudine Schweber. Excused absences: Chris Beck and Patrick Fleming. Next meeting: Thursday, May 26, 2022, 7:00 PM  Hydrangea Room, Takoma Park Community Center, and online via Zoom. 1. March Minutes Approved The EPC approved the minutes from March 24, 2022, meeting with only one correction to the spelling of Ms. Kathe Quinn’s name. 2. Discussion on future meeting formats There was discussion on the format of future EPC meetings and whether the Committee should continue to meet online, in person, or a hybrid format. MOTION: The Committee proposes to adopt a hybrid format for its next meeting. MOVED BY: Mr. Della-Giacoma SECONDED BY: Mr. Jacobs and Ms. Schweber. RESOLVED: Passed unanimously. The next meeting is on Thursday, May 26, 2022, at 7:00 PM in the Hydrangea Room in the Takoma Park Community Center, and Mr. Hardy will arrange a Zoom meeting link for those members unable to attend in person. 3. Reports on recent developments from the TKPK, County, and State • The TKPK Library is still distributing masks and rapid tests free of charge. • TKPK recently reported one known case of COVID-19 on its facilities in an art room at the Recreation Center. • This month, Mr. Hardy has delivered First Aid training for staff on Wednesdays. In the last month, he has presented on Emergency Preparedness and Active Assailant Training as part of the Community Police Academy. o There was a discussion about providing First Aid training to the broader community. o Mr. Hardy hopes to schedule more Stop the Bleed training later in the year. o In the past, the TKPK FD has offered First Aid training and hopes to provide this service again to residents once the situation is deemed safe enough for in-person training. • The County’s Health and Human Services Department plans to conduct COVID-19 testing every Wednesday in May at the Takoma Park Recreation Center on 7315 New Hampshire Ave between 9 AM – 6 PM. Testing is indoors, walk-up, and no appointment is required. • The State has provided more Homeland Security Grants to Takoma Park. TKPK is exploring using this money to purchase barriers to protect the community during events and parades requiring street closures. TKPK will also spend these funds on cyber-security and other training for staff members. o There was some discussion about the pros and cons of water-filled barriers and whether the City’s Public Works Department had the equipment to deploy and store the obstacles properly. TKPK will continue to review what equipment might be best suited for the community. 4. Discussion on communicating with the community There was a general discussion about the best way for the Committee to communicate with the community, including the merits of using list serves, City Council Members, and understanding how other community groups, such as Stormwater Solutions, communicate with residents across all Wards. There was a general agreement but no formal resolution that this is an issue that the EPC should focus on. The EPS will continue this discussion at future meetings. 5. Report on the field trip to the County’s Emergency Operation Center (EOC) Several EPC members joined a Community Police Academy (CPA) field trip to the MoCo EOC on April 21. One takeaway from the trip was the importance of having a landline in the case of an emergency and how this allowed the 911 Center to trace the caller’s location accurately. This led to a discussion about how vulnerable our mobile phone and internet-based communications systems were to extreme weather, including ice storms. There was a related discussion on Community Emergency Response Training (CERT) and the merits of bringing CERT training to TKPK to make it more accessible to residents. At least three committee members are already CERT qualified (Mr. Jacobs, Ms. Quinn, and Ms. Schweber). The EPC formed a sub-committee to support Mr. Hardy as he explores this possibility and reports back to a future meeting. Mr. Daniels and Mr. Jacobs volunteered for this task. 6. Community Outreach Updates • Mr. Beck informed the Committee via email that the Takoma Stormwater Solutions group will be holding a Zoom forum on Tuesday, May 10, between 12:00 – 1:30 PM, entitled Exploring Takoma Stormwater Solutions. o https://us02web.zoom.us/j/86981353858?pwd=TG5yS3p2eW9FSEppVGxobk1jSXdVQT09 o Meeting ID: 869 8135 3858 Passcode: 269011 • Mr. Della-Giacoma reported that The Washington Post meteorologist Matthew Cappucci had agreed to include the TKPK Library on his forthcoming book tour in September or October, and Library Director Ms. Jessica Jones had welcomed this initiative. Mr. Della-Giacoma will report on this at a future meeting closer to the date. • Mr. Della-Giacoma reported that he had followed up on Ms. Schweber’s introduction and was now connected to the Long Branch Partners list through Bruce Baker at the Community Cheer organization. • Ms. Schweber raised the issue of the Are You Ready? flyers, and they were a helpful resource to distribute at future community events. Mr. Hardy will locate the remaining stock in the City’s facilities. Mr. Daniels said he has 2,000 copies. Mr. Hardy could share the flyers with committee members at a future meeting. If committee members could not attend, he could make other arrangements to distribute them. • Mr. Hardy reminded the Committee that Saturday (April 30) was National Prescription Drug Take Back Day. The TPPD would be collecting unused pharmaceuticals in the police station parking lot. Only solid pills were acceptable and not liquids, sharps, or aerosols. The meeting ended at about 8:30 PM.