January 19, 2006 LEPC Meeting Minutes

 

Attending were J. J. Deckert, Bud Newberry, Sharon Phelps, Alan Olson, John Crosby, Sherry Thompson, David Wagner, Steven Wilterding- Kansas Animal Health, Jim Spencer, Vivian Button, Ruben Flores, and Don Button.

Don Button called the meeting to order at 5:05 PM at the Grant County Fire Station.

The National Weather Service out of Dodge City will be in Ulysses on March 7 for their annual Severe Weather Awareness, Identification and Storm Spotter Training.  We will have two classes, 3:00 PM and 7:00 PM at the Lawson Room at the Grant County Civic Center.  There is no charge for this class and the class is open to the public.

Kansas Division of Emergency Management (KDEM) will hold a Debris Management Course on March 8-9 at the Pioneer Communication Training Room. These classes will run from 8:00 AM to 5:00 PM both days.  There is no charge for this class.

EMSAK (Emergency Management Support Association of Kansas) will hold a Conference March 29, 30 and 31 in Manhattan, Kansas.  KDEM will hold a pre-conference class on IS 800 The National Response Plan, an introduction on March 29, from 8 to Noon.

Copies of the Pandemic Flu Planning Checklist for individuals and families and Family Emergency Health Information Sheet were available at the meeting.  This information and other information can be found on www.pandemicflu.gov.

Kansas is going to a Regional approach for the Office of Domestic Preparedness Grant Monies.  Each county in the 7 Homeland Security Regions will have a representative on the Regional Council.  The State is requiring the Council to complete Regional worksheet of capabilities and assessments.  These worksheets were available at the meeting.

Several months ago we gave out worksheets on information the State wants in our new Local Emergency Operations Plan (LEOP).  Don asked if anyone had looked at these worksheets.  Don will be going to a meeting in March to look at an electronic LEOP template the State has developed.

The State also has a new State Mitigation Template to update our mitigation plan. Training will be in Garden City the end of February.

2006 NIMS Compliance Guidelines have been released.  Some of the people who need to become NIMS compliant are Emergency Medical Service personnel, Firefighters, Hospital Staff, Law Enforcement Personnel, Public Health Personnel, Public Works/ Utility personnel, Skilled Support Personnel, Elected Officials and other emergency management response, support, and volunteer personnel at all levels.  

An Exercise Committee for this year was requested.  Representatives from the City Police, Grant County EMS and City of Ulysses have volunteered to serve on the committee.

Steve Wilterding with Kansas Animal Health discussed the KANID Program.  KANID is the Kansas Animal Identification System, as part of the National Animal Identification System (NAIS), is a State/Federal/ Industry cooperative program intended to identify animal premises, individual animals, and ultimately to track movements of animals in commerce.   It is a voluntary program at this time, but in 2007 or 2008 it may become mandatory.  The Key Components of the KANID are: 1. Premises Identification – Identifying locations that manage or hold animals—referred to as premises—is the starting point of KANID.  Each premises will be identified with a unique seven character identifier, or a premises identification number. 2. Animal Identification – Animals will be identified either individually with a unique animal identification number (AIN) or, if they are managed and moved through the production chain as a group, with a Group/Lot Identification Number (Group/Lot ID).  3. Animal Tracking – As animals move from one premises to another, a few basic pieces of information will be reported to the national animal repository: the AIN or Group/Lot ID, the premises number of the receiving location, and the date of the animal or animals’ arrival.  The ability to achieve a 48-hour traceback objective will be directly affected by the percentage of animal movements that can be recorded.  Collecting animal movement information is the most challenging component of KANID. You can already start this process by registering your premises.  For more information you may call Teresa Stephens, KAHD, (785)-296-2326.

Jerry Jo Deckert stated they have started an EMT Basic Class On Monday, January 16, with between 15 and 18 people.  The class will meet on Monday and Thursday.  They have also been teaching instructor classes in ACLS and PALS.  The remodeling of the bathrooms and training rooms at the EMS building will start the end of January. 

John Crosby, Fire Chief, stated they had had several fires.  Several counties have issued burn bans, but John stated he was not in favor of issuing a burn ban at this time.

Don brought the New Communication trailer that was purchased with ODP Grant monies for people to inspect.  He has plans of putting radios with all of the neighboring counties frequency in the trailer so we can communicate with all areas.  Greg Standard from Seward County is talking about a mutual aid agreement and furnishing a cross-band repeater for the trailer.

The next meeting is February 16 at 5:00 PM in the basement of the Grant County Courthouse.

Tentative meeting dates for the rest of the year March 16, April 20, May 18, June 15, July 20, August 17, September 21, October 19, November 16, and December 21.