Minutes_Dubuque County Emergency Management Commission
Official Minutes of the August 2nd, 2011
Regular Meeting
Meeting Called to Order
The meeting of the Dubuque County Emergency Management Commission was called to order at 1900
hours by Chairperson Mike Wuertzer. Roll call was completed with the following commission members
in attendance: Brian Arnold, Tim Pins, Don Vrotsos, Wayne Demmer, Gene Hosch, Brad McAuliffe, Mike
Wuertzer, Tom Berger, Roger Oberbroeckling, Denny Green.
Approval of Minutes
The minutes of the May 3rd, 2011, meeting were approved on a motion by Supervisor Demmer and
second by Mayor Oberbroeckling, motion carried.
Old Business
Emergency Management Performance Grant (EMPG)
Tom reported that this week we received the contract for the FY2011 EMPG grant that we had budgeted
to receive last fiscal year. This year the commission was allocated $39,000 and that is what we are
capped at. Tom reported that we ended up with an $11,000 surplus for the fiscal year ending on June
30, 2011. The budget committee will need to investigate the pros and cons with relying on a federal
grant to maintain operations of the agency. All of the federal requirements were met for planning,
training and exercise for federal fiscal year 2011. This makes Dubuque County compliant for disaster
preparedness grants. All of the reports will now be electronic and Tom will be attending a training
webinar this week on the new system.
2011 Legislative Update
At the previous meeting we talked about possible legislative changes that would affect the voting
membership of the commission. The legislation did not pass this session.
Other Old Business – None
New Business
Dubuque County Multi-Jurisdictional Hazard Mitigation Plan
The Dubuque County Board of Supervisors have approved the commission to apply for a grant to
complete a Multi-jurisdictional Hazard Mitigation Plan (MJHMP). ECIA will be the likely contractor to
complete the plan for the county. If awarded, the grant would be for 36 months and would roll in all of
the local HMPs into the county plan. FEMA will no longer award any grants directly to cities and they
want to do the plans on a county or regional basis. If the grant is awarded, we will start to work with
each city in order to gain input for the plan. In the future, each city will not be required to go through
the update process as we will be operating out of a county wide plan.
Other New Business – None
Committee Reports
Budget Committee
The budget committee to review the current fiscal year revenues and expenses as well as propose a
budget for the fiscal year 2013 will be Chair Wuertzer, Vice Chair Neenan, Mayor Oberbroeckling, Brian
Arnold, Tim Pins, and Tom Berger. The proposed budget will be presented to the commission at the
November meeting of the association.
Vehicle Committee
Chair Wuertzer requested a committee to investigate and review the vehicles and trailers currently
under the emergency management control. The committee should look at the operations of vehicles
and trailers and propose a solution to the commission. The committee will consist of Dan Brown, Mike
Wuertzer, Brian Arnold, Denny Green and Tom Berger.
Good of the Commission
Upcoming Training Events
Tom reported on the activities of the Training Operations Committee and the recent classes. Tom
reported that Ric Jones is now the EMS Program Manager at NICC and he has scheduled a post disaster
safety assessment program next week at the training center.
Severe Weather Events
Discussion was held on the unprecedented rain event that occurred last week. Roughly 11-14” of rain
fell on the central part of the county severely impacting the communities of Farley, Epworth, Peosta,
Dubuque and rural Dubuque County. FEMA Public Assistance Teams were in on Monday 8-1 and
Tuesday 8-2, and the Individual Assessment Teams will be in on Wednesday 8-3. Widespread damage
has been reported across the county. Tom noted that the CodeRED alert system was used in the
Sageville, Durango and surrounding areas. Project Concern is taking information from flood victims and
will be keeping a list for possible recovery programs in the future. Tom reported that he as well as the
sheriff’s office members have been in contact with the residents of Valley Hills Mobile Home Parks and
have been providing assistance as needed. The American Red Cross of the Tri-States as well as the
Dubuque Salvation Army have been assisting the residents as well. Tom has maintained contact with
the park owner and assisting as necessary. Some media reports are providing inaccurate reports about
the assistance the people are receiving. Tom updated the commission on possible programs that will be
available to residents including the State of Iowa Disaster Assistance Program.
Wayne inquired about the bridges that were closed and if that had been relayed to emergency services.
Tom will get with County Engineer Bret Wilkinson and get and updated map out to all of the services.
As far as operations – When dispatch pages out the county all call for a warning, please inform your
members that spotters are likely and they should report to the station. Dispatch is extremely busy
during a warning and to have a department call in five minutes after the all call page is set off to have
spotters report is redundant.
Hazardous Materials Calls
Tom reported that the Epworth Fire Department called the Dubuque Fire Hazmat Team for a fertilizer
spill from a motor vehicle rollover in a creek south of Epworth. The owner of the company has been
sent the bill for cost recovery and we have not heard from his insurance company to date. Another
notice will be sent at the end of August.
Open Discussion
Tim questioned the members present about basement pumps and what the policies are, discussion
ensued about some precautions.
Next Meeting
The next meeting of the Dubuque County Emergency Management Commission will be held on Tuesday,
November 8th, 2011 at the Dubuque County Firefighters Association Regional Emergency Responder
nd
Training Facility at 7:00 p.m. in the West Classroom. Please note that this will be the 2 Tuesday
because of the State EMA conference will be the week prior.
Adjournment
A motion was made by Brad McAuliffe and seconded by Brian Arnold to adjourn at 1953 hours. Motion
Carried.
Respectfully submitted,
Thomas I. Berger, EMA Director
Future Meeting Dates
st
Tuesday, November 1, 2011, 7:00 p.m. at training center
Tuesday, February 7th, 2012, 7:00 p.m. at training center
Tuesday, May 1st, 2012, 7:00 p.m. at training center
Tuesday, August 1st, 2012, 7:00 p.m. at training center