When the San Joaquin County Civil Grand Jury began investigating the Office of Emergency Services due to concerns about OES’ outreach efforts, they discovered that only one of 10 improvements suggested by the Pasadena-based consulting firm Tetra Tech Inc. in a November 2016 assessment had been implemented.
“To be fair, November 2016 was the beginning of a potential flood period, so OES was busy watching levees and all kinds of things,” said grand jury foreman Ward Downs.
Restructuring their leadership was the only change OES implemented in the past two years, Downs said, while other suggestions such as improving outreach and updating their agreement with the American Red Cross to provide mass care support during natural disasters such as floods known as a memorandum of understanding were left incomplete.
“One of the things we found in talking with people isn’t that mass care would no longer be provided with the Red Cross, it’s that it might be delayed,” Downs said. “The other problem is that the MOU is not up-to-date.”
Shellie Lima, who was appointed director of emergency operations for OES approximately 91⁄2 weeks ago, said she has already learned that the Red Cross can no longer be the county’s sole provider of mass care due to a lack of resources.
“We are actively working on developing a plan that will include all of the resources that the Red Cross would have provided,” Lima said. “A number of grants and things like that are periodically available throughout the year that will help with purchasing things where we find a need.”
Lima plans to hold town hall meetings, workshops and seminars with government agencies, non-profit organizations and members of the public to identify areas that need improvement, she said, although it may be a long process due to the number of people involved.
“We’re going to be grabbing all those folks, putting them in a room and working all those things out,” Lima said. “It could take upwards of a year from start to finish to have something solid, but we know there is a need so it is a priority for us.”
The grand jury also found that OES had spent an average of fewer than 15 hours per month on public outreach, and made suggestions such as working with neighborhood watch groups to develop preparedness education programs in their communities.
“Most of the people the grand jury talked to said outreach needs improvement. One of the things we suggested is that OES can expand their social media presence,” Downs said. “Another thing we suggested is that maps of evacuation centers be included in property tax bills. They could even be posted in parking lots or garages of rental properties.”
Aside from the town hall meetings Lima already plans to hold in the future, OES has already begun to utilize social media to inform county residents about making emergency preparedness plans and making their website easier to navigate and updated with seasonal information.
“It’ll be a one-stop place where people can go and get an idea of what resources are available, such as where to buy sand bags in flood season,” Lima said. “We know it’s going to get really hot this summer, so people can get information where cooling zones are and help with transportation if they need it.”
Although Lima is still new to her job, she said she is already working with her staff to identify other areas that need improvement and implement the necessary changes as quickly as possible.
“From what I have seen, the people who work here have a genuine desire to make sure people are safe,” Lima said. “That’s all they care about, and they are willing to do whatever it takes to make sure people are safe.”
June 16, 2018
Lodi News-Sentinel
By John Bays
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