American Public Works Association
2345 Grand Boulevard, Suite 700, Kansas City, MO 64108-2625
Phone (816) 472-6100  Fax (816) 472-1610
Web www.apwa.net  E-mail thon@apwa.net
EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT COMMITTEE
CONFERENCE CALL MEETING SUMMARY
WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 17, 2008
Participants:
Teresa Scott
David Himes
Curt Edwards
Kürt Blomquist
Larry Zensinger
Diane Linderman, APWA Board Liaison
Absent:
Chris Walsh
Staff:
Teresa Hon
Phyllis Muder
Laura Berkey
1. Teresa Scott called the meeting order
2. There were no agenda additions or changes
3. The November 18, Meeting Summary was approved
4. Legislative Update - Recently an email was sent to the Government Affairs Committee
on stimulus. Laura will forward to committee. APWA staff is following discussion of the
stimulus package funding very closely. It is anticipated that a press release from APWA
will be sent shortly regarding “ready to go” unfunded projects.
5. At-Large Director Report – Diane Linderman reported that the Strategic Planning
Meeting was held in Kansas City last week. The APWA Board will meet at the end of
January.
6. Education Report – Phyllis Muder provided a report which included the following:
a. On December 4th, a program on Bridge Maintenance is scheduled. We currently
have 72 sites signed up.
b. The second program in the web-based training Sustainability series is scheduled for
December 11th. It is called: Retrofitting Green Design and Standards.
c. “NPDES Good Housekeeping” is the topic for the Click Listen & Learn scheduled for
December 18th.
7. Education Topic Brainstorming
a. Change in FEMA and DHS (if made) and how it affects PW
b. Ongoing Disaster Recovery Exercises - How to set up, who to include, how it
works (Wisconsin and California)
Emergency Management Committee Conference Call Meeting Summary – page 1
c. Suggestions should be forwarded to David, Phyllis or Teresa H.
8. Sustainability
a. Speaker request for March 2009 Event –Larry indicated that he might have someone
who can speak at this event. Dewberry has a Climate Change and Sustainability
service line out of flood mapping area. They are currently working in North Carolina
on a large climate change project on sea level rise, flood mapping, etc. The staff
member working on the project has done presentations in the past to tie it all
together (engineer with technical background). He told Larry he’d be willing to make
a presentation and is conscious of the need to stay away from sales push. Kürt
indicated that his agency did a climate change adaptability plan. He could review
the process for developing their plan.
b. Center for Sustainability – no report at this time
9. FEMA Focus Group – Teresa Hon reported that the list of nominees has been submitted
to Noel Thompson for selection.
10. Distribution of topics for chapter events – Two chapters have requested additional
information. Teresa will forward contact information to the appropriate committee
members responsible for the topic of interest to the chapter.
11. Report on Recovery Field Operations Manual
a. Safety & Training new section
b. Subcommittee members are currently working to flesh out their outlined topics.
c. The next call will take place in January.
12. Homeland Security Consortium meeting report and discussion of emails – Chris/Laura
a. Earlier this month Laura and Chris attended the National Homeland Security
Consortium (NHSC) semi-annual meeting in Monterey, California as APWA’s
representatives. Consortium participants heard from a variety of speakers, namely
Paul Stockton, PhD, James Breckenridge, PhD and Chris Bellavita, PhD from the
Naval Postgraduate School’s Center for Homeland Defense and Security.
The presentations focused on the future relationship between the Obama
Administration, homeland security and national security, as well as the roles state
and local stakeholders will have in the new Administration. Discussions also
concentrated on the public perception of homeland security, how homeland security
will be defined in the next Administration and whether or not the Federal Emergency
Management Agency should become an independent agency from the Department
of Homeland Security.
Importantly, APWA also had the opportunity to speak with Ruchi Bhowmik, homeland
security transition team staffer for President-Elect Barack Obama. APWA discussed
infrastructure security and fully funding infrastructure projects through a robust
national economic recovery program. APWA emphasized that investing in local
infrastructure will create jobs, stimulate economic recovery and lay the foundation for
long-term economic growth. Ruchi expressed interest in APWA’s position and
requested additional information.
Emergency Management Committee Conference Call Meeting Summary – page 2
Elections were also held to determine co-chairs who will spearhead special projects.
NEMA will continue to serve as primary and permanent chair. The two organizations
selected for co-chair are the Governor’s Homeland Security Advisors Council
(GHSAC) and the International City/County Management Association (ICMA) - cochair
b. No consensus from APWA on recommendation for FEMA to come it our go out.
However ultimate arrangement of agency is we need to have a good working
relationship. Full implementation of authorities created in the post-Katrina act would
be. Position/white paper on what we think are important. Laura will prepare a
preliminary draft and share with the committee for review and comments. Will have
first draft early next week for distribution to committee.
13. Subcommittee Reports
a. Stafford Act Coalition – Larry Zensinger reported that representatives from House
and Senate staffers were in attendance at the most recent meeting. The Goverment
Affairs Committee in the Senate, which confirms FEMA and DHS appointees, is
hoping to have the Secretary of DHS confirmed on the afternoon of Jan 20 so that
they‘ll have a vote as soon as the new administration is in place. A career FEMA
staff member working on the transition talked about what their goals are to effectuate
a smooth transition and all functions are covered until political appointees come into
place. They are currently working on answering all questions from the Obama
transition team. A couple of things are on their front burner, one of which is
reauthorization of the flood insurance program which was extended to March. Larry
and Laura met with the House T&I representative (Dan Matthews – big supporter of
APWA and interested in our views) to discuss what can be done with reimbursement
of infrastructure. Lastly, Larry mentioned that the IAEM and Association of Flood
Plain Managers have taken a firm position on taking FEMA out of DHS.
b. Homeland Security Advisory Committee (Judy Mueller) – Laura Berkey indicated
that there is nothing new to report
c. HSPD-8: National Preparedness Goal, Target Capabilities, Universal Task List,
NIMS and NPR Update – Teresa Scott said there is nothing new to report
d. Credentialing: NFPA Standards Committee – Diane didn’t have an update
e. Credentialing: DHS Committee – Diane reported that the information on the 44
teams hasn’t gone out yet. It should be distributed next week next week.
f. SAFECOM (Jeff Wilson) – Jeff attended the Dec 3-4 meeting but hasn’t provided a
report to Laura.
g. Conference Calls: TSA, Water Security – Laura Berkey no new action
h. Review Team for National Committee on Levee Safety – Andy indicated that work
continues on the first draft and hopes to share with committee tomorrow.
14. Congress 2009 Sessions – reminder that the Education Department, now the
Professional Development Department, will be requesting speaker contact info in
January.
a. Partnering to be more effective in your community – Mutual Aid/EMAC US/Canada –
Larry Z – Leon Shaffer has agreed to speak
b. Training/Credentialing – David
c. Climate Change Adaptation – Kürt
Emergency Management Committee Conference Call Meeting Summary – page 3
15. Schedule for monthly InfoNOW Community Postings (e-mail addressed to
emergency@infonow.apwa.net)
December – Curt Edwards has posted
January – Teresa Scott
16. Next Committee Meeting – January 14 at 8:00am Pacific/9:00am Mountain/10:00am
Central/11:00am Eastern
Emergency Management Committee Conference Call Meeting Summary – page 4