The Sarpy County Local Emergency Planning Committee was convened in open and public session on September 8, 2004 at 7:30 pm in the Ogram Room at Alegent Midlands Community Hospital. The following members or alternates were present according to the sign-in sheet: Ron Clark, Keith Deiml, Marilyn Gable, Jason Johnson, Scott Keep, J.J. Kuzma, Joe Mastandrea, Rich Moss (for Jeff Book), Jane Nitchals, J.W. Olsen (for Tom Schwarten), Jeff Payton (for Steve Young), Dan Peterson, J.R. Reider, Maria Reiter, Rolly Yost, Rich Weber, Dick Williams, David Wilson and Bill York (for Paul Wagner), Louie Wilson, and Carol Zimmer. Guests were Bill Bowes from Omaha Fire and Ted Bosaner, Hal Jensen, and Brad Sandy from Magellan Pipeline.

Advanced notice of the meeting was published in the Bellevue Leader and Papillion Times. Copies of Proof of Publication are on file in the Sarpy County Clerk’s Office. All proceedings were taken while the convened meeting was open to the attendance of the public.

Chairman Wilson called the meeting to order. He thanked everyone for coming. Roll call was completed by sign-in sheet and through introductions by committee members.

Chairman Wilson asked for a motion to approve the June 30, 2004 meeting minutes. Scott Keep so moved, seconded by J.J. Kuzma. All were in favor, none opposed and motion passed unanimously.

BOARD REPORTS:

Chairman Report: Chairman Wilson reported that there were no hazardous materials incidences this quarter. There was a 4-alarm fire in Bellevue about a month and a half ago which involved some chemicals, but it was not classified as a hazardous material incident. Chairman Wilson asked if anyone had information about other incidences to please let the committee know so that it could get recorded in the minutes. With no further information, the Chairman asked for committee reports.

COMMITTEE REPORTS:

Exercise: Coordinator Mastandrea gave the report. The Offutt Major Accident Response Exercise was held on Saturday July 24, 2004. The weather was unseasonably cool and due to the rain, the exercise was held indoors which very much accelerated the pace. Coordinator Mastandrea reported that the exercise went very well and enabled the participating agencies to improve some processes based on lessons learned.

Coordinator Mastandrea informed the committee that the city of Bellevue planned to conduct a Mass Casualty Drill on Monday night, September 24, 2004. He mentioned that the host for this evening’s program, Magellan Pipeline, was planning an exercise for law enforcement, fire, and emergency management tentatively scheduled for Monday evening, November 1, 2004. The large Homeland Security Grant Exercise which is a two-county full-scale Exercise has been scheduled for March 11-12, 2005. The Exercise Design Team has been working on this one for months. The Information Coordinator requested that he be informed of any changes to agency representatives on the Design Team as he needs to keep the state and federal government informed for purposes of the grant.

Financial: Secretary Reiter reported that there was an expenditure of $100 for the LEPC Booth that the Outreach Committee sponsored at the Sarpy County Fair. A request for reimbursement will be submitted through a grant application to EPA. There were no other withdrawals from the account.

Legislative: Commissioner Schram was not available, so the Information Coordinator provided the report. The Information Coordinator attended the State Emergency Response Commission (SERC) Meeting on July 10, 2004 in Lincoln. All names on the Sign-In Sheet were reappointed to the LEPC for a two-year term which expires July 2006. Coordinator Mastandrea pointed out to the attendees that if their names were not on the list, the reason was that they were probably representing someone who was an appointed member or they were representatives from Magellan Pipeline presenting tonight’s program. The Information Coordinator mentioned that he was working with the State to obtain Letters of Appointment signed by the Chairman of the SERC. He indicated that he would submit an application for appointment for the OFD representative at the next SERC Meeting in October 2004.

Response Plan: Rolly Yost gave the report. He asked Coordinator Mastandrea to describe the process for the annual rewrite of the Local Emergency Operations Plan (LEOP). Coordinator Mastandrea explained that agencies should use the form provided to submit any factual changes needed to be made to the LEOP preferably this week. He mentioned that each response and planning agency had at least one copy of the LEOP probably maintained in a binder similar to the one he showed the committee. He stated that agencies were welcome to go through the whole document and advise him of any errors, but he asked the agencies to focus on their specific sections. As an example, Coordinator Mastandrea told the fire departments that they should look especially at Sections F-11, G-16, and M-9 through M-16. The Information Coordinator will compile and make all the changes and corrections and send out the revised draft LEOP on CD-ROM, one copy per group as per the distribution list. Some of the elements from the draft State plan, like a new appendix for Agroterrorism, have been incorporated in the LEOP. Agencies will have a few weeks to review the draft and provide comments back to Coordinator Mastandrea before he starts going for County and City resolutions to approve it. The Information Coordinator acknowledged that this was an accelerated timetable compared to what was done in the past. Rolly Yost asked for the date that the draft would be sent out to the agencies and the deadline for submission of comments. Coordinator Mastandrea stated that if he got the CD-ROMS sent out next week, comments would be due back the end of the month. The LEOP would then be coordinated with the State before requesting County and City resolutions supporting the plan. Rolly confirmed that changes were due September 30, 2004. The Information Coordinator indicated that if he received factual changes by the end of the week, it would allow him a few days to contact those who did not respond to confirm whether or not they had any factual changes, incorporate the changes, and produce a draft document that could be sent out the end of next week. Comments on the draft would be due the last two weeks of September. In October, the Information Coordinator planned to work with any agency concerned with additional submitted changes. He intends to get everybody to sign off and approve of the changes before forwarding the document to the State. The Information Coordinator reiterated that if anyone had changes in fact based on Version 6, please let him know. Coordinator Mastandrea requested that those who do not have Version 6 to the LEOP contact him immediately to obtain previous updates.

The Information Coordinator mentioned that the incorporation of the National Incident Management System into the LEOP tended to make this upgrade somewhat difficult. He mentioned that from now on, all incidents in the United States would be managed according to NIMS. He referred the members to the flyer on the table in the back of the room. He also recommended taking the online FEMA Independent Study Course on NIMS. Starting in 2005, compliance with NIMS will be required for Homeland Security Grants and that’s the reason for its incorporation in the LEOP. Secretary Reiter asked the Information Coordinator if the LEOPs would be going to Emergency Support Functions (ESFs ) instead of functional annexes like the SEOP. The Information Coordinator told the committee that the State was revising the SEOP according to ESFs per NIMS. However, local county LEOPs would continue to be divided into functional annexes until State Law was changed. Dan Peterson said it was called a rewrite, but it was really an annual update. It did not involve reorganizing the document; rather it was more of a fine-tuning. Dan Peterson said the things to be looking for were telephone number changes, personnel replacements, etc. Coordinator Mastandrea mentioned that the last update was done less than a year ago, but he wanted to get into the 5-year cycle that the State set up for all the counties in Nebraska.

Right-to-Know: Steve Young was unavailable, so Chairman Wilson gave the report. Chairman Wilson indicated that the booth went really well and as a result, the LEPC received a lot of good publicity. The committee spent $100 and will apply for 100% grant reimbursement. He thanked the members for spending their time staffing the booth and said it was extremely beneficial to let the people of Sarpy County know that the LEPC was out there working in their best interests. Secretary Reiter noted there was a lot more participation with staffing the booth this year and that the fair was well attended, providing a much larger audience.

Training: Dan Peterson gave the report. He pointed out that NIMS was the new buzzword, but it wasn’t a new concept because the people in Sarpy County have been using the Incident Management System for quite some time. Dan explained that a year and a half ago as a result of some of problems identified from the 9-11 response, the President issued a Presidential Directive to develop and administer NIMS to provide a consistent nation-wide template to enable all government, private sector, and non-governmental agencies and organizations to work together during domestic incidences. He encouraged the committee to take the on-line course and get a certificate for initial training. He said it was a good course which he completed last week and really enjoyed.

Dan Peterson informed the members of Moulage Training at the Bellevue Fire Training Site on Saturday, September 25, 2004 from 8:00 A.M. – 12:00 Noon. The training teaches students how to make up different injuries so that exercises will have realism. Dan explained that priority for this training would be given to those who could make commitments to support three upcoming major exercises. Those would be held Monday, September 27, 2004; Saturday, March 12, 2005; and Saturday, July 30, 2005.

Additional training opportunities included the Iowa HAZMAT Symposium at the Holiday Inn in Ames, Iowa on October 14-15, 2004. The symposium features various tracks, scenarios, and presentation/discussion of real-world event. There is a registration fee of $100 to attend. Dan mentioned that additional information would be forthcoming. Dan also informed the committee about the 8 th Annual HAZMAT Conference & Exposition at the Orleans Hotel & Casino in Las Vegas, Nevada on November 15-19, 2004. That is the annual, national conference for HAZMAT incidents. Costs include a $300 registration fee plus hotel and travel. The Region 7 Local Emergency Planning Committee Conference has been scheduled for August 18-21 st, 2005 at the Clarion Sports Complex in Kansas City, formerly the Adam’s Mark.

J.R. Reider informed the committee about CERT training. He said that remaining classes for the year would be held at the Omaha Fire Department Training Center located at 33 rd and Buell on Oct 15-17; Nov 19-21; and Dec 10-12. He mentioned that there would be a class in January held at Trinity Church located at 156 th and Dodge. He promised to schedule a class in the Bellevue area as soon as there was some interest established. The grant requires 25-30 people per class with classes scheduled and conducted every month over the next two years. He told the members that they could register by faxing or mailing one of the provided forms back to him. J.R. mentioned that he expected to have a web site in the future where registration could be accomplished online, but for now he wanted registration done through use of the paper form. He informed the committee that CERT was in the process of deploying some of its members to Florida to provide assistance in the aftermath of the hurricanes. The deployed CERT members become federal employees under FEMA, go to Atlanta for 3-4 days of training, and then deploy to Florida for three weeks. They are paid at the rate of $19.00 per hour and function as community relations volunteers. FEMA anticipates deploying a total of 2000 CERT members from across the country; of those about a dozen are from Nebraska.

The Information Coordinator informed the committee about radiological training scheduled at the end of November in Dallas. He stated that this was a hazard that would increase. When Yucca Mountain opens, radiological waste material will be shipped by rail and highway on I-80, so that more need to be trained to be ready for this. Coordinator Mastandrea advised the members not to think of the training classes in a vacuum. For those interested in both Moulage and CERT training classes, he recommended taking CERT first in order to get the full benefit of the class. Aside from the three upcoming exercises over the next year that will each involve more than 100 victims, there will be opportunity to practice skills by helping with the CERT classes. The last afternoon of each CERT class involves victims made up by individuals who took the Moulage Class so that there’s realism for the students taking their final exams. The patients are made to look like they are in shock, been through a tornado, burned, etc, so the CERT students can apply what they have learned. The Information Coordinator reiterated the proper sequence when taking both classes was to take the CERT class first, then Moulage. He added that if those who received this training could help with all three of the big exercises with an occasional CERT class, they would improve the quality and the realism of the exercises for responders. Coordinator Mastandrea expounded that that which is realistically experienced is better retained. Currently, there is a serious shortage of moulage artists, never enough for the tasks, and never enough time. Consequently, the high quality work that really has an impact on learning doesn’t get done. He requested that the members try to find individuals who might be interested in taking the Moulage Class. They could include those who do theatrical makeup for a community theater, co-workers, and maybe retired EMTs. Coordinator Mastandrea thanked all those who could partake in these training classes.

OLD BUSINESS: Chairman Wilson requested that members sign up for a committee. He preferred that all committees meet before the first of the year, so that information could be provided to the State. He encouraged the members to think about joining the Response Plan Committee to help review plans. He asked Omaha Fire and CERT to consider signing up for a committee because of their invaluable assistance and expertise.

NEW BUSINESS: Rolly Yost proposed an amendment to the Bylaws to be voted on at the next meeting in January. He stated that the Bylaws currently read that the officers - r Chairman, Vice Chairman, Information Coordinator and Secretary/Treasurer - are all elected to a 1-year term. He explained that for some people, one year seems like ages, but for others, they are just getting their feet on the ground after 6 months or 8 or 10 months and would like to go on and finish what they started. Rolly proposed that when elections are held at the January meeting, that the Chairman and Information Coordinator be elected to a three-year term. At that time, Vice Chairman could be elected to a 2-year term and the Secretary/Treasurer to a 1-year term. When those 2-year and 1-year terms are up, each one in turn would then be made 3-year terms. This would result in a staggering of the board so that everybody would not be turning over at the same time, electing all new officers every year. This would provide needed continuity. In effect, the officers would each serve a 3-year term, but on a staggered basis. Rolly offered to write his proposal as a Bylaw Proposal Change. The Bylaws requires that any proposed change be provided to each committee member 5 days prior to the next meeting. Rolly stated that he would provide the proposal in writing to the Information Coordinator to then forward to each committee member. He recommended voting on the proposal at the January meeting before elections so that if the proposal was approved, the officers could be elected to longer terms.

Chairman Wilson asked for comments about the proposal. J.R. Reider asked what the current officers thought about serving three-year terms and thought that perhaps two-year terms would be better. Chairman Wilson explained that the proposal was discussed at length in the board meeting and that all officers preferred to finish what they started. He pointed out that if someone was in a position for a year and started a new project, that project would get underway but probably not finished. Stability in an organization like the LEPC is vital in this day and age. Chairman Wilson thought it was important that people know they could go back to their leaders and that their leaders were going to be there for a while and not change. He said that he has been serving the community for 40 years and would continue serving as long as needed. He mentioned he would be happy to serve as Chairman if the members elected him to the position again and would continue serving as long as the members wanted him to do so. As far as the other officers, Chairman Wilson indicated that they felt the same way, but preferred they speak on their own behalf. The Information Coordinator stated that he has been the Information Coordinator for the past 9 years. The Secretary stated that she has been in the position for the last three years and really enjoys it. Chairman Wilson then said that he thought the motion was a good one and thanked Rolly for making the motion. Dan Peterson further pointed out that the LEPC meets quarterly and is not as intensive as other organizations, so that makes continuity pretty important. Chairman Wilson added that the proposed change would make it a lot easier on the bank accounts. Every year they have to be changed and by the time they are changed, it’s time for the next year’s elections. The proposal would make it easier all the way around for everyone.

PROGRAM: Magellan Pipeline representatives provided an informative program about the pipeline, safety features, causes of pipeline accidents, and accident/incident responses.

Respectfully Submitted by

MARIA REITER

Secretary