From: Kevin Dwan
To: City Council
Cc:
Subject: "last mile" to the Emergency Operations Center Date: Thursday, July 4, 2024 10:47:33 AM
Dear City Council members.
In the past, the City has allocated money for equipment and training of MYNÍSNCU neighborhood volunteers to respond to emergencies using inexpensive handheld radios. The City has also purchased several more powerful radios to serve as base stations.
Over the years, many neighborhoods have organized; our regular SNCU radio check-ins have allowed us to gain experience communicating efficiently.
The reason I am writing is that we have a "last mile" issue: if the emergency operations manager is now the police chief, and the EOC is the police station where the City's decision-makers will gather to manage emergency response, we currently do not have our base station radios in place at the police department.
Our ask of you is to explore how we can best leverage the radio equipment and neighborhood radio volunteers who are committed to working together with emergency management services during emergencies.
We know that money is tight, but closing this "last mile" loop to MYN/SNCU neighborhood volunteers is an inexpensive change that can have dramatic effect in the event of the inevitable major emergency.
Thank you for your attention, and I'm happy to help with questions.
Kevin Dwan