Minutes_Dubuque EMA Commission 5 1 12Official Minutes of the May 1st, 2012
Regular Meeting
Meeting Called to Order
The meeting of the Dubuque County Emergency Management Commission was called to order at 1900
hours by Vice - Chairperson Dan Neenan. Roll call was completed with the following commission
members in attendance: Brian Arnold, Tim Pins, Don Vrotsos, Daryl Klein, Gene Hosch, Dan Neenan,
David Albrecht, Nick Jaeger, Frank Lahey, Todd Davis, Ray Stephan, Dick Avenarius, Gerald Hess, Randy
Bell, Charlie Demmer, Marty Benda, Tom Berger, and Roger Oberbroeckling.
Approval of Minutes
The minutes of the February 7th, 2012, meeting were approved on a motion by Brian Arnold and second
by Roger Oberbroeckling, motion carried.
Old Business
Cross Border Training Exercise
The Cross Border Communications Exercise will be held at the training facility /EOC on Thursday, April
26th, 2012 from 1p -4p. An after action report meeting will follow up in LaCrosse and a report will be
submitted to FEMA. This is a cooperative effort of Iowa, Wisconsin and Minnesota. Local and regional
assets were used to establish communication amongst the three states. It was very informative and
allowed the communications team to establish alternative means to communicate with the Toss of
phone and email.
EOC Public Health Exercise
On Wednesday, February 29th we worked with Public Health to conduct a regional exercise. The EOC
was set up in the rooms and we used all of the equipment to conduct the exercise. It was a good test of
our local capabilities as an EOC and brought in new employees who have not been involved in an EOC
exercise.
Multi Jurisdictional Hazard Mitigation Plan Update
Work is progressing well with ECIA who is contracted through the state grant to complete our MJHMP.
Meetings have been held in all communities and information has been gathered for the plan and
updates have been completed to the single jurisdictional plans to roll into the county plan. The next
meeting for all jurisdictions will be held on June 5th here at the training center.
Other Old Business — None
New Business
Legislative Update — Passage of SF413 and Implications on our commission
Discussion ensued on the passage of the SF413 which is the act relating to the financial responsibilities
of the local emergency management commission. Tom gave a brief background of the makeup of the
commission which includes a member of the board of supervisors, the sheriff and the mayor of each
incorporated city within the county or their designated representative. The new law requires that only
elected officials can vote to approve, deny, or amend the EMA budget. The mayor's representatives
can conduct all other business on the behalf of the cities, but for the budget approval or amendment
meeting it needs to be the mayor or a council member, board of supervisor and the Sheriff. By law, we
have the largest commission in the state because we have 21 cities within our county. To establish a
quorum of 12, it would be difficult for us to conduct business on a regular basis.
After discussion, it was decided to have the county attorney look at our current bi -laws of the
commission to determine what a quorum needs to be and if it could be less than 1/2. We will request the
county attorney to review the new law and make a recommendation on the quorum.
Other New Business — None
Committee Reports
Vehicle Replacement Committee
Discussion was held on the price quotes received for the pick up for the commission. It was difficult to
compare all of the quotes as different dealers offered different packages. Multiple replies were
returned that met the minimum specifications and some had options that exceeded the expectations. It
is difficult to compare for the meeting to see what would be in the best interest of the commission. It
was noted at the meeting that we were to send a request for pricing to Runde Chevrolet and it was not
sent by mistake. Clarifications are needed on some of the replies as some proposals were returned
without supporting paperwork. A motion was made by Supervisor Klein and second by Sheriff Vrotsos
to refer the pricing proposals to the committee and to allow them to proceed with the purchase.
Motion carried.
(Update since meeting: Tom sent Runde Chevrolet a request and they replied within two days so they
were considered when the committee met.)
Bi -laws Committee
A committee consisting of Mike Wuertzer, Don Vrotsos, Tim Pins, Brian Arnold and Tom Berger will
review the bi -laws of the commission and work to update them after we receive the information from
the state emergency management and /or the county attorney.
Good of the Commission
Upcoming Training Events
Dan Neenan reported on the upcoming live fire training classes that will be held at the training facility in
the next couple weeks.
Hazardous Materials Calls
No calls for service since the last meeting.
Open Discussion
None
Next Meeting
The next meeting of the Dubuque County Emergency Management Commission will be held on Tuesday,
May 1st, 2012 at the Dubuque County Firefighters Association Regional Emergency Responder Training
Facility at 7:00 p.m. in the West Classroom.
Adjournment
A motion was made by Mayor Avenarius and seconded by Gene Hosch to adjourn at 1933 hours.
Motion Carried.
Respectfully submitted,
Thomas I. Berger, EMA Director
Future Meeting Dates
Tuesday, August 7th, 2012, 7:00 p.m. at training center
Tuesday, November 13th, 2012, 7:00 p.m. at training center
Tuesday, February 5th, 2013, 7:00 p.m. at training center
Tuesday, May 7th, 2012, 7:00 p.m. at the training center