Town of Mansfield
Emergency Management
Advisory Council
DRAFT
Minutes of Special Meeting
April 8, 2009
CALL TO ORDER
Chairman Elizabeth Paterson called the meeting to order at 9:37 a.m. in Council Chambers at the Audrey P. Beck Building.
ROLL CALL
Members present: Michael Kurland, Elizabeth Paterson, Matthew Hart, David Dagon and Robert Miller.
Member(s) absent: James Kodzis, Lon Hultgren and Fred Baruzzi.
Staff present: John Jackman. Jennifer Thompson is serving as secretary at this meeting.
APPROVAL OF MINUTES
Chairman Paterson, noting that the agenda should reference March 10, 2008 minutes, called for a motion to revise or approve said minutes. Motion in favor to accept the minutes as presented was made by M. Kurland and seconded by D. Dagon. All being in favor, motion passed.
NEW BUSINESS
2009 Spring Weekend Planning
Management Plan: J. Jackman noted because of efforts made in this regard, expectations and attitudes of students and emergency personnel seem more positive. Members concurred that furtherance of this development takes time. Town representatives continue to work with the Mansfield Campus Community Partnership and Jim Hintz, Director of Off-Campus Student Services of the University of Connecticut. The challenge is demonstration of how these efforts are making a difference; for example, through student involvement in MCCP and off-campus visits. It is difficult to provide solid evidence to support affect. M. Kurland and E. Paterson expressed that notification to students of their rights and responsibilities of being off-campus residents is a quality of life issue, people need to know that this is a community too not just university campus and a good neighbor message is important. It was felt that the numbers of participants consuming alcohol to excess at Spring Weekend are diminishing as participants are taking more care of each other. D. Dagon indicated that partnering up is happening. M. Hart reported that complaints from the community focus on resident troopers and local police ability to respond in town after midnight, a time when coverage is provided by officers from the Troop C barracks in Tolland and they have to prioritize issues by manner of call received. Council needs to further address this matter. Discussion ensued regarding the spread of student parties to Gurleyville and other areas, the profitability of purchasing homes for student rental and the more affluent type of parents/students to afford amenities of off-campus living.
Goals & Objectives: Better parking for emergency vehicles is always a goal. D. Dagon reported that there has been operational planning and meetings with UConn representatives in effort to enhance ambulance response in the event of mass-casualty. Fire Marshal’s office at UConn is staging area and our units will still be used for primary response. There will be some minor alterations in the layout of the triage center.
Initiatives for 2009: Better communications between university and town must continue to be aimed for. Wildcards for how things will turn out in connection with Spring Weekend this year include the fact that no concert is scheduled during the weekend and that activities may occur in another lot at UConn besides X-lot. Concerns were expressed regarding additional numbers requiring crowd control and single means of access to and topographical nature of the additional UConn lot site. M. Hart noted for the record that he was aware that a concert was not happening about a month ago. All members conceded that they probably knew about this for about a month, but question how a decision occurred without consulting public safety agencies.
REPORTS
Updates on Department of Emergency Management and Homeland Security Initiatives
Regional Emergency Planning: Homeland Security has influenced the creation of five planning groups to provide regional emergency management. These groups permit the 169 towns and 2 tribal nations within our state to work cooperatively together. It was noted that M. Hart services as Vice Chair for Region IV. A draft plan is in place, but more work on the governing structure is still needed.
Regional Drill: A table-top drill has taken place and another is scheduled on May 2nd for the Northeast.
Grants: Grant funding shall focus on training and exercise of the plan.
Eastern Highland Health District is a model example of regional cooperation with an effective governing body.
Updates on Eastern Highlands Health District Initiatives
Pandemic: The district meets monthly to focus on this issue. A table-top exercise was held last week to highlight community-based intervention of a pandemic. Items such as mass-transit, isolation and quarantine, school and daycare closures, and social and economical impacts were discussed. In additional to health district staff, schools and business community representatives were present. The reality of a pandemic threat has not decreased; rather, it has just been less publicized recently.
b. Bioterrorism: Due to State budget constraints, funding for bioterrorism is level. Center Disease Control & Prevention spending guidance is pending so unsure at this time of affect to local health district.
ADJOURNMENT
There being no further business to be presented to the members, Chairman Paterson adjourned the meeting at 10:14 a.m.
Respectfully submitted,
Jennifer Thompson