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Mr. Hameister called the regular May 19, 2008 meeting of the COG Public Services Committee to order at 9:37 A.M. in the COG Forum Room. Members present: Messrs. Hameister, Irvin, Morris, Neff, Remick, and Wise (alternate for Patton Township).
Others present: Messrs.
Bair, COG Fire Director; Erickson, Patton Township Manager; CITIZEN COMMENTSThere were no citizen comments. MINUTES Motion was made by Mr. Neff and seconded by Mr. Irvin that the minutes of the April 9, 2008 meeting of the COG Public Services Committee be approved as presented. Vote in favor was unanimous.EMERGENCY Management PROPOSAL
Mr. Steff gave a brief
history of the Centre Region Emergency Management Program. He presented an
overview of the current Emergency Management Agreement with Penn State
University and gave a summary of the Emergency Management Council’s
recommendation for a full-time Emergency Management Coordinator. He presented
an update the on the status of the draft COG/PSU Emergency Management Agreement
that was presented to the Committee on April 9, 2008.
Mr. Steff referred the
Committee to the 2008 Emergency Management Strategic Plan included in Ø Exercising the Emergency Operations Center (EOC) Ø Shelter training and exercising Ø Training public works employees as first responders Ø Arranging NIMS/ICS training for elected officials Mr. Remick stated the information in the Strategic Plan was helpful, but he was still not entirely convinced of the need for a full-time Coordinator. He wanted to know specifically what had not been accomplished under the current arrangement. Mr. Erickson responded that to date there have only been three Emergency Operations Center (EOC) exercises, and that he and the other Managers did not feel comfortable with that level of preparedness. Mr. Knable agreed that more EOC exercises were necessary. Mr. Bair added that pending amendments to Title 35, if passed, would add additional Incident Action Plans (IAPs) to the Emergency Management Coordinator’s duties. He told the Committee that exercise pre-planning requires “a huge amount of work” and that the amount of time needed to act on any shortfalls identified in the exercises must also be considered. Mr. Wise agreed that a full-time Coordinator was needed in order to do exercise development well. He stated that it takes months to put together an exercise from which real lessons can be learned. Mr. Neff expressed concern about the impact of the EMC’s proposal on the budget. Mr. Steff responded that an additional $37,000 in funding would be needed in 2009 and 2010, but that by 2011 the emergency generator at Park Forest Elementary School will have been paid off and the contingency fund will have reached the $100,000 threshold. As a result, he said the cost of the Emergency Management Program will decrease by $46,000 per year. Mr. Erickson compared the extra expense of having a full-time Coordinator to that of buying an insurance policy. He stated that the Centre Region municipalities really do want to be prepared to serve their citizens in a time of emergency. Mr. Irvin expressed concern that in a couple of years there may not be enough work to justify a full-time position. Mr. Bair responded that in his assessment, there are 3 to 5 years of solid work to be done on current items that have not yet been initiated. Mr. Morris expressed support for the proposal. In his opinion, there is enough work for a full-time Coordinator and the relationship with Penn State as outlined in the draft agreement will work. Mr. Hameister asked for clarification on the three items in the draft agreement relating to emergency declarations. Mr. Bair explained that in the case of an emergency impacting both the University and the municipalities, the Unified Incident Command structure would be implemented. He stated the actual command team is not outlined in the draft agreement because it is incident specific. He emphasized that the draft agreement states the Centre Region’s priorities up front in case there are conflicting priorities with PSU. The needs of the Centre Region will ultimately take precedence, because the University has the option of closing down and sending people out of the area, whereas the municipalities do not. Mr. Hameister recommended sending the draft agreement to PSU for comment and asked if the contract should be examined by the COG’s solicitor. Mr. Steff responded that the legal aspects of the contract were unchanged and that he would send a copy to Mr. Steve Shelow at PSU for review. Motion was made by Mr. Neff and seconded by Mr. Hameister that the General Forum receive the proposal for a full-time Emergency Management Coordinator position, COG/University agreement, and anticipated 2009 budget for the regional Emergency Management program, and refer them to the municipalities and Penn State University for review, with comments provided to the COG Executive Director by June 24, 2008 for distribution to the Emergency Management Council and the Public Services Committee. The vote in favor was unanimous. REFUSE AND RECYCLING PROGRAM UPDATE Mr. Steff informed the Committee that the current full-time Fiscal Coordinator and Refuse and Recycling Program Administrator, Mr. Brooks Parker, would be resigning in late June, and that a part-time replacement was being recruited for the refuse/recycling component of his position. He told the Committee that the part-time position had been advertised, and he referred them to the classified ad included in the May agenda packet. He stated the job description for the part-time position had been developed by extracting the refuse and recycling duties and responsibilities out of the current Fiscal Coordinator job description. The job description for the part-time Refuse and Recycling Administrator has been provided to the Personnel Committee for review. Mr. Hameister suggested the job description include the need for sensitivity to the Centre Region’s diverse cultures. Mr. Brooks Parker provided the Committee with several updates regarding the Refuse and Recycling Program. He stated that there has been a recent change in the billing practice for rental properties. Beginning January 1, 2009, tenants will no longer be able to set up their own accounts and all bills will be sent to property owners, who are ultimately responsible for ensuring the bills are paid. The hope is that this will make the billing process more efficient and protect land owners from being surprised with large delinquent accounts left behind by tenants. Mr. Parker stated that Halfmoon Township had expressed some interest in joining the program when the contract is re-bid, and he offered to give the Board of Supervisors a presentation. Mr. Parker referred the Committee to two DEP Recycling Technical Assistance Project reports included in the May agenda packet. The first report explored the impact of Pay-As-You-Throw and contract modifications to reduce residential collection costs. The second was the executive summary of a regional waste management system evaluation conducted for Spring, Benner, and Walker Townships. He explained that both reports were funded in part through the DEP’s Recycling Technical Assistance Program. He advised the Committee that it may be beneficial to retain a consulting firm through this program to study potential rate structure changes before the contract is re-bid in 2009. Mr. Parker stated that a number of re-bid issues will need to be explored. Ms. Shafer suggested the formation of an Ad hoc Committee to study the rate structure and possibilities for providing additional services. Mr. Parker will provide the Committee with a review of the current Refuse/Recycling contract during its June 11, 2008 meeting. COG COMMITTEE STRUCTURE Mr. Steff reported that during its April 21, 2008 meeting, the Executive Committee initiated discussion regarding the COG’s standing committee structure. Mr. Steff stated that this process is in its very early stages, and that since the committee structure is identified in the COG Articles of Agreement, it can only be amended by municipal ordinance. When the Executive Committee’s recommendation is finalized, it will be presented to the General Forum and forwarded to the municipalities for comment. Mr. Hameister referred the Committee to his written comments regarding the proposed restructuring. He pointed out that the current Public Services Committee has achieved a good integration of public works and public safety, as recommended by the 2005 ESCi study. Mr. Remick supported Mr. Hameister’s suggestion that the Committee be renamed the Public Services and Safety Committee, since approximately 50% of its work deals with public safety, but he expressed concern that adding Codes may be too much of a burden. Mr. Knable commented that his preference would be for a separate Public Safety Committee, since he does not have much interest in topics such as the beneficial reuse project or refuse and recycling. Mr. Bair stated that he did not have a preference. Mr. Wise expressed his opinion that a dedicated Public Safety Committee would be beneficial, since the amount of time the Public Services Committee devotes to public safety continues to increase. Mr. Irvin stated that codes and public safety meshed well, and that combining the two would be a good idea, since Code Committee meetings are usually very short. Mr. Morris commented that he could see some logic in splitting the Public Services Committee, since its range of responsibilities is wide, but that he would like more information before making a recommendation. Mr. Steff agreed to share the Committee members’ comments with the Executive Committee at its May 19, 2008 meeting. OTHER BUSINESS
Murphy Properties
– Mr. Steff referred the Committee
to the joint State College Borough/COG letter to Ms. Jeanne Murphy in response
to her inquiry regarding the real estate she owns adjacent to the main Alpha
Fire station on South Atherton Street. Mr. Steff reported that the State
College Borough Council was basically in favor of obtaining an option to
purchase the properties or a right Fire Company Updates – Mr. Bair reported that a facility assessment would be undertaken for the main Alpha Fire Station. The current operational costs are higher than can be justified. The study will also explore the possible advantages of obtaining the two adjacent lots owned by Ms. Murphy. Mr. Bair expressed optimism that the $41,497.00 Federal SAFER Grant for retention and recruiting would buy more advertising than he had originally anticipated. He will give the Committee an update at its June 11, 2008 meeting. ADJOURNMENT
There being no further
business, the May 19, 2008 meeting of the COG Public Services Committee was
adjourned at 10:26 A.M.
Lyssa N. Cromell Recording Secretary
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