TO: PUBLIC SAFETY, FINANCE AND FROM: Raymond Riordan
STRATEGIC SUPPORT COMMITTEE
SUBJECT: CITY MANAGER’S OFFICE OF DATE: September 8, 2023
EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT
WORK PLAN PRIORITIES
ANNUAL REPORT
Approved Date
RECOMMENDATION
Accept the annual report on the City Manager’s Office of Emergency Management Work Plan priorities for Fiscal Year 2022-2023, including an update on efforts to improve resiliency in responding to disasters.
BACKGROUND
The COVID-19 pandemic was the most significant emergency in the City’s history of emergency management and response. While the Emergency Operations Center (EOC) reduced staffing on February 25, 2022, the Office of Emergency Management (OEM) continued to monitor public health threats identified by the Santa Clara County Public Health Department and coordinated the delivery of information with the Emergency Public Information Officer through the rest of calendar year. This included the temporary emergence of the Monkeypox virus, which affected smaller segments of the community and eventually subsided. An After-Action Report that covered the actions taken during the COVID-19 response was presented to the City Council on March 21, 2023.
Recovery from COVID-19 continued throughout Fiscal Year (FY) 2022-2023. On December 6, 2022, City Council accepted the COVID-19 Recovery Task Force Report. Council also authorized the expenditure of a $2.0 million appropriation from the American Rescue Plan Fund to implement 10 recommendations determined by the Task Force. This included continuing the Promotores pilot program and incorporating relevant Task Force recommendations in the City’s Children and Youth Services Master Plan process. On May 22, 2023, the City Council received an update from the COVID-19 Recovery Task Force.
PSFSS COMMITTEE AGENDA: 9/21/2023
ITEM: (d)6.
9/12/2023
PUBLIC SAFETY, FINANCE, AND STRATEGIC SUPPORT COMMITTEE September 8, 2023
Subject: City Manager’s Office of Emergency Management Work Plan Priorities Annual Report
Following the direction of the Mayor’s March Budget Message unanimously approved by City Council, the City Manager’s Office presented the City Infrastructure Strategy to the Transportation and Environment Committee on June 5, 2023 (and cross-referenced to City Council on September 19, 2023). The City Infrastructure Strategy1lays out a plan to address meeting our 2030 carbon mitigation goals, municipal regional (stormwater) permit requirements, water supply needs, and strategies to pursue federal and state funding for aligned programs. One of the five objectives in the City Infrastructure Strategy is “Disaster Ready & Climate Smart.” There is a direct connection between being “disaster ready” and being “climate-smart”. Climate change is in many ways a slow-moving global disaster, and each of the emergency management phases (mitigation, preparedness, response, and recovery), have a mirrored approach to climate change (mitigation, sustainability, adaptation, and resilience). Conversely, being climate smart means thinking differently about the types of disasters we are likely to face such as more extreme floods, sea level rise, and more severe wildfires. The City must adapt its emergency management plans and procedures to reflect this changing climate reality. The 16 workstreams that make up the City Infrastructure Strategy are led by the City Infrastructure Team. Progress toward workstream deliverables (or “Key Results” as they are referred to) will be reported out once a Quarter to the Transportation & Environment Committee.
Supplementing the reports highlighted above, this memorandum will cover progress on OEM’s Work Plan from July 1, 2022 to June 30, 2023. The OEM Work Plan centered around the following four Objectives:
1. The City has a plan to tackle any emergency;
2. Residents, businesses, and employees are ready to take action and able to answer a “call to action”;
3. The public trusts the City to provide vital information; and
4. Our response is optimized through technology.
This report will review the Key Results associated with each of the four Objectives achieved from July 1, 2022, to June 30, 2023. The memorandum will also outline the OEM Work Plan for July 1, 2023, to June 30, 2024.
1 City Infrastructure Strategy Memo to Transportation & Environment Committee (June 5, 2023) https://sanjose.legistar.com/View.ashx?M=F&ID=12029037&GUID=9A83F917-FD07-4959-A52E1CE8EEA5863B
PUBLIC SAFETY, FINANCE, AND STRATEGIC SUPPORT COMMITTEE September 8, 2023
Subject: City Manager’s Office of Emergency Management Work Plan Priorities Annual Report
EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT WORK PLAN ACCOMPLISHMENTS
(July 1, 2022, through June 30, 2023)
The City staff’s tremendous response to address COVID-19 and facilitate recovery activities required a respite and delayed many objectives identified at the August 18, 2022, Public Safety, Finance and Strategic Support Committee (PSFSS) report. Despite this challenge, this section outlines significant achievements that occurred in the past year in coordination and collaboration with other City departments. They are categorized by OEM’s Program Objectives.
Objective 1 - The City has a plan to tackle any emergency. • Coordinated response to the public health outbreak of Monkeypox with the Santa Clara County Public Health Department. The OEM collaborated with the Santa Clara County Public Health Communications and Mobile Vaccination (MoVax) teams to forward information and connect eligible people to vaccinations. (July 2022) • Completed first-round updates to the Emergency Operations Plan and five supporting annexes: Evacuation, Mass Care, Debris Management, Damage Assessment, and Community Recovery. (July 2022 to June 2023)
• Reconvened the City’s Emergency Management Work Group (EMWG) which was postponed during response to COVID-19. The EMWG, established in July 2017, was initiated to provide an interdepartmental platform to discuss policies, programs, and plans related to citywide emergency management and response. (September 2022)
PUBLIC SAFETY, FINANCE, AND STRATEGIC SUPPORT COMMITTEE September 8, 2023
Subject: City Manager’s Office of Emergency Management Work Plan Priorities Annual Report
• Facilitated and coordinated a team of representatives from the Emergency Management Work Group who collaborated to provide input to the City’s Annex to the Santa Clara County Multi-Jurisdiction Hazard Mitigation Plan. All 24 City departments were engaged to address the City’s vulnerability to earthquake, fire, flood, extreme weather, hazardous materials cybersecurity, civil unrest, terrorism, drought, power outage, and dam failure events. The Hazard Mitigation Plan is a statutory requirement that ensures the City retains eligibility for potentially millions of dollars of federal hazard mitigation funding. (September 2022 to June 2023)
• Activated Cooling Centers September 3-8, 2022 and June 30, 2023 for a total of seven days at Camden (average of 18 attendees), Roosevelt (average of 14 attendees), and Emma Prusch Farm Park (average of 41 attendees).
• Kicked off a project to create the first Continuity of Operations Plan that includes all 24 City departments. A comprehensive project team was formed, surveys were conducted with every department, and a disaster risk assessment and vulnerability assessment were completed. (October 2022 to June 2023).
• Updated and reorganized the operational guide for the District Disaster Offices for the ten City Council member districts to include additional planning tools and reference materials based on discussions with the City Council member districts. (November 2022) • Activated the Emergency Operations Center on December 30, 2022, proclaimed a Local Emergency on January 3, 2023, and deactivated on January 16, 2023 due to multiple atmospheric river events. City Council ratified the proclamation of Local Emergency on January 10, 2023. The Local Emergency was twice extended and terminated on June 20, 2023.
• Evacuated unhoused residents along the Ross, Los Gatos, Fisher, Coyote, and Penitencia Creeks and the Guadalupe River who were threatened with life-threatening harm from sudden high stream flows that resulted from the expected heavy rains. (January 2023) • Activated shelters at Seven Trees and Camden Community Centers. Seven Trees operated from January 4 to January 23, serving 166 registered residents. Camden operated January 9 to January 24, serving 112 registered residents. (January 2023) • As disaster shelters were deactivated, the Housing Department successfully supported the creation of Evacuation Transition Facilities for the unhoused. For the 89 residents who participated in the Evacuation Transition Facilities, the Housing Department coordinated basic needs services including tents, tarps, sleeping bags, hygiene support restrooms, showers, and meals. Staff provided additional services to transition individuals to housing opportunities along with other support and connections. Seventy-five individuals were transitioned to permanent or other transitional housing and 14 exited back to homelessness. (January to May 2023)
• Multiple atmospheric events again impacted the City in late February and into March, prompting the activation of the Emergency Operations Center on March 9, 2023.
Response operations ended on March 21, 2023. The Emergency Operations Center was deactivated, and recovery activities were initiated. (March 2023)
PUBLIC SAFETY, FINANCE, AND STRATEGIC SUPPORT COMMITTEE September 8, 2023
Subject: City Manager’s Office of Emergency Management Work Plan Priorities Annual Report
• Activated a shelter at Seven Trees from March 9 to March 17, 2023, for the second atmospheric river EOC activation, serving 60 registered residents. (March 2023) • Presented the COVID-19 After-Action Report to City Council for approval. (March 2023)
• Drafted five commodity points of distribution (C-POD) site activation plans for the distribution of emergency food, supplies, and equipment post-disaster. There is a potential to serve 90,000 people per day if all C-POD sites are activated and operational. (March 2023)
o Lake Cunningham Regional Park – Type 1 Vehicular Site – potential to serve 20,000 people per day.
o Emma Prusch Farm Park – Type 2 Vehicular Site – potential to serve 10,000 people per day.
o Leininger Parking Lot A – Type 1 Vehicular Site – potential to serve 20,000 people per day.
o The SAP Center – Type 1 Vehicular Site - potential to serve 20,000 people per day.
o Mexican Heritage Plaza – Type 1 Pedestrian Site – potential to serve 20,000 people per day.
• Drafted a commodity points of distribution (C-POD) logistics plan for activating, operating, and demobilizing one or more distribution sites for emergency supplies postdisaster. (March 2023) • Conducted additional data-gathering interviews with all departments to complete the Continuity of Operations Plan capabilities assessment. (May 2023) • Completed the first-round draft Continuity of Operations Plan for each department. (June 2023)
• The City Manager’s Office was awarded $648,000 from the Governor’s Office of Planning and Research to develop a Climate Adaptation Plan. The San José Climate Adaptation Plan will focus on critical infrastructure with an emphasis on energy, water, and electrified transportation, and incorporating the needs of vulnerable communities. (June 2023).
Objective 2 - Residents, businesses, and employees are ready to take action and able to answer a “call to action.”
• Launched Community Emergency Response Team (CERT) trainings in underserved communities, in coordination with the Project HOPE program, including outreach events and presentations in neighborhoods such as Cadillac Winchester and Poco Way. (September 2022)
• Conducted a four-day Essentials of Emergency Management course for 40 EOC personnel. This course provides foundational training in Emergency Operations Center management and includes a 1-day immersive functional exercise. The course is required for all assigned Emergency Operations Center and Department Operations Center staff. (September 2022)
PUBLIC SAFETY, FINANCE, AND STRATEGIC SUPPORT COMMITTEE September 8, 2023
Subject: City Manager’s Office of Emergency Management Work Plan Priorities Annual Report
• Updated the City’s Disaster Service Worker Policy to include guidance and direction on Disaster Service Worker training requirements for all public employees pursuant to California Government Code Sections 3100-3109. Those City employees assigned to the EOC and Department Operations Centers will be provided additional training related to their assignments. (January 2023)
• Completed a Tabletop Exercise with a total of 31 exercise participants to review and discuss the Lake Cunningham Regional Park commodity points of distribution (C-POD) structure and operations. (March 2023)
• Conducted training for the Mayor and City Council on Emergency Management and their individual Disaster District Office Plans. (March 2023). • Participated in the Urban Area Security Initiative Annual Golden Eagle Full Scale Exercise, with a total of 60 exercise participants. In coordination with 13 City departments and two volunteer organizations, the City’s Emergency Public Information function and volunteer amateur radio services were activated to test in real-time public and tactical communications with EOC Logistics staff. The operation of the Lake Cunningham Regional Park C-POD site was key to the event’s success. (May 2023) • Trained 279 new Community Emergency Response Team (CERT) members through ongoing monthly CERT training meetings. (June 2023)
• Completed the first draft of the City’s Multi-Year Training and Exercise Plan to establish guidance and direction for emergency operations training and exercises over a five-year period. This document reflects the collaboration of City departments within the Emergency Management Work Group and will serve to coordinate training and exercise activities within the emergency organization. (June 2023) • Activated an Incident Management Team to monitor and plan for potential consequences following the reversal of Title 42. (June 2023)
• Provided emergency preparedness education throughout the year with direct contact to 2,369 residents. (June 2023)
Objective 3 - The public trusts the City to provide vital information. • Used the Wireless Alert Networks to notify residents with critical information related to the following events:
o Missing person at risk on September 5, 2022
o Weather-related creek overtopping on January 4, 2023
o Weather-related flooding advisory on January 8, 2023
• Coordinated with Parks, Recreation, and Neighborhood Services to review the City’s Cherry Flat dam failure plan. (November 2022)
• Collaborated with the Santa Clara County Operational Area for seven extreme weather events (heat and cold) and produced public information regarding the event and protective measures to take.
o #1 December 31, 2022 – January 9, 2023
o #2 January 27, 2023 – January 31, 2023
PUBLIC SAFETY, FINANCE, AND STRATEGIC SUPPORT COMMITTEE September 8, 2023
Subject: City Manager’s Office of Emergency Management Work Plan Priorities Annual Report
o #3 February 14, 2023
o #4 February 21 – March 5, 2023
o #5 March 8, 2023 – March 22, 2023
o #6 March 27, 2023
o #7 June 29, 2023
• Deployed the long-range acoustical devices to broadcast loudspeaker evacuation notices along the waterways during our public safety emergencies. (January and March 2023) • Updated, with Valley Water, the County’s Grant Dam Emergency Action Plan and the Almaden Valley Emergency Action Plan. (February 2023)
• The Soft Story Program evolved during the year. To date, the contractor identified 3,500 potential soft story structures, specified critical components of the mandatory soft-story ordinance and program, and other deliverables required by the $4.6 million Federal Emergency Management Agency grant. (June 2023)
• Coordinated with Parks, Recreation, and Neighborhood Services, the City continued to manage six claims worth $4.4 million from the 2017 floods. (June 2023) • Coordinated with the Finance Department, the City continues to manage the following claims with the Federal Emergency Management Agency: fourteen claims from the COVID response and recovery for a total of $36 million; ten claims from the January 2023 storm response and recovery for a total of $4 million; and six claims from the March 2023 storm response and recovery for a total of $1.5 million. (June 2023) Objective 4 - Our response is optimized through technology. • Completed installation of a 137-foot monopole with 35 antennas that will provide resilient, uninterrupted service for 30 types of communications systems for the EOC.
Two OEM staff dedicated 360 hours to completing this installation and associated coordination. (May 2023)
• Collaborated with the Office of Employee Relations and the Information Technology Department, the Office of Emergency Management launched a City-wide Learning Management Portal in PeopleSoft to track employee completion of required Disaster Service Worker training. The training consists of three online introductory courses for all staff and two additional intermediate courses for supervisors and leaders. This training will improve the preparedness and response capabilities of the City’s Emergency Organization. (May 2023)
• Coordinated with Public Works, completed 90% construction of the Emergency Operations Center (EOC), with four more months until occupancy. (June 2023) • Coordinated with the Information Technology Department, completed the purchase of $1,473,415 of technology for the EOC, including two Compact Rapid Deployable trailers capable of enhancing cellular communications and providing satellite internet coverage during emergencies. (June 2023)
• Over the last year, 29,800 distinct visitors opened the Emergency Management section of the City website. (June 2023)
PUBLIC SAFETY, FINANCE, AND STRATEGIC SUPPORT COMMITTEE September 8, 2023
Subject: City Manager’s Office of Emergency Management Work Plan Priorities Annual Report
ANALYSIS
In FY 2022–2023, OEM included 13 full-time positions. These positions were comprised of nine permanent positions funded by the General Fund (of which eight were filled through April 2023; one employee departed the City before June 2023), three limit-dated positions funded by the Urban Area Security Initiative grant (of which three were filled), and one limited-dated filled position funded by a combination of American Rescue Plan Fund and other funds. All four limited dated positions expired June 30, 2023.
In FY 2023-2024, OEM includes 12 full-time positions. These positions include ten permanent positions funded by the General Fund (of which nine were filled through June 2023; one subsequently departed the City) and two limit-dated positions through June 30, 2024 funded by the Urban Area Security Initiative Grant (of which both have been filled). The decrease in total positions is due to the conversion of two limited-dated positions to permanent ones in the General Fund, offset by the deletion of a grant position in the General Fund.
The City will continue to evaluate the ability to make ongoing the recurring one-time funded position to increase the stability of staffing in OEM.
EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT WORK PLAN PRIORITIES
(July 1, 2023 through June 30, 2024)
The Citywide Emergency Management Work Plan Priorities for July 2023 to June 2024 will be measured by the following Key Results.
Objective 1 - City has a plan to tackle any emergency.
• Reconvene the Emergency Services Council as needed for plan approval, ordinance updates, and managing the Disaster Service Worker Volunteer Programs. • Present the Base Emergency Operations Plan and six support Annexes: Evacuation Support, Mass Care and Shelter, Shelter Management Plan, Debris Management Annex and Plan, Recovery Support Annex and Plan, and Damage Assessment Support Annex for City Council adoption,
• Ensure that all updated plans address the cultural and equity values of the City, and that people with disabilities and/or access and functional needs are included in the planning process.
• Conduct training and exercises of the Continuity of Government and Continuity of Operations Plan (COOP).
Objective 2 - Residents, businesses, and employees are ready to take action and able to answer a “call to action”.
• In coordination with the Office of Racial Equity, Parks, Recreation and Neighborhood Services, and Library outreach teams, the Community Emergency Response Team (CERT)
PUBLIC SAFETY, FINANCE, AND STRATEGIC SUPPORT COMMITTEE September 8, 2023
Subject: City Manager’s Office of Emergency Management Work Plan Priorities Annual Report
program will continue to deliver courses to underserved and marginalized communities and deliver courses in multiple languages including Vietnamese, Spanish, and Chinese. • Implement the Multi-Year Training and Exercise Plan and program with the objective to improve the capability of the EOC staff toward state credentialing. • Implement the Multi-Year Training and Exercise Plan to enhance the ability of EOC personnel to respond and recover from the next disaster. • Distribute a Request for Proposal for a Master Services Agreement for additional support during emergencies to augment City personnel response.
• Draft Memorandums of Understanding with non-profit agencies to enhance coordination of services during future emergencies.
• Initiate planning for an emergency management and technology conference.
Objective 3 - The public trusts the City to provide vital information. • Respond as needed to emergencies and conditions that present the need for coordination among multiple departments.
• Deliver accurate and timely public information in multiple languages both as part of preparedness efforts and in the case of an emergency.
• Support City efforts related to access and functional needs. • In coordination with the Housing and Planning, Building and Code Enforcement Departments, implement a mandatory soft-story ordinance, plan, and grant pilot project, including options for property owners to finance the retrofits. • Continue fostering relationships with community-based organizations like the American Red Cross and Collaborating Agencies’ Disaster Relief Effort (CADRE). There is currently a Memorandum of Understanding in place with the American Red Cross that allows them to use the City’s community centers during an emergency.
• Continue to engage Santa Clara County Office of Emergency Management through the use of workshops and seminars on issues in common when responding to major catastrophic events.
Objective 4 - Our response is optimized through technology. • Complete construction of the new OEM offices and EOC. Tentative OEM staff move-in date is end of October 2023.
• Complete the installation of key technology equipment and conduct routine testing.
CONCLUSION
The effectiveness of the City’s emergency planning, response, recovery, and resilience has heightened the ability of all departments to work together, coordinate, and communicate. The success of the City’s emergency response and ability to recover quickly requires close collaboration among the departments and the City’s ability to listen to residents and businesses.
Our focus has been on these two very critical tasks.
PUBLIC SAFETY, FINANCE, AND STRATEGIC SUPPORT COMMITTEE September 8, 2023
Subject: City Manager’s Office of Emergency Management Work Plan Priorities Annual Report
While the response and recovery to COVID-19 has been long and has required an inordinate amount of resources and people power, the City has shifted more of its focus toward preparedness for other potential disasters. The City will continue to prioritize the four Objectives described in this memorandum.
EVALUATION AND FOLLOW-UP
The Office of Emergency Management will return to the Public Safety, Finance and Support Committee in September 2024 to update the Committee on emergency management progress.
COORDINATION
This memo has been coordinated with the City Attorney's Office, City Manager’s Budget Office, Housing Department, Planning, Building and Code Enforcement and Parks, Recreation and Neighborhood Services Departments.
RAYMOND RIORDAN
Director,
City Manager’s Office of Emergency Management
For questions, please contact Raymond Riordan, Director of the City Manager’s Office of Emergency Management, at (408) 794-7050.