OFFICE OF
THE CITY COUNCIL
117 WEST DUVAL STREET, SUITE 425
4TH FLOOR, CITY HALL
JACKSONVILLE, FLORIDA 32202
904-630-1377
CITY
COUNCIL SPECIAL EMERGENCY PREPAREDNESS MEETING MINUTES
September 7, 2017
3:15
p.m.
Location: City Council
Chamber, City Hall – St. James Building; 117 West Duval Street,
In attendance:
Council Members Anna Lopez Brosche (President), Greg Anderson,
Danny Becton, Aaron Bowman, Lori Boyer, Katrina
Brown, Reggie Brown, Doyle Carter, John
Crescimbeni, Garrett Dennis, Al Ferraro, Reginald Gaffney, Bill Gulliford,
Tommy Hazouri, Jim Love, Joyce Morgan, Sam Newby, Matt Schellenberg and Scott
Wilson
Also: Mayor Lenny Curry; Jason Gabriel, Peggy
Sidman, Paige Johnston and Jason Teal – Office of General Counsel; Cheryl Brown
– Council Director/Secretary; Kim Taylor – Council Auditor’s Office; Carol
Owens and Philip Zamarron – Legislative Services Division; Steve Cassada and
Louie Marino – Council Staff Services;
Jeff Clements – Council Research Division; Sam Mousa, Ali Korman-Shelton and
Jordan Elsbury – Mayor’s Office; Mike Weinstein – Finance and Administration
Department; Kurtis Wilson – Fire and Rescue Department; Steve Woodard –
Emergency Preparedness Division
Meeting Convened:
3:44 p.m.
President Brosche convened the meeting and Council Member Carter delivered
the invocation and led the Pledge of Allegiance.
Mayor Lenny Curry informed the Council that he had declared a state of
emergency yesterday afternoon due to the approach of Hurricane Irma. The mayor
cautioned the council and the general public that Hurricane Irma is not another Hurricane Matthew – this
storm has the potential to be much more serious. The City has urged residents
to evacuate from evacuation zones A and B and from low-lying areas and mobile
homes in other areas. The evacuation is voluntary at this point, but may well
become mandatory tomorrow depending on the storm’s track. He said that gas
supplies are problematic in some parts of town, not because of a shortage of
gasoline but because of distribution problems.
In response to a question from Council Member Becton, the mayor said
that thus far traffic on the major highways is moving, albeit slowly, in part
because of the volume of traffic coming through Jacksonville from South
Florida. Law enforcement is monitoring traffic continuously and will take
whatever steps are necessary to keep the volume moving as quickly as possible.
In response to a question from Council Member Anderson, the mayor said that the
630-CITY hotline is the best way to report any problems or situations to the
City. In response to a question from Council Member Reggie Brown about where
persons evacuated from mental health facilities will be sheltered, Emergency
Preparedness Chief Steve Woodard said that the city is prepared to accommodate
everyone who needs shelter and learned a lesson from last year’s experience
with Hurricane Matthew. In response to a question from Council Member Hazouri,
the mayor said that the City’s regular solid waste service will continue
through Saturday, then be discontinued through the end of the storm. Council
Member Boyer asked the mayor and Emergency Preparedness to spread the word
broadly that the shelters will not be providing food service and medicine, and
evacuees should bring their own food, medicine and bedding for several days. In
response to a question from Council Member Newby about sheltering the homeless,
Mr. Woodard said that the City is working with homeless shelters to get the word
out to the homeless population about their shelter options.
In response to a question from Council Member Ferraro, Chief
Administrative Officer Sam Mousa said that there are currently no plans to shut
down sewage treatment pump stations and treatment plants, but will do what is
necessary to deal with changing conditions. In response to a question from
Council Member Love, Mayor Curry said that non-essential City employees will be
off on Friday and a decision on Monday will be made during the weekend. Employees
can call 630-CITY to reach a recording about returning to work next week.
Council Member Katrina Brown asked about the process for persons with special
needs to register in advance with the Emergency Preparedness Division so that
shelter needs can be determined in advance. In response to a question from
Council Member Bowman, Mr. Woodard said that the Florida Highway Patrol
controls when bridges are closed to traffic, which generally happens when
sustained winds reach 39 miles per hour. Mr. Woodard urged citizens to have a
radio and supply of batteries in case power goes out and internet and cell
phone service is lost. Council Member Crescimbeni asked about JEA’s readiness
to deal with power outages and mutual aid agreements with other utilities, about
plans for dealing with storm debris, and about the possibility of streaming
information 24/7 on radio stations. Mr. Mousa said that WJCT 89.9 FM is the
official radio station for emergency information.
In response to a question from Council Member Morgan about the City
making sandbags available, Mayor Curry said that it has been a long-standing policy
decision of the City not to make sandbags available, but if council members
want to consider that option, he is open to discussing where resources might be
found to provide that service. Council Member Reggie Brown asked about the
availability of televisions in shelters to provide information to evacuees and
the availability of heavy-duty cots to handle large evacuees whose weight
exceeds the rating of the normal light cots. Councilman Brown asked the Mayor
to request the National Guard to provide sandbags, cots and meals ready to eat
(MREs). The mayor said the storm projections currently call for tropical storm
force winds to arrive around 8 a.m. on Sunday and hurricane force winds to
arrive around 8 a.m. on Monday. Mr. Woodard noted that Hurricane Matthew was a
category 1 or 2 storm when it reached Jacksonville and was far enough off-shore
that hurricane-force winds never actually reached Jacksonville; we only
experienced tropical storm winds, and Irma will be much stronger than Matthew
was.
In response to a question from Council Member Carter, Mr. Woodard said
that 12 evacuation shelters will be opened at 10 a.m. on Friday and emergency
preparedness staff will get word to law enforcement to inform out-of-town
travelers where to find public shelters if they find themselves in Jacksonville
when travel conditions deteriorate. Council Member Newby reiterated the need to
have food available for the homeless at shelters. In response to a question
from Council Member Katrina Brown, Sheriff Mike Williams said that at the peak
of the storm, law enforcement may be unable to respond to 9-1-1 calls, but will
respond as quickly as possible when conditions allow. Council Member Anderson
confirmed with the Council President that she will be attending EOC briefings and
will send out e-mail updates to council members three times a day.
Meeting adjourned:
4:35 p.m.
Minutes: Jeff Clements, Council Research
9.7.17
Posted 5:00 p.m.
Tapes: City Council Special
Emergency Preparedness meeting – LSD
9.7.17