My Motivation for taking Emergency Managment Training

In everything that we do we have certain motivating factors that push us in certain directions.  Whatever that factor is, a reward, a good paying job or just the satisfaction of helping make this world a better place, it is important that we always remember what we wish our end result to be.

In politics, I once figured I would use this office as Mayor as a springboard to the State Legislature or other higher office.  I have always enjoyed helping others and believed that being a servant elected leader was the way for me to do that.  As I have held office, I learned that there are many ways to serve my fellow citizens; including making the city I serve more prepared to face and recover from disasters.  This desire to protect our city has become one of my motivating factors.

With disasters being a low probability event, some have questioned why I spend so much time working on emergency management. First I do not see disasters as a “what if” question but as a “when”. Since taking office in 2004, our city has been involved in five Presidentially Declared Disasters, three additional flooding events and numerous wind storms. Over this past decade we can add multiple earthquakes, additional storms and issues such as hazardous material spills.  Our city faces disasters on a somewhat regular basis.  I want to make sure that our city, and our citizens and businesses are prepared to face, survive and quickly recover from any type of disaster, natural or manmade.

As part of our emergency preparedness planning we have created the Comprehensive Emergency Management Plan or CEMP.  This document outlines the overall direction of our efforts and establishes certain requirements for the city to include in its preparedness efforts including changes in federal policy.  Among these requirements are compliance with NIMS, established by Homeland Security Presidential Directives; a Training and Exercise Plan and most recently requirements to integrate citizen and business preparedness. As Pacific is a small city with limited resources, we had to be creative in how we accomplished these efforts.

When I first started taking emergency management training, it was to learn the skills needed to write our CEMP.  As was seen with BP’s Gulf Oil Spill plan, you cannot just take a template, change a few names and call it good.  I had to learn how a plan worked, how you plan for and respond to various threats and most of all what make the difference in saving people’s lives and property.  This is why I applied for and took several classes including the IEMC (Integrated Emergency Management classes) at FEMA’s Emergency Management Institute(EMI).  But writing our plan was only a small part of what we needed to do.  The requirements for getting training and participation in exercises extended beyond just me.

When President Bush issued Homeland Security Presidential Directives 5 and 8 he created the requirements for jurisdictions to meet the requirements of the National Incident Management System (NIMS).  Included in those requirements is minimal training in Incident Command or ICS by all parties that may be involved in emergency response.  ICS is the command and management system, originally designed by Wildland fire but now used across this nation by all responders.  The problem is how can we cost effectively provide this required training to our staff and citizens with our limited resources.  This is why I took the Train the Trainer program at EMI and became an ICS instructor.  Since taking that class our city has provided free classes on ICS 100 and 200 as well as assisted in other training programs in our region. But Incident Command is not the only type of training needed to prepare our city.

Our city is also required to have a regular training and exercise plan that is strategic, encompasses our CEMP and truly builds upon our capabilities as a community.  Again, I looked at our city’s resources and decided that our best bet was for me to take the classes needed to write, conduct and evaluate disaster exercises.  FEMA’s Master Exercise Practioner (MEP) program was the answer.  This program first requires participants to take three specific online courses and the Homeland Security Exercise and Evaluation Protocol (HSEEP) course and then apply to the MEP program at EMI.  I was accepted and participated in Series 11, one of the first elected officials to ever complete this course.  The MEP program contains three week long classes at EMI with more than 200 hours of homework designing proficiency demonstration projects in between.  Since graduating from this program, city staff members have participated in workshops, tabletop exercises and unfortunately real events that have taken the place of requirements for functional exercises. We have been able to meet the requirements in spite of the limited resources we have because we have been able to do so much more in house.

Finally as we move into a phase of increased participation by our citizens, it is important that we have training and exercises for them as well.  This is why I am participating in the Master Trainer Program at EMI.  This is a series of six classes, five of which are resident classes, and completion of a Practicum that demonstrates an understanding and proficiency in developing training programs.  This is not just teaching programs that are currently out there such as ICS and CERT (Community Emergency Response Teams), but looking at performance gaps, identifying training needs and designing of programs to close those gaps and fill those needs.  Even in this, I have chosen to not take the easy way out for my practicum, and have been developing a training program that may end up with national implications.  Training of elected officials and other policy group members in what they need to do to prepare their jurisdictions.  The impact of this locally is that working with the new Citizen Advisory board I am putting together on Emergency Management, we will be able to assess training gaps in our community and design programs to address those needs, specific to our capabilities.

Other courses I have taken including the Enhanced Unified Command Class at Texas A&M, and the Hazard Assessment and Response Management Class at the Center for Domestic Preparedness are more to gain a better understanding of skill sets needed and include them in our planning.  All of these courses are funded by the Department of Homeland Security and do not cost local tax payers other than for a participant meal ticket.  These programs are available for responders, staff and elected officials across this nation to go to.  All they need to do is apply themselves and take the time to take the prerequisites and attend the programs.  We have sent our Deputy Emergency Operations Manager to EMI for an IEMC class and we are sending our Public Information Officer (PIO) this summer for an advanced PIO training.  I would love to see some of our City Council take the time to attend as well, but have not seen the interest to date.  Hopefully that may change this year.

So now that you understand what motivates me, to dedicate so much of my life in this type of training, you will better understand what I am trying to accomplish.  I want our city to have a well written plan that not only outlines what we need to do to respond to a disaster but also guides our efforts to train our citizens and staff.  I want our training and exercise programs to not only meet the minimal requirements of federal laws, but also defendable as they are appropriately designed and taught. What I truly wish to see though is that other elected officials follow in my footsteps, take the time to attend these classes and build the skills they need to respond to disasters.  If when I leave office, all I am remembered for is preparing our city and our citizens to face disaster then my time and efforts will have been a success.  Because that is what my motivating factors are.

It is time to really be good stewards of our rivers

Over the past 20 years the river floor of the White River has risen eight feet.  This means less water it is capable of holding and an increase of flood threat, both in Pacific and downstream.  It also impacts soil layers that were not affected even a few years ago.  That is why we are seeing the new phenomena of ground water being pushed up in the north eastern part of City Park and under homes near 3^{rdAve SE} and Skinner road. Prior to the 2009 floods, USGS studies showed that the river had risen six feet from 1989 to 2008. Following the 2009 flood, some sections of river have risen up an additional two feet.  This is not an issue that levy setbacks or Sandbag floodwalls will fix.  The only viable option is to work to deepen the river channel so floodwaters reducing the impact on those layers of soil that are permeable.

I do not disagree that we need to use best available science in dealing with the protection of salmon and other species that rely on a clean healthy river.  By using proven practices of select debris removal and protecting our rivers from the pollution that uncontrolled flooding causes we can have the best of both worlds.  This is not an either / or situation. It is a situation where all sides of this issue need to sit down calmly and develop a realistic plan for maintenance and protection of our rivers as well as the valuable biodiversity it includes.  Now I know my position is not going to be popular with some people in this town or this country.  I know that some people will outright oppose what I am proposing, but we are at a crossroads.  We either need to start really being good stewards of our environment and fix the problem or continue to threaten the health of our rivers with uncontrolled floods.

Now I am aware that some will argue that we need to let our rivers run wild and free.  That the solution is to just move homes out of the flood plain and let those areas return to a more natural state.  The homes that were flooded in 2009 and the homes that are being flooded right now are not in high risk flood areas.  In fact the majority of those flooded were not even in the 500 year flood plain.  Sediment depositing in the sections of river adjacent to our city have rapidly changed the dynamics of the river.  At this same rate the entire valley would be consumed in the next 50 years.  But this does not need to be an either or situation.

Salmon like cool pools of fresh shaded water flowing over gravel and around the occasional piece of woody debris.  That is not what we currently have.  We have piles of gravel moving downriver along with sand and silt.  We have logjams and wood piles that are not creating habitat but are only waiting for the next storm to move a few more miles down the river.  This is not a matter of disturbing habitat; this is a matter of dealing with the dynamics of a rapidly changing river system that deposits large amounts of debris and gravel in our city.

I agree with current projects proposed by King County of reactivating an old oxbow on the east bank of the river, removing portions of the levy there and creating what I think could be one of the greatest environmental projects in our region in decades.  I also want to see the City of Pacific and Pierce County reach agreement on wetlands currently in a small, isolated patch of unincorporated Pierce County south of the County Line.  We wish to expand some of the wetland areas, clean up previous storm damage and restore it to a functioning wetlands area.  I agree with plans to create a levy setback on the west side of the river, however these plans need to be modified so they do not destroy a neighborhood and so they incorporate new information about the soil composition near the park.  It does no good to create a levy that water just permeates the soil underneath and creates other flooding issues.

What I propose is three things.  First we look at a concept I first heard brought up by Robert Freitag, a University of Washington Urban Planning expert who believes that we need to look at controlling erosion into streams and sediment collection points could be created that could effectively and environmentally safely remove gravel and debris.  Secondly we look at removing woody debris that does not create stable habitat for fish. I am not talking about stable logjams and engineered piles of debris, I am talking about the debris that next storm continue a journey down stream and event8ually need to be pulled out of Commencement Bay.  Finally we remove large piles of gravel buildup that has promoted the buildup of the river bottom.  In combination these three efforts will restore some of the capacity and help the river itself deal with some of the impacts that man has had on it.

There is no doubt that mankind has had a negative impact on our rivers. I support efforts to use real best management practices and common sense policy to reduce the impact development and growth has on our river ecosystems.  But it is like closing the door after the horse has got out of the barn.  We need to clean up some of our own impact to allow the rivers to flow more naturally. And we do not need to sacrifice anything or anybody to do it.

If all my opponents can do is play childish games ...well ... Good Luck With That

One of the things I talked about in my kick off was “Leadership” and “Taking the High Road, not the Easy Road”.  As I promised in an earlier post, I intend to take the high road and not stoop to childish games or dirty campaigns.  Unfortunately, those who oppose me do not believe the same thing.

First, it is not unusual to have opponents showing up at the same public facility you are holding an event.  I have absolutely no problem with that and in fact I am sure the owners appreciate the additional revenues.  I actually have no problem with my opponent (who by the way will only fund my opposition, he will not run himself) passing out free t-shirts with my picture and www.anybodybutrich.com offering anyone who wore one free beer for the evening.  Again, I am sure the owners of the Brewery thank you for the business.  But I wonder if he realizes how childish it made him look.  Here I have 50 people stopping in to wish me well, purchasing their own beer, and having a good time, and he had to bribe people (most of whom have no idea who I am or why he opposes me) to wear these shirts.  Oh well, good luck with that.

As for the website he is promoting.  It is a single page with only a link to a KOMO news report made even prior to the last election.  In August of 2007, I agreed to meet with members and supporters of the Latino community who felt they were being targeted by Pacific Police.  At this meeting they expressed there was fear in the Latino Community and for the fact that they had fear, I apologized.  I stand behind that statement today as I stood behind it then.  That does not however mean that I agreed with everything that this group wanted or that I was apologizing for the actions of our Police Officers.  I believe that when any group feels that they cannot meet with their elected officials out of fear, that is wrong and we need to do what we can to open those lines of communication and dispel that fear.  To date, I believe that the City of Pacific is one of the few cities that has actually dealt with this issue rather than sweeping it under the rug or move to either political extreme.

I am proud of the City of Pacific and what we have accomplished.  I am proud of my part in building community and empowering citizens and business to take an active role in their own destiny.  I am proud of the support I have to run for another term as Mayor.  Our citizens want a Mayor who is more interested in making our city a better place to live than one who was put there by those who do not want to follow the rules.  But if my opposition can only play childish games instead of dealing with the issues that matter in our community well all I can say is “Good Luck With That”

I guess some people have nothing better to do than complain

While doing my typical tour of the city, erasing graffiti and emptying bus stop garbage cans, I had something happen that totally caught me off guard.  I had someone complain to me for having my flashers on.

Since 2005, Through Pacific Partnerships, I have emptied the garbage cans at 8 of the bus stops in Pacific.  This is for the “Adopt a Stop” program that METRO has.  In exchange for this service, the City of Pacific gets about 600 one day Bus Passes each year that we distribute through the Senior and Youth programs, the Court and occasionally through police and fire.  It is a nice win/win partnership.  When I am parked on the shoulder of the road I turn my flashers on for safety.

When I do my weekly drives through town looking for graffiti, I will also turn my flashers on both when I stop, but also to signal to other drivers that I may be driving slower than normal, looking for graffiti.  Again this is for safety.

Today, believe it or not, a former City Council member actually stopped me and complained about me having my flashers on.  I guess that some people have nothing better to do than complain.

So if you happen to drive by and see me on the side of the road emptying trash or scrubbing graffiti, understand that my flashers are on for safety.

We have accomplished alot, but still have much to do

Since taking office as the Mayor of Pacific, we have accomplished many things and scored many victories however there is unfinished business I still wish to accomplish. It is because of this unfinished business that I have decided to run for another term.  It is my hope that over this next four years you will see the ground work that we have already made come to fruition.

When I first took office in January of 2004 the City of Pacific was a much different place. Our City had Millions of dollars of debt, one park and a growing crime problem that was chiefly caused by drug and gang activity.  We worked together, the city, our business community and our citizens to find a new way of getting things done.  I am proud of that accomplishment.  Now seven years later and in spite of the greatest recession in decades, our community is much stronger.  We have paid off most of that debt and adopted new policies that require the city to be fiscally responsible.  We now have dozens of smaller parks scattered throughout the community and adding to our overall quality of life.  We have taken that crime problem head on and now made the City of Pacific one of the safer communities in our nation.  We aggressively combat graffiti and gang activity.  We have a zero tolerance for drugs and aggressively pursue those who wish to manufacture or distribute in or near our city limits.  Because of actions we took in 2004 to correct the direction of this city we now have a better place to live today.  I want those corrections to continue.

I am proud of what we have accomplished in making our community better prepared for disasters. In 2004 we had a ¼ page, boilerplate emergency plan that had as much relevance to Pacific as protecting Walruses did in the BP Gulf Oil Spill program.  We now have a Comprehensive Emergency Management Plan that is realistic, proactive and cutting edge.  Our new volunteer management plan that we will be adopting this spring will be state of the art in our nation and continues our philosophy of finding better ways of accomplishing the essential roles government needs to fill.  I am proud of the training that I myself have taken and the fact that this training and our actions have received national attention including a “Risk Innovator Award” from Risk and Insurance Magazine.  We are a small city, with limited resources but that does not mean we need to limit ourselves to hand me down plans and hand outs from other governments.  We can help set our own destiny.

I am proud of what we have created with Pacific Partnerships and the White River Valley Lions Club.  I have long believed that government typically looks at a community backwards.  They look at a community as a glass half empty and then try to create programs to fill that glass.  This is the philosophy that has hampered government now that costs are rising far faster than revenues.  Instead, I believe it is important to look at a community as a glass half full and if we work as Facilitators, developing and bringing together the resources and power already present in our community that glass fills itself.  This is exactly what has happened with Pacific Partnerships and the WRV Lions.  One of the best things I have ever accomplished as Mayor was to help with the birth of these great organizations and then get out of the way to let them do their jobs.  To be honest, if I had not gotten out of the way, I would most likely have foot prints running up and down my back as they have far surpassed anything I would have imagined at the beginning.  I believe you empower citizens and business to make positive change in your community and you do not interfere with their ability to do so.

We still have unfinished business though.  Over this next year we will be looking at including the option of building Mixed Use in some of our current Highway Commercial zoned areas.  In these tough economic times it is critical that we develop every tool we can to help attract good businesses and good jobs to our area.  With Mixed Use we not only will address the need of safe and affordable housing but we will attract new retail and keep some of the sales tax we are currently spending in our own city.  This goes back to my goal of 70% of our revenues should be provided by attracting more business. This takes the pressure off of local property taxes.  It also makes our city more self sufficient and secure.

We have unfinished business in finding long term solutions to flooding in and around the White River.  Although we will never return to the days of wholesale dredging and mining of the gravel, we can create maintenance programs that at least help keep the problems from getting worse.  Over this past year, recommendations coming from the Executive Task Force working in Pierce County include realistic maintenance and removal of excessive gravel bars and debris.  We can work with nature, improve salmon habitat and make our rivers safer for our valley communities.

I talked about the cutting edge volunteer plan that we are proposing this year.  Included in this plan will be creating training and exercise programs for not just city staff and responders, but also volunteers including our businesses.  We are creating a tiered system of volunteers that will create documented training programs for citizens to take leadership in their community during times of disaster.  In keeping with our philosophy of empowerment of citizens and business this too will be largely managed by partnering between all sectors of our community.

I am excited about our future.  Just as I am proud of how far we have come over these past few years, we are just getting started.  In terms of population the City of Pacific is the 99^th largest city in the State of Washington.  In terms of what our

New Years .... Time to reflect and resolve

As we get ready for the start of the New Year it is important to look back on the past year and reflect.  To look at the accomplishments you have made and to look at those issues you have regrets about. The New Year’s is a time to set aside old wounds, make amends and start fresh with new challenges and goals.  2010 was a year of both growth and of failure.  For 2011, I make it one of my resolutions to continue the growth and to work to change the failures into accomplishments.

I am proud of what I have accomplished in both emergency management and in teaching.  Continuing the Master Trainer Program at EMI, I have made a lot of progress on a class that I am writing. FEMA has paid for me to fly to EMI in Maryland to learn how to write training programs for Emergency Management.  I am using this training to write a class to teach other small town elected officials how to develop EM programs for their jurisdictions.  I see this as one of the big gaps we have in our nation’s overall preparedness and who better to write the program than someone who has been there.  In addition what I have brought back to our city has been invaluable.  First it has moved us forward in our own Emergency Operations planning and second it has qualified us for Emergency Management Performance Grant (EMPG) funds.  We are currently contracting with a consultant, using EMPG funds, to write our “Volunteer / Emergency Worker Plan” to be adopted with our next round of updates to our CEMP (Comprehensive Emergency Management Plan).  Although this has cost me over $35,000 to date in lost wages, as I plan on continuing in Emergency Management after I retire as an Electrician and Elected Official I look at this as an investment in my future. Over this past year, DHS also flew me to Alabama to attend school in Weapons of Mass Destruction awareness and to earn my Instructor Training Certificate.  FEMA and DHS fund various training programs around the country known as the training consortium.  (http://training.dps.mo.gov/trainingwebsite.nsf/LinksView/A87440DDFF5D4CB9862574F900080E11?Opendocument )

I have taken advantage of these programs to improve our city’s capabilities in planning for, responding to, recovering from and mitigating against disasters. Since taking office as Mayor in 2004, I have completed 10 weeklong programs at EMI and 4 at the CDP.  I have classes already scheduled for next year at EMI and TEEX.  I have also submitted bids to teach 3 classes at EMI.  In addition I have taken multiple online programs including AWR 160 (WMD Standard Awareness) from CTOS, WMD AWR 201 (Introduction to SNS and Mass Prophylaxis) and WMD PER303 (Emergency Management) from TEEX; four courses from Louisiana State University’s National Center for Biomedical Research and Training – Academy of Counter-Terrorist Education, 276 - Prevention and Deterrence of Terrorist Acts: An Overview for All Disciplines, 615 - Disaster Mental Health Considerations During a Weapons of Mass Destruction/Terrorist Incident, 275 - Law Enforcement Prevention and Deterrence of Terrorist Acts, 610 - Foundational Awareness of WMD/Terrorism.  In 2011 I will also be taking classes from American Military University to complete my Bachelor of Science in Emergency Management.  I enrolled in 2010 but was unable to attend classes due to finances.

So what are the issues I wish to make amends for? As Mayor, one thing I have discovered there will always be someone who gets upset, feels slighted by or otherwise dislikes your actions.  This year there are three that I want to clear up and see resolved in 2011.

First is the ongoing tension between a local business owner and myself. Although this person has made claims that the city is picking on him and/or that I am out to get him for supporting my opponent in 2008, I want to state here and now “I have nothing against this person or his businesses”.  If he was to walk in my office today, he will be given the same consideration as any other person.  Although we may have differences on permitted land use issues (As Mayor, I have to support the law), I would love to settle our differences in 2011 and move on.

Second, is the ongoing feud between the City and the former 501 C 3 that worked with our Community Service programs.  I do not wish anyone involved ill will nor do I wish to see anyone feel they are not welcome to come to our centers.  I would like to see this issue settled and put behind us and will always be open to sitting down and talking.

Finally is the tension between the city and its bargaining unit members (Unionized Employees).  I know we will not always see eye to eye on issues.  I know that some of you feel the city has been less than truthful with you. But I would like for you to look at this from a different perspective for a minute.

As Mayor, I must protect the interest of the city at all times.  This means being fiscally responsible, making sacrifices and sometimes making tough choices.  Our City, like the rest of the nation has just gone through one of the toughest economic times in history.  Many jurisdictions, similar in size and revenues as Pacific saw drastic cuts, some as much as 60%.  We cut 20%, partially because you were willing to work with us.  When I took office in 2004 we had little carry over in revenues, a lot of debt and some of the lowest paid Police Officers in the State of Washington.  I asked you to work with me and together we turned this city around.  By 2006 we had built the general fund reserves back to what is considered sound (2-3 months); both bargaining units received new contracts with competitive wages, and we were looking forward to a bright future and a strong economy.  This past few years has been anything but a strong economy or a bright future.  Those reserves are all but gone now as we juggled the budget around to keep from having to lay off any of our employees.  As those reserves dwindled, so did some of the trust we had between us.

This is what my plan is over this next year both fiscally and to rebuild that trust.  We will hold quarterly Labor / Management meetings where we will include discussions over where the city is financially.  Things are getting better, but our first priority is to rebuild that reserve that cushioned us from this past recession.  This is not just something we want but is required as sound fiscal management and by law.  I will also make myself available to meet as a group at your meetings to answer questions and to start building that trust back.  And as always my door is open at any time if you wish to talk.

How to live Christmas All Year Long

I had a great time on Black Friday spending some quality time with good friends doing something that really put me in the holiday spirit, waving a sign, holding a fire boot and collecting money for Jerry’s Kids.  I spent a few hours out with members of the Valley Professional Fire Fighters, IAFF Local 1352 on a “Fill the Boot for MDA” drive.  This is the second I have participated in this year. It never ceases to amaze me the spirit of our citizens in giving to a worthy cause. 

While standing out there I came to a realization of why I was having so much fun.  It was because I was doing something, not for my benefit, but to help others who need it.  Now I do a lot of volunteer work.  I also do a lot of other work behind the scenes, but I never really thought about why it is so important to me.  Because doing this type of volunteer work allows me to enjoy the Christmas Spirit all year long.

I have always lived by the biblical adage “As you do to the least of my children, you do to me also”.  I have always accepted that as a personal responsibility for me to keep.  Over the years I have supported many groups with my labor and donated thousands of hours. But the joy I get from knowing I helped make someone’s life better has made it more than worthwhile.  It allows me to celebrate Christmas All Year Long.

I believe this is what also drives me as Mayor.  I know our government can do better in meeting the needs of our community.  Not that government needs to provide those services, but they do need to help facilitate and develop the resources and then get out of the way.  I love working with Pacific Partnerships, and the Lions, or Veterans Groups or any other group whose goal is to make the lives of those they serve better.  And together it is amazing what we get done.