Peninsula Emergency Preparedness Committee Meeting Minutes
Monday, 7 November 2005
Board of Directors:
Gretchen Wilbert, Mayor of Gig Harbor (June 2007)
Marv Nauman (June 2007)
Hugh McMillan (June 2004)
Bob Jardin (June 2007)
Joseph Jones (June 2004)
Tonya Lee (June 2007)
Officers
General Chair: Dave Watson (June 2006)
Vice-Chair: JoAnne Gray (June 2006)
Secretary: Sue Gillmore (June 2007)
Treasurer: Don Lee (June 2007)
Presiding / Conducting: Dave Watson, General Chair
MEMBERS IN ATTENDANCE:
Board of Directors: Tonya Lee, Hugh McMillan
Committee Members: Dave Watson, Sue Watson, JoAnne Gray, Sue Gillmore, Don Lee, Keith Stiles, Mark Yordy
Visitors/New Members: Michael Nolet, Hal and Jeanne Roberts
Called to order: 6:00 p.m.
REPORTS
Minutes from January 2005 - approved
Treasurer's Report: approved
Committees
1. PARET: Mark Yordy reported that our local group of amateur radio operators has been very busy of late and have performed will in various emergency simulation tests on the local as well as the national level. He also reported the installation of a new antenna as well as renewed interest from Fire District 16 in the amateur radio operation.
2. School Districts: Dave Watson reported that he is working with local school officials to revise the evacuation procedures, including a new destination. It is the nature of parents in our community to rush down to the school to pick up their kids as soon as they hear about any kind of natural disaster or incidence of violence. While it is understandable for parents to want to retrieve their kids, their presence would endanger their lives. Therefore, when evacuation is necessary, the school district is looking to evacuate our children to an out of county location to safeguard their lives as well as their parents.
3. KGHP: Keith Stiles reported that the radio station has been in continuous operation 24/7 all year long with no major incidents to report. It has been a good year of operation.
Discussion Topic: The Future of PEP-C
(Is our mission accomplished?)
1. Community Training: Dave Watson asked committee members for both positive and negative feedback of our community training efforts. Don Lee reported that PC-NET has been a dynamic force in our community to prepare neighborhoods even though Gretchen O'Connor's involvement slacked off for a few months when her husband contracted a rare form of terminal cancer. Pierce County has welcomed the help of PEP-C members when the demand for neighborhood training has been high. Otherwise, Pierce County desires to retain strict control of this program.
JoAnne Gray offered that for years our goal was to raise awareness in our community for the need to be prepared. We have done that. PEP-C was also responsible for lighting a fire under Pierce County DEM officials to get their PC-NET program up and running. Since then, PEP-C has assumed the responsibility for promoting individual and family preparedness. For this purpose, trainers have been trained and are available to make community presentations. But there has been little demand.
Tonya Lee offered that the next step for PEP-C might be to do some "hand-holding" with the Gig Harbor and Key Peninsula neighborhoods - get individuals interested in pursuing neighborhood preparedness and walk them through the steps of contacting Pierce County and promoting the training meetings within their neighborhoods.
2. Water Barrel Distribution: Dave Watson asked committee members for both positive and negative feedback on water barrel sales and distribution. It was noted that our website as well as the PC-NET team have been better sources for promoting water barrel sales within the community than previous advertisements in the Gateway newspaper or notices included in Peninsula Light bills. Dave Watson has barrels at his disposal for sale to the various schools in our community. Don and Tonya Lee have barrels at their disposal for sale to local citizens by appointment. This system has been much more effective than the previous system of setting up barrels for sale at the cemetery along Highway 16.
3. Website Content and Activity: Dave Watson asked committee members for both positive and negative feedback on the website. Don Lee noted that it is a very useful, user friendly website that is not a re-hash of what can be found on FEMA and American Red Cross websites. Others noted that the website is respected locally, nationally and even globally. To date, it has had over 821,000 page visits since the fall of 2000.
Sue Gillmore, webmaster, announced that she will be moving to the Houston, Texas area in the near future. If the Treasurer could assume the responsibility for paying the monthly ISP fee, she would be willing to continue to maintain the website from Texas. For her, webmastering the PEP-C website would be no different than the webmastering she does professionally for other websites. The committee had no objections to her continuing to maintain the website from Texas.
4. Membership Concerns: Dave Watson addressed the membership issues. Many of the committee members who regularly attend the PEP-C meetings have been doing so for years and years. Dave spoke for all when he suggested that we are burned out or possibly discouraged from throwing effort into the wind and reaping meager results. Dave suggested that an influx of new, younger members would bring enthusiasm and new life to the committee. But what is there for new members to do? To answer this, the committee needs to define or re-define the mission or purpose of the committee.
Michael Nolet, a local ReMax Real Estate Agent and new member/visitor to our meeting introduced himself and noted that though he has been a resident for 13 years, he had never heard of PEP-C. But, in looking over a PEP-C brochure, commended the committee for the purpose they serve and suggested that we need someone to "market" PEP-C within the community. He suggested that disbributing the brochures to the Real Estate offices would be a good way to get them into the hands of local residents. He suggested that neighborhood organizations would be a great way to "market" PEP-C to local residents as well.
Not to put a damper on Michael's enthusiasm, Dave Watson indicated that PEP-C has beat the bushes for many years in various ways (even those suggested by Michael) to increase the community's awareness of PEP-C as a resource for personal and family preparedness.
Hugh McMillan shared how a single incident of juvenile criminal behavior on the Key Peninsula in 1987 enraged local citizens enough for them to organize a Citizens Against Crime group to patrol neighborhoods and work hand in hand with the Sherriff's Department to keep crime down. Dave Watson noted that the CAC group has been successful because they were personally motivated by their anger over what happened. He asked, what is the preparedness motivation in our community that will trigger residents into action?
Conclusion: PEP-C will continue but it may take another meeting, including Board Members, to come to a mutual agreement on the mission and focus of the committee. Further discussion about what PEP-C members should be doing led to the conclusion that we need to promote PC-NET and encourage people to contact Pierce County to arrange for the training of their neighborhoods in disaster preparedness.
A meeting was calendared for January 16, 2006 for further discussion of the mission and focus of the committee.
Proposal: Use of PEP-C Funds
The Treasurer was asked how much money the committee needs to have on hand each year to maintain the website, renew the Post Office Box and cover water barrel expenses. Don Lee estimated that we need about $1000 per year to cover these expenses.
Dave Watson proposed to the committee that we use the remaining balance of our funds within the community to improve its disaster preparedness status. He proposed that we partner with the Peninsula School District and Peninsula Light Company to provide additional emergency power for the PHS kitchen so that volunteers could provide hot meals to local residents in need during an emergency.
Committee members were all in favor of the proposal and noted that such efforts would go a long way to provide good publicity for PEP-C as a force for good within our community. The proposal was approved. Dave Watson will pursue this project further with local school officials as well as Peninsula Light Company who may be able to obtain grants to subsidize this effort.
Other Items:
1. JoAnne Gray received an invitation from a local Girl Scout Troop asking PEP-C to participate in their "Be Aware - Be Prepared" event this Friday, November 11th, from Noon to 5 pm. Don and Tonya Lee said they would man a table or booth for us. There will be other preparedness, safety, fire and law enforcement organizations there. If it is well attended, it should increase the community's awareness of individual, family and community preparedness.
ADJOURNED: 8:15 pm
