Emergency Management/911 Commission/Communications Commission Meeting Minutes
Wednesday April 12th, 2023,
6:00 PM
Washington County EOC – Emergency Communications Building
2183 Lexington Blvd., Washington IA 52353
In attendance: Richard Young, Marissa Reisen, Cara Sorrells, Millie Youngquist, Stan Stoops, Ryan Miller, Mark Robe, Jared Schneider, and Melvin Rich.
At 6:04 PM, Chairman Ryan Miller called the Emergency Management Commission meeting to order, a roll call was conducted, and a quorum was present. Present were representatives from Brighton, Kalona, Washington, Wellman, the Sheriff’s Office, and the Board of Supervisors. Absent were representatives from Ainsworth, Crawfordsville, Riverside, and West Chester. Approval of the agenda was requested. Mark Robe made a motion to approve the agenda as presented. Jared Schneider seconded the motion, and the agenda was approved with no one opposed. Chairman Miller then requested a motion to approve the minutes from the last meeting, dated February 13th, 2023. Mark Robe made a motion to approve the minutes from the last meeting. Jared Schneider seconded the motion and with no one opposed, the motion passed unanimously.
Under the coordinator report the only item of business was the recent tornados/severe weather. Marissa presented a slideshow depicting the path of the recent storm and the damage that Washington County suffered in the Keota – Wellman area. She is currently managing the response and declarations in both Washington and Keokuk counties. The sirens in Wellman did not sound when activated and that has started a conversation on changing the testing times and writing a countywide WCRF grant for a siren project. They have since been repaired and the issue was the batteries. We will be sharing a meeting with Sheriff Schneider’s contract law meeting at the end of the month. Each city will be asked to 1) check your sirens/batteries and ensure that they work 2) think about where citizens in each town can shelter if one is not already designated and 3) consider changing the monthly siren testing date from the last Saturday of the month to the last Wednesday of the month. We will also request that each city designate someone to listen for the sirens and report back if they worked or if there was a malfunction. Communications will keep a log to document the results. Lastly, Marissa will plan on a hotwash soon.
Keokuk County received 4 applications for their Emergency Management Coordinator. She was busy with the tornados, so they were handling them. It is possible that they may look towards some sort of sharing arrangement, like part-time EMA and Part-time Public Health. She expects the first reimbursement check in the next two weeks.
The first item under new business was purchases and they included safety gloves for $287.52 and first aid kits for $84.82. These were purchased for the Mid-Prairie High School students who helped with clean-up after the storm in Wellman. Millie Youngquist made a motion to approve the purchase of safety equipment. Mark Robe seconded the motion, and the motion passed with no opposition.
There was nothing under public input and the next meeting date is to be determined. Mark Robe made a motion to adjourn the meeting at 6:54 PM. Robe’s motion was seconded by Jared Schneider and the Emergency Management meeting was adjourned at 6:54 PM.
Chairman Richard Young called the 911 Commission meeting to order at 6:55 PM. Present were representatives from Brighton, Kalona, Washington, Wellman, the Board of Supervisors, the Sheriff’s Office, and Emergency Management. Absent was representation from Ainsworth, Crawfordsville, and Riverside. A quorum was determined. Chairman Richard Young made a request for an approval of the agenda. Marissa Reisen made a motion to approve the agenda as presented. Mark Robe seconded the motion, and the agenda was approved with no one opposed. A request was then made for a motion to approve the minutes for the last meeting dated February 13th, 2023. Mark Robe made a motion to approve the minutes from the last meeting and the motion was seconded by Ryan Miller. No one was opposed and the motion passed.
The approval of claims was next, and Cara Sorrells detailed the claims. The total of the claims was $30,161.49 and the receipts totaled $7,906.85. The claims included GIS map data and MSAG maintenance for GeoComm totaling $5,244.00 and a maintenance payment to CenturyLink for $11,566.32. The service agreement is for 02/10/23 – 02/09/24. The receipts included a quarterly GIS grant payment for $3,000.00 and $1,913.63 for the sale of the CAT/Olympian generator. Ryan Miller made a motion to pay the claims as presented. Miler’s motion was seconded by Millie Youngquist. The motion passed with no one opposed.
There was nothing for the Commission under new business. There were no updates under old business on removing the legacy equipment. The old radio tower is due to be removed as soon as Zinser completes the demolition of the old building, and it is in process currently. Friday April 14th, we have scheduled a meeting to discuss the deployment of the GSSB school radios. Cara briefly outlined the launch of the Safe and Sound school reporting app. It is an anonymous reporting tool that students can use, and it would be received at a State Patrol Post. They would in turn contact the 24-hour dispatch center of the local jurisdiction of the threat. It would be investigated locally and there is a disposition report that would be filled out and sent back to the State Patrol.
The next meeting date is to be determined. A motion was made to adjourn the 911 Commission meeting by Ryan Miller and seconded by Marissa Reisen. The meeting was adjourned at 7:05 PM.
At 7:05 PM, Chairman Ryan Miller called the Communications Commission to order. Present were representatives Stan Stoops, Ryan Miller, Mark Robe, Millie Youngquist, Richard Young (sitting in for Jack Seward) and alternate Melvin Rich. A quorum was determined. Chairman Miller then made a request for an approval of the agenda as published. Mark Robe made a motion to approve the agenda as presented. Millie Youngquist seconded the motion, and the agenda was approved with no one opposed. A request was then made for a motion to approve the minutes for the last meeting dated February 13th, 2023. Mark Robe made a motion to approve the minutes from the last meeting and the motion was seconded by Millie Youngquist. No one was opposed and the motion passed.
The approval of the claims was next. Cara Sorrells detailed the claims with the total of the claims being $3,639.82. There was revenue reported totaling $5,062.50 for the sale of the Thermo Bond portable building. A motion was made by Millie Youngquist to approve the claims as presented. Youngquist’s motion was seconded by Melvin Rich, and the claims were approved with no one opposed.
There was nothing for the Communications Commission under committee reports.
New business was next on the agenda and the first item was storm damage to the Wellman site. The damage was covered during the Emergency Management meeting, but Sorrells added that the radio system stayed up and worked as it should in a disaster/emergency. There will be more to follow as we navigate the process with Wellman Telephone, Horak Insurance, and ICAP.
Also under new business were three recent personnel changes. Aspen Bromell was hired for part-time effective 02/28/23 and has full-time experience working for both Henry County and Louisa County. Unity Stevens resigned from her part-time position and her last shift worked was 03/26/23. She left Washington County full-time as she took a position for Iowa County with mental health advocacy. That is the field of study that she has a degree in. Lastly, Kalie Perez’s internship ended 03/29/23. Mark Robe made a motion to approve the personnel changes for Communications. Millie Youngquist seconded the motion, and it carries unanimously. April 9th – 15th, 2023 is National Public Safety Telecommuncator Week and the Board of Supervisor’s did a proclamation at the Tuesday meeting in honor of it.
There was no one in attendance from Washington County Ambulance Service in reference to the agenda item concerning radio programming changes. Mark Robe made a motion to table the agenda item. Robe’s motion was seconded by Millie Youngquist. The item will be tabled until a future meeting.
Under old business some staffing issues had already been covered. Effective at the beginning of April we were back up to full staff. We are still seeking another full-time applicant to begin training in anticipation of future retirements. The former building update was also covered. It is being torn down and the tower will also be dismantled and moved by Zinser.
The next meeting date is to be determined. Mark Robe made a motion to adjourn the Communications Commission meeting. Stan Stoops seconded the motion. The meeting was adjourned at 7:24 PM.
Respectfully submitted by,
Cara Sorrells
Signature: Emergency Management
Signature: 911 Commission
Signature: Communication Commission
Official Publication, minutes to be approved at the May 10th, 2023, meeting. Any amendment to the minutes will be reflected in the following meeting minutes.”
Published in The News, Thursday, May 11, 2023 L-264
