NORTHBOROUGH LOCAL EMERGENCY PLANNING COMMITTEE (NLEPC) MEETING MINUTES
September 21, 2009 10:00 A.M. Northborough Fire Department 11 Pierce Street Northborough, MA 01532
Chief Durgin called the meeting to order at 10:00 a.m. and introduced himself, John Coderre Town Administrator, Kimberly Hood Assistant Town Administrator, Nancy Lepore Fire Department Hazardous Materials Assistant and James McCarthy Director of Emergency Services at UMass/Memorial Hospital Marlborough. Meeting participants then introduced themselves to attendees. A paper copy of the NLEPC Hazardous Materials Plan (Hazmat Plan), Continuity of Operations Plan template, NLEPC website draft pages were available for viewing.
Old Business - Copies of the 03/24/09 meeting minutes were available for attendees and were also mailed out with today’s meeting notice. A motion was made to forgo a reading of these meeting minutes, and was passed by a majority vote of attendees. A motion was then made and passed by a majority of attendees to accept the meeting minutes as written.
Review of Emergency Plans to date – Ms. Lepore relayed that minor changes have been made to the Hazardous Materials Plan with the changes input through the eCEMP (electronic Comprehensive Emergency Management Plan) during July and August. Changes made included name changes of some gas stations, and name changes for facility contacts. This plan was then downloaded onto the LEPC computer after changes were finished on the eCEMP website. Individual pages having changes were printed and are in the process of being printed for the 4 paper copies held in town government. New read-only CDs will be burned and distributed to the town entities having previous copies of this plan.
Recertification of the NLEPC – Ms. Lepore relayed that the re-certification of the NLEPC began in August. An application for re-certification was completed with documentation of completion of the Emergency Planning and Community Right-to-Know Act (EPCRA) required tasks for the NLEPC and it was submitted with a paper copy of the Hazardous Materials Plan to MEMA area III/IV for review and the SERC. Certification of the NLEPC as a stand-alone LEPC was approved by the SERC (State Emergency Response Commission) at their meeting during the second week of September. LEPC certification is issued by the SERC for a three-year period.
Continuity of Operations Plans (COOP) – The LEPC membership was encouraged by Ms. Lepore to create COOPs for their facilities and/or departments. A paper copy of a sample COOP template for municipal government was available for review. A website, www.vaemergency.com , to the Virginia Department of Emergency Management for a COOP example was given for members to access. .It was explained that the benefit of having a COOP would be that during time of a disaster or pandemic such as an H1N1 flu
outbreak, facilities/departments would have planning in place to maintain the most important functions of the facility/department with a significantly reduced available number of personnel. Another consideration of formulating a COOP would be incorporating methods to maintain critical facility operations such as boiler operations necessary to maintain facility safety in manufacturing operations or operations proper shut down procedures and having call-down lists of qualified personnel to complete these tasks. It was noted that in the theoretical case of a 40% workforce reduction due to illness from H1N1, emergency services would be impacted by similar percentages of workforce reduction and if this were the case, then the likelihood of emergency services assisting with a facility shutdown would be diminished.
Jeff Zukowski, MEMA Area III/IV said that he would forward other COOP templates to Ms. Lepore for ideas to create COOPs tailored to the facility/department specific needs. LEPC members could contact her for copies of these templates.
Public Outreach - Ms. Lepore spoke about the new draft LEPC web pages that will be placed as a link from the Fire Department home page on the revamped town website. These draft webpages include a home page explaining the purpose of the LEPC, LEPC member groups, meeting information, address and contact numbers. Links on this draft home page include: Committee Rules, Emergency Planning and Community Right-to-Know Act (EPCRA) Fact Sheet, MA Dept. of Environmental Protection, Meeting Minutes, Safety Tips for Hazardous Materials Emergencies, MA
State Emergency Response Commission, and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. Links for more information to external websites are included throughout these pages. These web pages will go on line in the near future.
Ms. Lepore explained also that the tri-fold display for the NLEPC was on display in the clubhouse of Juniper Hill Golf Course in April for opening weekend there and at town hall. It will be displayed at the Apple Fest street fair on September 26 and at the Fire Department Fire Prevention Fair on October 4.
New Business – Information from Claudia McGuire, town dog officer was relayed by Ms. Lepore to the membership. Ms. McGuire’s informed the membership that the Northborough Emergency Animal Rescue Team (NEART) has been looking into the feasibility of using the Lincoln Street School as a shelter for pets in a disaster when the Middle School Red Cross shelter is activated. She participated in two State of Massachusetts Animal Rescue Team (SMART) conference calls to brainstorm about pet disaster plans. She has given a presentation on NEART at MEMA headquarters for an Emergency Manager’s Board Meeting. Previously she has mentioned that there is possibilities of having Memorandum of Understanding between Animal Control Officers with various
communities for an animal control officer from one community to be able to respond and assist with a pet disaster plan activation in another community.
H1N1 status was discussed by Jamie Terry, Health Agent. She said that the H1N1 vaccine is almost ready for distribution and that the vaccine will be given the same way as seasonal flu vaccine. MA DPH is promoting vaccination of the population for both seasonal flu and H1N1. A proposed family H1N1 vaccination clinic is being planned for a Saturday when the vaccine arrives in Northborough. Target groups prioritized to receive the vaccine are: pregnant women, then 6mos.-24 years, and then 24-65 years. It is the hope of health officials that the main source of vaccination will be through doctors’ offices. A seasonal flu clinic by the Board of Health is also being planned, for October 13 with a make-up date of October 27. It is expected that 100% of the seasonal flu vaccine doses
allotted to Northborough will be available by those dates. 60% is currently available.
Jim McCarthy reported that the hospital has not currently seen a significant increase in the number of H1N1 patients.
Dr. Gobron mentioned that collaboration has been ongoing with nursing staff and administration with strategies to promote prevention methods to avoid H1N1 infection with information to students and families such as cough etiquette, hand washing techniques and making available hand sanitizer dispensers in the schools. He said that Laurie Pardee, head nurse for the schools, has been keeping abreast of H1N1 information from the MA Dept. of Health. Preparations that school officials have taken for H1N1 and seasonal flu outbreak in the schools include purchase of masks for sick children waiting in the nurses office, and placing information on the school website and a brochure to go home with children about H1N1. Currently, no significant increase in illness has been seen within the school
population.
Chief Durgin mentioned that first responders are not on the CDC (Center for Disease Control) priority list for receiving the H1N1 vaccine. Recommendations currently are for emergency responders to administer to emergency calls of a sick patient suspected of having H1N1 by necessary personnel wearing a gown and mask and having other secondary emergency responders wait at a safe distance nearby so as to avoid direct contact with the patient. Also, he said that OEMS (Office for Emergency Medical Services) will be having a train-the-trainers class for paramedic administration of H1N1 vaccinations. He also mentioned that facilities purchasing of large amounts of alcohol based hand sanitizers to help prevent H1N1 should be aware that they are considered a class 1A substance and that if a facility stocks
more than 793 gallons, a license for storage would be needed.
.John Coderre added that the town web page will be updated with H1N1 flu information as information becomes available. He also mentioned that when the new redesigned town web page comes on line, citizens would be able to subscribe to the latest Northborough government news.
Should the EDS Plan (Emergency Dispensing Site Plan) need to be activated for H1N1 or another reason, according to Ms. Terry the Medical Reserve Corp. would be assisting with the vaccination process. Approximately 40 members now are part of the Medical Reserve Corp. available to the town. Many are medical personnel and others are qualified volunteers to assist with Dispensing Site Operations. Ms. Terry said that a second recruitment mailing funded by the MMRC (Massachusetts Medical Reserve Corp) would be sent soon to 800 more people.
Chief Durgin mentioned that a new 28 page brochure, Town of Northborough Emergency Preparedness Handbook – Preparing for the first 72 hours of an emergency or disaster has been printed and is ready for release to the public. Jamie Terry formulated the brochure to address sheltering, 72-hour kits, emergency broadcast media sources and many other helpful tips for citizens with web links for additional information. It will also be available in .pdf version on the town website.
Several meeting members discussed COOP, for example hospitals’ COOP containing planning to stop elective surgery if hospital personnel reach critically low numbers and facility COOP planning for maintenance of critical operations to maintain plant safety and security. Also, discussed was the probability that mutual aid would be unavailable due to the same issues with diminished levels of available personnel. Chief Durgin said that COOP do not need to be complicated or long but should address call down lists of personnel and maintenance of critical operations for safety and security of the facility. He also said that there could be a potential of a 40% workforce reduction due to pandemic conditions.
John Coderre relayed to members in other new business that during the December 2008 Ice Storm, computer use for internet and electronic access for town employees was severely limited from a power outage to town hall affecting the MIS/GIS department. To rectify this, the town hall generator circuits are being rewired to include MIS/GIS department circuits for generator power at town hall during emergencies with general power outages. Chief Durgin added that an After Action Report on the ice storm has gone out for comment and that efforts are being made to improve upon the glitches encountered in the ice storm. He also said that the Ice Storm Application for reimbursement submission for Northborough has gone to FEMA and there are hopes for a 90% reimbursement to the town.
Chief Durgin also spoke to members and told that Fire District 14 has received an electronic portable signboard and a light tower through a Central MA Regional Planning Council grant and both will be housed in Northborough.
The meeting adjourned at 10:55 a.m.
Respectfully submitted,
Nancy Lepore, Coordinator
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