New Hanover County LEPC Minutes 7.29.2020New Hanover and Pender County LEPC
Meeting Minutes for: July 29, 2020
List of Attendees:
Name Business Name Business
Tommy Batson Pender County Lisa Brown New Hanover County
Paul Carr NHRMC John Dittmar NCSPA
Alan Hancock EMS Stan Hart Withers Ravenel
Eric Hatcher CFPU Billy Howard NHRMC
Eric Griffin UNCW Tina Kuhr GE
Robin Lorenzen NCEM Steve Mason City of Wilmington
Elizabeth Meyer Invista Frank Meyer NHC
Adrienne Michalek Pender County Gov. Kate Oeslager NHC
Jeannine Patane Joshua Schieffer Duke Energy
John Smith ARM Brandon Sproles Acme Fish
Dustin Stream ILM Dustin Stream ILM
Jeff Suggs NHC Natosha Tew City of Wilmington
Mike Thompson ARC Volunteer Kent Tyndall Duke Energy
Mark Venters GE Carol Yates Corning
Teresa Smith NHC Linda Willis NC DEQ DAQ
Welcome and Introductions:
Teresa Smith started the meeting at 11:00 A.M. thanking everyone in attendance and defined the
purpose of the meeting to include getting everyone together to regroup and reset since this is the
second meeting held thus far for Calendar Year 2020 (due to Covid-19) and to reiterate emergency
preparedness. Teresa requested that first time LEPC visitors introduce themselves to the group.
Review and Approval of Minutes:
Members were asked to review the last minutes of the meeting held on January 8, 2020. Teresa would
send the meeting minutes to anyone who needed a copy for review.
Grant Information:
Grant information was discussed by Teresa. The training timeline for using the $10,000 grant has been
complicated by the Covid-19 pandemic. As a result, the grant money will be repurposed for use in a
commodity flow evaluation.
Two additional grants that had been applied for (HMEP - $10k and Tier II) – no word yet. Teresa asked
that people begin thinking about these in preparation for the next meeting.
Teresa indicated she will be reaching out to LEPC members (industry in particular) requesting help with
the commodities flow evaluation and asked for those contacted to participate. Stan Harts – Withers
Ravenel indicated information needed includes how to proceed in order to meet all the requirements
including reimbursement.
Presentation:
Teresa made a condensed presentation of the information available on the Ready NHC website for
emergency preparedness which included creating and practicing your Ready NHC Family Emergency
Plan, building an emergency kit (to get you through an emergency lasting 7 to 10 days), and how to stay
informed. Also importance was stressed for employees who are required to report to work and also
ensure the safety of their loved ones.
Business:
Frank Meyers asked if there were any takers for committee volunteers. The Emergency Response
Committee and the Community Education and Public Outreach Committee still need volunteers.
Open Forum:
Teresa asked Robin to talk about, add to, or correct information provided by New Hanover County for
their current sheltering in place guidance.
Sheltering in place plans were updated as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic. All shelters can provide
shelter for around 200 people, however the following advice is given:
1. If safe to shelter in place – stay at home.
2. If evacuation is recommended – evacuate outside the danger area.
3. There will be refuges of last resort but there are no cots and no cooked food. Meals ready
to eat will be available.
Robin indicated the county is encouraging citizens who evacuate to stay with family and friends outside
the danger area. Centers will be set up to assign shelter locations for participating entities such as
hotels but will be “non-congregating reception centers”
Tommy Batson –Pender County is working on local solutions. They will not have the volunteer base that
they have had in the past. Resources may be needed within their own agencies and industries.
Mike Thompson – Red Cross has been used to sending in thousands of volunteers but this will not be
happening due to the pandemic. They will have small shelter teams and little to no community feeding
provided. He recommended that people will need to partner with others such as local churches. There
may be no bulk distribution of emergency clean up materials (such as buckets and rakes). Counties may
want to set up distribution sites for such. The Red Cross may be able to provide those items, but there
are no promises that can be made at this time.
Eric Griffin – UNCW will take care of their students and move them to sister facilities provided the
students evacuate in a timely fashion and to alleviate their need for local shelters. Sister facilities
include UNC Greensboro, UNC Charlotte, and UNC Asheville.
Elizabeth Meyer – Hurricane Florence was the first time a hurricane was predicted to be a Category 4
hurricane coming into this area and as a result, it was the first time their site had to evacuate all
chemicals on site. Elizabeth requested guidance information for this type of event for future reference
for the local industries.
Teresa Smith – Responded that the county could work on written guidance but would like to hear from
industry concerning what they are looking for so they know how to develop guidance for such events.
Tommy Batson – Indicated the counties would benefit by knowing when their partners (i.e. Hospitals
and local industry) would be closed down.
Paul Carr – Indicated that medical facilities are rated for the strongest storm they are capable of
withstanding. New Hanover Regional Medical Center is rated at a 3, meaning it can withstand
hurricanes rated at a category 3 or less. For such, the facility decompresses as many patients as they
can absorbing swing beds. Hurricanes rated greater than category 3 will trigger the evacuation process
of all systems at the hospital. If the storm weakens upon approach (to 3 or below) the hospital can
discontinue the evacuation process. He indicated that Pender Memorial and New Hanover Orthopedic
are rated for Category 2 hurricanes.
Mark Venters – GE will prepare for the storm and ride it out.
John Dittmar – NCSPA –will prepare for the storm and ride it out.
Frank Meyer – Wanted to express THANKS to all the partners in the LEPC who have reached out to the
county and stepped up to provide safety equipment during the Covid-19 response.
Teresa Smith – Indicated that some LEPC partners have received resources and supplies from some
unexpected sources which provided considerable help during recent emergencies (Florence, Dorian, and
Covid-19 pandemic). She asked if anyone has put together a list of those resources and suppliers to
share them with the partners.
Meeting adjourned 12:01 P.M.
Sub-Committee Breakout Summaries:
N/A
LEPC Committees:
Executive Committee
Chairman – Teresa Smith
Vice-Chairman – Frank Meyer
Secretary – Linda Willis
Emergency Planning & Response Sub-Committee
Chairman –
Members –
Community Education & Public Outreach Sub-Committee
Chairman –
Members –
Next LEPC Meeting: The next meeting will be held September 9th, 2020