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HomeMy WebLinkAbout1998-08-27 Emergency Meeting 1 (Bonnie) NEW HANOVER COUNTY BOARD OF COMMISSIONERSBOOK 26 EMERGENCY MEETING, AUGUST 27, 1998PAGE 659 HURRICANE BONNIE ASSEMBLY The New Hanover County Board of Commissioners held an emergency work session on Thursday, August 27, 1998, at 8:00 a.m. in the Sheriff’s Conference Room located in the Law Enforcement Building, 20 North Fourth Street, Wilmington, North Carolina. Members present were: Commissioner Buzz Birzenieks; Commissioner Ted Davis, Jr.; Commissioner Charles R. Howell; Vice-Chairman Robert G. Greer; Chairman William A. Caster; County Manager, Allen O’Neal; County Attorney, Wanda M. Copley; and Clerk to the Board, Lucie F. Harrell. Chairman Caster called the meeting to order and welcomed the Mayor of Wilmington, Hamilton E. Hicks, Jr.; Board of Aldermen Member, Barry Mowbray; and City Manager, Mary Gornto. He requested Emergency Management Director, Dan Summers, to present a status report on Hurricane Bonnie. Director Summers complimented the City of Wilmington, Town of Carolina Beach, Town of Kure Beach, Town of Wrightsville Beach and the entire community for their cooperative effort and team work during the hurricane emergency. The Emergency Operations Center (EOC) has performed extremely well and the flow of information from the Media Center has been excellent. The key emergency operations are functioning well, and the dialogue between the EOC, Mayor Hicks and beach communities has provided a team effort that has greatly assisted the community in moving through Hurricane Bonnie. This team approach needs to be continued during the recovery efforts. Director Summers reported that storm force winds continued the entire night and are still significant today. The wind speeds are keeping work crews from coming into the area. Until critical safety issues have been resolved, the assessment of data and appraisal of damage will be delayed. Press releases will be forthcoming to explain how these safety issues should be handled by the public. Wrightsville Beach has reported minimal damage. Water over the island appears to be relatively minor since it can be measured in inches instead of feet. There is no electrical power, but the Police Department and Fire Department are operational. Kure Beach has reported minimal damage with one telephone site experiencing battery failure. BellSouth is in the process of correcting the situation to restore telephone service to Kure Beach. Cellular phone systems are operational, and contact is being made to the EOC from the Kure Beach Police Department and Kure Beach Fire Department. Carolina Power & Light Company has a large work force in Florence, South Carolina, standing by to assist once wind speeds decrease. The crews will be deployed as soon as weather conditions are safe. The Highway Patrol has requested aircraft support which is in Raleigh, North Carolina, due to weather conditions. The Patrol has been quite supportive during the hurricane event. The Sheriff’s Department has reported a considerable amount of tree damage in the northern end of the county. The City Fire Department reported that no major structure fires occurred during the storm. The major concern of the City is roadway flooding. The City will continue its damage assessment this morning. The County Fire Service has all stations manned with only one department experiencing telephone failure. This was the Ogden Fire Department, which used cellular phone coverage. All radios systems and generators are working at the Fire Stations. NEW HANOVER COUNTY BOARD OF COMMISSIONERSBOOK 26 EMERGENCY MEETING, AUGUST 27, 1998PAGE 660 HURRICANE BONNIE Three Salvation Army Canteens are in route to Wilmington and should be operational by late morning. One canteen will be located at 5012 Market Street in the old Wilson Grocery building. The remaining two canteens will be roving and concentrating on the needs in the beach communities. More information on the canteens will be provided later in the afternoon. National Red Cross teams are staged in Raleigh and waiting for wind speeds to decrease. A damage assessment team from the Red Cross will be going out this morning. Consideration is being given to consolidating the shelters based on generator and power availability at the respective shelters. There are approximately 150 people in each shelter. The Department of Social Services reported water problems at Noble, and this shelter will probably be closed with consolidation of the remaining two shelters. When a decision is made, the public will be informed. The Special Needs team had an excellent night. This was the first time that New Hanover County established a separate group to provide assistance to people with special needs. The effort was quite successful. The Health Department will issue new releases concerning food and water safety, immunizations, and vaccinations. The damage assessment for schools will start this morning. The schools will be closed on Friday. Carolina Power & Light Company is working on power restoration, and one of the large rental generators has been deployed to the School Central Office to protect a freezer containing a large inventory of food. The 911 Center has performed extremely well. The City is concerned about looting of businesses. The police patrol has been increased within the City, and it is felt this will assist in resolving this issue. The U. S. Coast Guard reported no environmental damage overnight. They will patrol the beach communities and check for any environmental concerns. Aircraft has also been ordered by the Coast Guard for a flyover; however, the weather will have to improve. The National Guard needs a generator to support the FAA tower and the National Guard Armory. The ECO is working on obtaining a generator for the Guard. The Parks crew is ready to provide support for emergency chain saw work. The County Buildings sustained water damage. Property Management will continue to assess the damage. The EOC is not ready to allow the insurance adjusters to enter the beaches until the beach communities have performed safety assessments. Once it is safe, each beach will have to determine the re-entry time for adjusters and residents. In concluding the briefing, Director Summers advised the damage assessment will be critical. There is a possibility that New Hanover County will be borderline to qualify for some federal reimbursement programs. He requested the Commissioners to allow Emergency Management to use a contractor to assist with assembling damage assessment data. This process was used during Hurricane Fran, and a retired U.S. Corps of Engineers Damage Assessment Specialist was hired to worked with community teams to ensure that accurate data was recorded in the report that was submitted to receive Presidential Disaster reimbursement. Also during Hurricane Fran, space at the Health Department was used to assemble the data. The same space will be used to prepare the report for Hurricane Bonnie. NEW HANOVER COUNTY BOARD OF COMMISSIONERSBOOK 26 EMERGENCY MEETING, AUGUST 27, 1998PAGE 661 HURRICANE BONNIE Motion: Commissioner Birzenieks MOVED, SECONDED by Chairman Caster to authorize the Emergency Management Director to contract with a Damage Assessment Specialist to assist with assembling damage assessment data. Upon vote, the MOTION CARRIED UNANIMOUSLY. A period of questions and answers followed: Commissioner Davis requested a status report on the looting that has occurred. Director Summers reported that two incidents had occurred and with the increased patrol by the City, this matter was under control. Commissioner Birzenieks requested additional information on the scam artists masquerading as FEMA representatives. Director Summers advised early in the hurricane event, photographers and researchers from the news media were posing as FEMA officials from the National Hurricane Center. These persons could not provide appropriate credentials and tried to enter places that were not appropriate or safe. This problem has been resolved by the EOC. Mr. Barry Mowbray, a member of the Wrightsville Beach Board of Aldermen, reported that Wrightsville Beach received minimal damage. No sand shifted from the beach strand to the streets, and once Carolina Power & Light Company removes fallen power lines, the residents will be able to return to the beach. It appears that two porches collapsed and shingles were dislodged from a number of dwellings. No problems were experienced with the bridge, and the Town Staff is currently working at the Wrightsville Beach Town Hall. In closing, Alderman Mowbray noted the reason Wrightsville Beach did not suffer more damage was because of the beach renourishment berm project. Vice-Chairman Greer spoke on the amount of criticism received from the public about money being appropriated for beach renourishment. He stated, in his opinion, this was money well spent because of the thousands of dollars saved to the New Hanover County tax base through the protection of beach front properties. Mayor Hicks reported the Wilmington City Council will hold a meeting at 1:00 p.m. today in the Police Headquarters Building to hear a damage assessment from staff. He invited the Commissioners and elected officials from the beach communities to attend. Chairman Caster expressed appreciation to the City of Wilmington and beach communities for the support, coordination, and cooperation given through the hurricane event. He expressed appreciation to Director Summers and the staff in the EOC for the excellent job being performed. Director Summers noted that over 40 counties throughout the State will be impacted by Hurricane Bonnie; therefore, federal and state resources will not be as plentiful to New Hanover County as experienced during past hurricanes. Also, it may take more time to receive federal and state reimbursement. Commissioner Birzenieks asked if the County’s participation in Project Impact had been of benefit to the community during this emergency event. Director Summers responded that Project Impact has improved the citizen response and citizen preparedness. This factor greatly contributed to the community’s successful response to Hurricane Bonnie. More team work has been created between the public and private sector through a better flow of information. This allows the County to focus on debris removal and mitigation. With this success, there will be an opportunity for more mitigation projects. Some of the issues that were not addressed well during the storm will be documented and used as a basis for improving the infrastructure for future events. NEW HANOVER COUNTY BOARD OF COMMISSIONERSBOOK 26 EMERGENCY MEETING, AUGUST 27, 1998PAGE 662 HURRICANE BONNIE County Attorney Copley requested the Board to officially ratify the proclamation implementing a curfew yesterday after a telephone poll of the County Commissioners. Motion: Commissioner Davis MOVED, SECONDED by Commissioner Birzenieks to ratify the adoption of a proclamation implementing a curfew at 8:00 p.m., August 27, 1998 until 6:00 a.m., August 28, 1998. Upon vote, the MOTION CARRIED UNANIMOUSLY. A copy of the proclamation is hereby incorporated as a part of the minutes and is contained in Exhibit Book XXIV, Page 29. Discussion followed on holding a meeting later this afternoon to receive a status report on Hurricane Bonnie. Motion: Commissioner Davis MOVED, SECONDED by Commissioner Birzenieks to schedule a meeting at 4:00 p.m. in Room 501 of the New Hanover County Administration Building, 320 Chestnut Street, Wilmington, North Carolina. Upon vote, the MOTION CARRIED UNANIMOUSLY. Further discussion was held on scheduling a Press Conference. It was agreed that a Press Conference should be scheduled at 6:00 p.m. in the Judicial Building, Courtroom 17. ADJOURNMENT Motion : Commissioner Birzenieks MOVED, SECONDED by Commissioner Davis to adjourn. Upon vote, the MOTION CARRIED UNANIMOUSLY. Chairman Caster adjourned the meeting at 10:30 a.m. Respectfully submitted, Lucie F. Harrell Clerk to the Board