1 RESOLUTION NO. 2023-13
A RESOLUTION OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF GONZALES
RATIFYING A PROCLAMATION OF THE EXISTENCE OF A LOCAL EMERGENCY
DUE TO STATEWIDE WINTER STORMS/ATMOSPHERIC RIVER
WHEREAS, the California Emergency Services Act (California Government Code sections 8639, 8550, et seq.) defines a local emergency as the existence of conditions of disaster or of extreme peril to the safety of persons and property within the territorial limits of a city, caused by conditions which are or are likely to be beyond the control of the services, personnel, equipment, and facilities of a city, and require the combined forces of other political subdivisions to combat; and
WHEREAS, beginning March 1, 2023, severe winter storms related to a series of atmospheric river systems (the 2023 Pineapple Express) struck California, bringing high winds, substantial precipitation, and river and urban flooding; and WHEREAS, it is anticipated that additional and continuing storms related to this series of atmospheric river systems will threaten California, bringing heavy rainfall, expected flooding, strong winds and wind gusts, falling debris, downed trees, and widespread power outages; and WHEREAS, these storms have already forced the closure of and caused damage to highways and roads, caused levee and culvert failures, and mandatory evacuations in severely impacted counties, and such storm-related impacts will likely continue to be caused for at least another few weeks; and
WHEREAS, these storms continue to threaten critical infrastructure, movement of resources, and potential power outages to thousands of households and businesses, and have caused and continue to threaten river and urban flooding due to excessive and prolonged rainfall; and
WHEREAS, due to the series of atmospheric river systems continuously impacting counties throughout the State, the counties have not had time to mitigate the cascading impacts of these storms; and
WHEREAS, under the provisions of Government Code section 8558(b), Governor Gavin Newsom found that conditions of extreme peril to the safety of persons and property exist due to these storms; and
WHEREAS, under the provisions of Government Code section 8558(b), Governor Gavin Newsom found that the conditions caused by these storms, by reason of their magnitude, are or are likely to be beyond the control of the services, personnel, equipment, and facilities of any single local government and require the combined forces of a mutual aid region or regions to appropriately respond; and
2 WHEREAS, under the provisions of Government Code section 8625(c), Governor Gavin Newsom found that local authority is inadequate to cope with the magnitude of the damage caused by these storms; and
WHEREAS, under the provisions of Government Code section 8571, Governor Gavin Newsom found that strict compliance with various statutes and regulations specified in his Proclamation would prevent, hinder, or delay the mitigation of the effects of these storms; and WHEREAS, based on the foregoing, on March 1, 2023, Governor Gavin Newsom proclaimed a state of emergency in several California counties, followed by a proclamation on March 8, 2023, adding Monterey to the list of impacted counties, and ordered as follows:
1. All agencies of the state government utilize and employ state personnel, equipment, and facilities for the performance of any and all activities consistent with the direction of the Office of Emergency Services and the State Emergency Plan. Also, all residents are to obey the direction of emergency officials with regard to this emergency in order to protect their safety.
2. The Office of Emergency Services shall provide assistance to local governments, if appropriate, under the authority of the California Disaster Assistance Act, Government Code section 8680 et seq., and California Code of Regulations, Title 19, section 2900 et seq.
3. The California Department of Transportation shall formally request immediate assistance through the Federal Highway Administration’s Emergency Relief Program, United States Code, Title 23, section 125, in order to obtain federal assistance for highway repairs, reconstruction, or restoring access.
4. As necessary to assist local governments and for the protection of public health and the environment, state agencies shall enter into contracts to arrange for the procurement of materials, goods, and services necessary to quickly assist with the response to and recovery from the impacts of these storms. Applicable provisions of the Government Code and the Public Contract Code, including but not limited to travel, advertising, and competitive bidding requirements, are suspended to the extent necessary to address the effects of these storms.
5. The provisions of Unemployment Insurance section 1253 imposing a one-week waiting period for unemployment insurance applicants are suspended as to all applicants who are unemployed as a direct result of these storms, applied for unemployment insurance benefits during the time period beginning February 21, 2023, and ending on the close of business on August 21, 2023, and are otherwise eligible for unemployment insurance benefits.
6. As directed by the Office of Emergency Services, the California National Guard may be mobilized under Military and Veterans Code section 146 to support disaster 3 response and relief efforts, as directed by the Office of Emergency Services, and to coordinate with all relevant state agencies and state and local emergency responders and law enforcement within the impacted areas. Sections 147 and 188 of the Military and Veterans Code are applicable during the period of participation in this mission, exempting the California Military Department from applicable procurement rules for specified emergency purchases, and those rules are hereby suspended.
7. Any fairgrounds the Office of Emergency Services determines suitable to assist individuals impacted by these storms in the counties identified in the March 1 or March 8 State of Emergency Proclamations shall be made available to the Office of Emergency Services pursuant to the Emergency Services Act, Government Code section 8589. The Office of Emergency Services shall notify the fairgrounds of the intended use and may immediately utilize the fairgrounds without the fairground board of directors’ approval.
WHEREAS, on March 9, 2023, the Monterey County Office of Emergency Services issued a local proclamation of emergency due to the impacts associated with the 2023 Pineapple Express winter storm/atmospheric river and placed a Flood Watch in effect; and WHEREAS, on March 9, President Joseph R. Biden declared that an emergency exists in California and ordered Federal assistance to supplement State, tribal, and local response efforts due to emergency storm conditions; and
WHEREAS, on March 13, 2023, the National Weather Service updated their Flood Warning to advise that due to the impacts associated with the 2023 Pineapple Express winter storm/atmospheric river the Salinas River crest is expected to exceed the January crest reaching Moderate flood stage on Friday, March 17, 2023; and
WHEREAS, Gonzales City Code Section 2.08.040 appoints City Manager Trevin Barber as the Director of Emergency Services; and
WHEREAS, after reviewing all of the afore-referenced circumstances and facts, Director Barber declared the existence of a local emergency within the City by Proclamation at 3:30 p.m. on March 13; and
WHEREAS, this Proclamation will help facilitate coordination of local, state and federal resources and may enable the City to seek reimbursement for costs of efforts to prevent and deal with the adverse impacts associated with current winter storms; and WHEREAS, per Government Code Section 8630 and Gonzales City Code Section
2.08.040 B.1, the Director’s Proclamation must be ratified by the City Council within 7 days of issuance in order to remain in full force and effect.
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT HEREBY RESOLVED BY THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF GONZALES, that the “Proclamation of Existence of Local Emergency” issued by Gonzales City Manager Trevin Barber, serving as the Director of Emergency Services, 4 a copy of which is attached hereto as Exhibit “A” and by this reference incorporated herein in its entirety, is hereby confirmed and ratified by the City Council of the City of Gonzales.
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the local emergency shall be deemed to continue to exist until its termination is proclaimed by the Gonzales City Council. City staff are directed to return this item for Council review of the need for continuing the local emergency at least once every sixty (60) days until the City Council terminates the local emergency.
BE IT FUTHER RESOLVED that the previous resolution proclaiming a local emergency on January 10, 2023, is no longer in effect and has been superseded by the emergency described herein.
PASSED AND ADOPTED by the City Council of the City of Gonzales at a regular meeting duly held on the 20th day of March, 2023 by the following vote:
AYES: COUNCIL MEMBERS:
NOES: COUNCIL MEMBERS:
ABSTAIN: COUNCIL MEMBERS:
ABSENT: COUNCIL MEMBERS:
Jose L. Rios, The Honorable Mayor
ATTEST:
Trevin W. Barber, City Clerk