HomeMy WebLinkAbout07.21.1994 Local Emergency Planning Committee Meeting Minutes BRAZOS COUNTY
LOCAL EMERGENCY PLANNING COMMITTEE
MEETING
Thursday, July 21, 1994
4:00 p.m.
Brazos Center
Room 106
Bryan, Texas
MINUTES
PRESENT:
Fred Forsthoff, Chairman, LEPC; Brazos County Emergency Management
Jeridan Strong, Brazos County Emergency Management
Steve Beachy, College Station Emergency Management
Bobby Riggs, Sheriff, Brazos County
Ken Bost, Brazos County Health Department
Steve Gonzalez, Brazos County Health Department
Bill Kennedy, Chief, College Station Fire Department
Darlene Kennedy, TAMU Emergency Management
Dick Phillips, Bryan Disaster Cmte., United Methodist Church
Mason Newton, College Station Police Department
Bobby Maddox, Bryan Police Department
Frenchy Bennett, Brazos County Firefighters Assn.
David White, Fire & Safety Specialists, Inc.
Roy Ross, Bryan Emergency Management
Peggy Calliham, College Station Public Information
David Giordano, EMS, College Station Fire Department
Kevin Brost, Chief, Prec. 1 Volunteer Fire Department
Bill Thomas, American Red Cross, Bryan
Bridgette George, College Station Emergency Management
Chris Carter, Brazos County Emergency Management
ABSENT:
Hon. R. J. Holmgreen, County Judge, Brazos County
Stephen Ogden, State Representative
Mayor Marvin Tate, City of Bryan
Mayor Larry Ringer, City of College Station
John Blackburn, Bryan Emergency Management (sent Ross)
Lee Freeman, Chief, Bryan Police Department (sent Maddox)
1
ABSENT (continued):
Edgar Feldman, Chief, College Station Police Department (sent Newton)
Bob Wiatt, TAMU Security /University Police
R. Harry Stiteler, Safety /Health Office
Jim Bland, Chief, Bryan Fire Department
Quintin Joines, Chief, Prec. 2 Firefighters
John Hicks, Chief, Prec. 3 Firefighters
Joe Ondrasek, Chief, Prec. 4 Firefighters
Emily Staples, Chief, Millican Firefighters
Paul Mras, EMS, Bryan
Daniel Fuqua, EMS, Texas A &M University
Dr. William Conkling, Brazos Cty. Health Dept. (sent Bost, Gonzalez)
Jon Turton, St. Joseph's Hospital
Pat Cornelison, Brazos Valley Medical Center
Douglas Williams, TAMU Bus Operations
Sam Logan, Brazos County Public Relations
Joe Brown, Bryan Public Relations
Ed Ilschner, Bryan Public Works
John Woody, College Station Public Works
Dr. Bennie J. Camp, Mega Laboratories, Inc.
Randy Patton, Fire Protection Training Division, TEEX
Dianne Bell, Occup. /Envirn. Safety Training, TEEX
Greg Petrey, Brazos Cty. Emerg. Comm. Dist. (911)
Garry Lange, College Station Public Utilities
Bob Foust, TAMU University Police
PROCEEDINGS:
o Call To Order - 4:10 p.m. by Fred Forsthoff.
o Recognition of Visitors - None present.
o Approval of Minutes - of April 21, 1994 meeting. No additions or corrections
offered. Motion made by Chief Kennedy and seconded by Sheriff Riggs.
o Vote on Bylaws - Twenty attendees at the meeting. Twelve LEPC members and five
other persons representing members of the LEPC. Motion made by Steve Beachy and
seconded by Frenchy Bennett to accept votes of those representing LEPC members as
well as member vote for adoption of the bylaws. Motion carried (15 yea; 0 nay -- -five
votes by persons representing LEPC members.)
2
o Vote on Rules of Operation - Vote held on rules were 17 yea; 0 nay -- -five votes by
persons representing LEPC members.
o Emergency Plans Status Reports (Strong) - Annex H (Health & Medical) - meeting
scheduled for July 28 at St. Joseph's Hospital.
Annex J (Damage Assessment) - Needs signatures.
Annex 0 (Human Services) - Needs signatures.
Annex P (Hazard Mitigation) - Draft circulating.
Annex K (Public Works /Engineering) - Forwarded to D.E.M.
Annex L (Utilities) - forwarded to D.E.M.
Annex S (Transportation) - Returned by Steve Vaughn for corrections. Corrections
made and returned to D.E.M. for approval.
Only 3 annexes left to complete -- -Annex H, Annex N (EOC- Direction & Control),
and Annex P.
o Exercise Design Committee Report (Beachy) - Annex C (Shelter & Mass Care) to
be rewritten due to exercise in May. Majority of changes deal with reception center
at the Brazos Center. Three shelters opened. Had two external evaluators (Madison
County and Brazos River Authority). Exercise involved many departments and
agencies from the two cities and the county. The changes will update and revise
procedures that did not work as well as had been planned for. Everyone worked well
together. Excellent critique exercise is being plannned for VFD's in area of incident
command system.
o Communications Committee Report (Kennedy) - 800 - megahertz system - College
Station is going to tag onto A &M System, probably by 1995, on 10- channel trunking
system. Each entity is looking at the cost of radios, etc., and will probably phase in.
College Station will contract within the next month with TAMU. TAMU will be on-
line in 30 days. Holmgreen supports opportunity for S.O. and VFD to participate.
$2.57 per mo. /radio fee to A &M. Hensel Park and water tower are antenna
locations. Five channels in each place.
o Early Warning Committee Report (White) - Sirens largely ineffective except in
specified locations such as the A &M Campus and areas of population concentration.
Sirens not the answer for everyone. Other systems available are cable company
systems mandated by Congress. Not a single method available to alert different
sectors. May need a consultant to assist us in determining avenues to approach.
Doppler system at KBTX will help. KBTX attempting to provide space for
Emergency Management Coordinator and RACES operators at the radar location.
RACES Skywarn spotters doing good job when warnings are issued to provide up -to-
minute information on weather conditions. NOAA Weather Radio - Weather Service
will broadcast messages but time delay makes this useless. We need to try to obtain
permission to transmit on their system locally, but that requires political maneuvering
in Washington. White and Forsthoff may try to contact officials to do so.
3
o Hazard Analysis Committee Report (Giordano) - Not been a lot accomplished at
this point but more contacts are being made within industrial community.
o Other Business - Hazmat Response Issue - very limited countywide and regionally on
hazmat response. College Station has made a commitment to begin response program
to include entire county and,. sometime in the future, to include regional status. So
far about $14,000 has been to obtain level A & B suits and other equipment. College
Station has trained 22 people to technician level of response. Bryan has intent to train
some folks also. Need a pool of people to staff the unit. Additional funds needed for
transportation equipment. Chief Humphries and David White are going to present a
program to Brazos Valley Oil Production Assn. or A.P.I. group to discuss needs.
Meeting scheduled for August 6. Regional concept would include seven counties.
Meetings with them will be planned. There are 150 firefighters in Bryan/College
Station. Training needs to be continued to aid call -back capabilities. Unit will not be
a cleanup and disposal service. Mitigation only is the target. Benefit of regional
response is to upgrade and keep proficiency at a high level. This unit is not the same
unit that Chief Bland was referring to in the last LEPC meeting in April.
Frequency Changes in Mobile Command Post - Difficulty in using two radios because
of redundancy of frequencies. Plan is to install primary frequencies on one radio and
secondary frequency on other radio.
Need for a Larger Mobile Command Post - Sources are the Texas Forest Service and
confiscated motorhomes from drug arrests.
o Adjournment - Motion to adjourn at 5:13 p.m. by Giordano and seconded by Brost.
FCF:cpc
4