North Calaveras Emergency Preparedness Group
P.O. Box 1119, West Point, CA 95255
tel: (209) 754-4369
contact name: Jeff Stone
email: jeffstone3@yahoo.com

Please join your neighbors to develop an emergency preparedness plan!

Introduction

Our remote areas of Rail Road Flat, Glencoe, Mountain Ranch, Wilseyville, West Point and the surrounding areas are in need of a plan to supplement and support the Calaveras County Emergency Operations Plan. Residents of our communities that make up the Northern portion of Calaveras County are beginning to develop that plan. This Plan will establish procedures to address various human-caused and natural emergency situations including wildland fires, extreme weather, flooding, land/mud slides, hazardous material spills, etc. Because our response efforts could last for hours, days, or even weeks depending on the severity of the event, it is essential to the overall success of our response that we have an action plan in place .

The purpose of an Emergency Preparedness Plan is to provide procedures that will save lives during extraordinary emergency events and hasten the resumption of normal operations during the recovery process. An effective organized emergency response depends on communities whose citizens are familiar with the plan and the emergency procedures, and who understand their personal responsibility for emergency preparedness and response.

Emergency Response Areas

Because our communities are rural with potential barriers during any emergency, we've divided the communities of Calaveras County District II into the three (3) following emergency response zones which are committees within the Group). Each Area will develop an emergency plan to supplement the County Emergency Plan. This will be a local plan that can be implemented immediately by persons in place in the areas affected until the County Emergency Operations Plan can be fully implemented.

Zone 1: Rail Road Flat-Glencoe
Contact: Vacant
Meeting dates/locations: NONE at present
___________________________________________

Zone 2: Mountain Ranch Area
Contact: Jeff Stone
(209) 754-4369
e-mail

Zone 3: West Point-Wilseyville
Blue Mountain Emergency Preparedness Committee
Contact: Dennis Lewis
PO Box 1119
West Point, CA 95255
(209 712-3120
e-mail

Blue Mountain Emergency Preparedness Committee Meeting Schedule:

The 4th Wednesday of every month beginning at 6:00pm
at the American Veterans Memorial Building in West Point
(across from the West Point Elementary School)
22237 Highway 26, West Point .
( Residents of Wilseyville & West Point are encouraged to attend )

The agenda and minutes of the Blue Mountain Emergency Preparedness Committee meetings are posted below.

September Agenda

22 September 2010 at 5:30PM
All American Veterans Building, West Point
22237 Hwy 26, West Point

1. Call to order and introductions
2. Review previous meeting minutes
3. Correspondence
4. Unfinished Business
5. New Business
Vacancy — Resignation of Board Member Janet Bell

Discussion/Action — Future of NCEPG

6. Committee Reports
7. Financials
8. Comments/Suggestions by anyone
9. Adjourn
Next Meeting: TBA

September 2010 Minutes
DRAFT

Call to order and introductions: Jeff Stone, Chair, called this meeting of the North Calaveras Emergency Preparedness Group to order on September 22, 2010 at 5:45PM at the All American Veterans Building, 22237 Hwy 26 in West Point. Introductions were made around the room and those in attendance were: Dennis Lewis Dee Bassett Sam Hernandez Rene Clark Jim Carroll John Mierswa John Regalado Kary Ann Stanger
Sandra Krewski Janiece Jelatis Katie McCollum George McCollum Dick Roth Bob Murray Jeff Stone Duane Langenberg

Review previous meeting minutes - None were submitted as no meetings have taken place in 2010.

Financials: -- Mr Stone announced the resignation of the Treasurer and asked if anyone was interested in the position. Mr. Stone indicated that according to Bank records, there is currently $910.00 in the account. Mr. Rigalado announced he would be interested in the position if he could secure a little help as he doesn't have a computer. Ms. Dee Bassett announced that she can help in that regard and suggested that an audit of these financials be conducted before they are turned over to Mr. Rigalado. The Group agreed and asked Ms. Bassett if she was willing to audit the books because of her 25 (plus) years of banking experience. Ms. Bassett agreed and the bank statements and financial reports were turned over to Ms. Bassett for review.

Unfinished Business -- None

New Business

Future of the Group
Discussion ensued about the future of the Group as it relates to getting things accomplished. After much discussion, it was determined that the Group should remain the Parent Organization in order to oversee the activities of each community. The Group next asked Jeff Stone if he would remain as Chair, Dennis Lewis as Secretary, and Kary Ann Stanger as a Director. Dennis informed the Group that although the Group could exist with only three Directors, the Group Bylaws indicate that there shall be no fewer than 5 Directors. With the acceptance of the Treasurers position by Mr. Rigalado, there was need for one more Director. Mr. George McCollum stepped up and accepted that position. After more discussion, the group elected by unanimous consent, the slate of Directors as follows:

Jeff Stone, President John Rigalado, Treasurer/CFO, Dennis Lewis, Secretary Kary Ann Stanger, Director
George McCollum, Director

Adjournment - Mr. Jeff Stone adjourned this meeting of the North Calaveras Emergency Preparedness Group at 6:15PM in order for the Blue Mountain Emergency Preparedness Committee to start their meeting.

September 22, 2010 Minutes
-DRAFT-

Call to order and introductions: Dennis Lewis, Chair, called this meeting of the Blue Mountain Emergency Preparedness Committee to order on September 22, 2010 at 6:15PM at the All American Veterans Building, 22237 Hwy 26 in West Point. Introductions were made around the room and those in attendance were:
Dennis Lewis Dee Bassett Sam Hernandez Rene Clark Jim Carroll John Mierswa John Regalado Kary Ann Stanger Sandra Krewski Janiece Jelatis Katie McCollum George McCollum Dick Roth Bob Murray Jeff Stone Duane Langenberg

Review the July and August 2010 BMEP Committee meeting minutes (The approval of the July minutes was tabled in August for the Community-Wildfire Protection Plan presentations): These minutes were approved as submitted without modification by unanimous consent.

Correspondence: Dennis reported receiving another anonymous donation of 100 44 Cent stamps the other day in the mailbox. Dennis wished to thank these anonymous donors as they are what is keeping everyone informed and involved via the US Mail.

Unfinished Business

Report on progress of the installations of the Emergency Communication Antennas on Shelter locations — Sam Hernandez reported that he is currently working on securing permission for the location of the antenna on West Point Elementary School. Permission was recently received from the Community Hall next door to install an antenna. Dennis informed the membership that he recently completed a shelter survey for the American Red Cross on the Blue Mountain Coalition for Youth & Families (BMCFY&F) facilities and secured written permission to use the facility as a shelter. Dennis asked Sam to meet with Peggy Chambers, President BMCFY&F, in the near future regarding the installation of an antenna on their facilities downtown. Dennis also reported he has asked Peggy Chambers, President of the Coalition for Youth and Families for permission to use their buildings downtown for our efforts during an emergency. Tentative approval has been received and Dennis will be sending a formal request to their Board of Directors in the near future.

Amateur Radio Operators License Instruction Update: Sam Hernandez reported that six (6) members signed up for this class and handed out the text books to the participants. The first class will meet on October 9th beginning at 8:30AM in the downstairs meeting room of the West Point All American Veterans Building (22237 Hwy 26). Class will break for lunch for about an hour and lunch will be pizza which will cost everyone about $5.00 each. The second and final class meeting will be in the upstairs room of the All American Veterans Building on October 16th beginning at 9:30 AM. This will be a 2 hour review with about an hour break for lunch (Pizza cost $5.00 each) followed by the actual exam for an operator's license. Dennis reminded everyone that they still need to bring their own non-alcoholic refreshments as none will be provided during either class. The purpose of becoming a licensed ham radio operator is to give the actual ham radio club operators relief breaks during any emergency.

Disaster Drill scenario for Spring of 2011 — Dennis Lewis reported that the Committee sponsored a first of a kind joint meeting of emergency responders that included nearly every agency that would be involved in any large scale emergency in our area. This group plans on meeting again in November with the sole purpose of planning a table-top exercise in early spring 2011 and a disaster drill as early as late spring 2011. Dennis will keep the committee informed as to the progress of these meetings and the committee's involvement.

Community - Wildfire Protection Plan (C - WPP): A joint meeting of the Calaveras Foothill Fire Safe Council and the Blue Mountain Emergency Preparedness Committee commenced with the introduction of the Fire Safe Council Members: Chair, Terry Woodrow (Amador County Supervisor); Bill Fullerton (WP Fire); Tim Tatem (Sierra Pacific Industries [SPI]);
Robert Smith (Smith Grinding); and, Calaveras County District II Supervisor Steve Wilensky
Mr. Fullerton gave a brief overview of how the Calaveras Foothill Fire Safe Council has evolved since its inception.

Mr. Fullerton also gave a brief overview of some of the programs available to Calaveras County Residents. Programs such as:

Residential Chipping Program available to Seniors 55 years old and older
Community-Wildfire Protection Plan which recently received a $13,000 grant from the County to hire a consultant and begin the work of defining areas of concern for public input. Mr. Fullerton hopes that the first of several public meetings regarding this plan will begin in early December where residents will have the ability to give input as to what this plan will encompass.

County Waste: Calaveras Healthy Impact Products Solutions (CHIPS) should be chipping green yard waste at the Wilseyville Transfer Site sometime in the near future. This will decrease the $4.00 per Cubic Yard cost of dumping yard waste at the Transfer Station and will encourage residents to take their yard waste to the dump instead of along the roadside.

Supervisor Wilensky informed the group that the Fire Safe Council was in need of a Council Member to complete an unexpired member's term. Dennis Lewis volunteered and was appointed by Fire Safe Council Chair Terry Woodrow. Council Chair Woodrow informed Dennis that the next meeting of the Council would be on November 3rd at 6:00PM at the Murphy's Fire Department.

Supervisor Wilensky remarked that the opening of a CoGen Plant (Cogeneration, also combined heat and power, is the use of a heat engine or a power station to simultaneously generate both electricity and useful heat. It is one of the most common forms of energy recycling. Ref http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cogeneration) in the area will have a hearing at the next Board of Supervisors meeting at 7PM.

Mr. Tim Tatem (SPI) informed the group that the mill in Sonora was in the process of being retooled to handle logs as small as 8 inches and should be reopening in May 2011. This mill will generate local job opportunities for the residents in the area. The same goes for the plant in Buena Vista once they are able to negotiate through the red tape.

This concluded the joint meeting of the Calaveras Foothill Fire Safe Council and BMEPC.

New Business

Lumberjack Days Booth (Saturday, Oct 2) — Dennis passed a sign-up list for Lumberjack Days as he and Dee plan to be at the BMEP Committee Booth all day but could use a couple of breaks.

Amador - Calaveras Consensus Group: Dennis plans to attend these monthly group meetings on behalf of the Committee as they are progressive, informative, and an important part of our community. The Amador-Calaveras Consensus Group is a collaboration between Local, State and Federal government agencies, Tribal entities, nonprofit organizations and local businesses that are working together to create fire-safe communities, healthy forests and watersheds, and a sustainable local economy.

Incident Command System (ICS) Training: ICS training includes procedures to select and form temporary management hierarchies to control funds, personnel, facilities, equipment, and communications. ICS is a system designed to be used or applied from the time an incident occurs until the requirement for management and operations no longer exist. Dennis has a sign-up sheet for anyone interested in this training. The training is important for our communities as this will allow each of us to be able to work together during an emergency as each will have the same command structure, and knowledge of same.
Dennis is in the process of securing instructions and instructors for this training in a class room setting for those that do not have ready access to a computer. For those with access to a computer and the internet, the ICS 100 and 200 training can be conducted online through the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) website at http://training.fema.gov/EMIWeb/IS/IS100A.asp. This training will be our featured training for 2011 as well as make-up Red Cross Training (Shelter Operations, CPR, First Aid, Disaster Action Team, etc.)

Comments/Suggestions by anyone
Committee Meeting Date Change: Dennis asked the Committee to think about meeting every other month instead of every month in light of his being appointed to the Calaveras Foothill Fire Safe Council as they meet every other month on the same date the Committee meets. Further discussion and a decision on this issue will be on the October Agenda.

American Red Cross: Dennis reported that the combining of three Red Cross Chapters (Sac-Sierra, San Joaquin, and Stanislaus) into one, Capital Region Chapter, has posed a few logistical problems; One being the issuance of identification cards to our Disaster Action Team (DAT) members. Dennis is working on correcting this problem and hopes to have it resolved in the next few days/weeks.

Emergency Cots & Blankets: Mr. Duane Langenberg inquired if anyone has heard anything about the cots and blankets that the Red Cross promised several months ago. Since no-one had, Dennis said he will make some inquiries during the upcoming DAT meeting this month.

Adjourn — Since no further business was before the Committee, Chairman Dennis Lewis adjourned this meeting of the Blue Mountain Emergency Preparedness Committee at 7:30PM.

Respectfully submitted by
Dennis E. Lewis, Chairman

Next Meeting: 6:00 PM Wednesday, 27 October 2010 at the West Point All American Veterans Building
(22237 Hwy 26, West Point)

27 October 2010 at 6:00PM
All American Veterans Building, West Point
22237 Hwy 26, West Point

1. Call to order and introductions
2. Review previous meeting minutes

3. Correspondence

4. Unfinished Business

Report on progress of the installations of the Emergency Communication Antennas on Shelter locations-Sam Hernandez

Amateur Radio Operators License Instruction Update-Sam Hernandez

Lumberjack Days Booth-Dennis

Disaster Drill scenario for Spring of 2011-Dennis Lewis

Amador-Calaveras Consensus Group Report-Dennis Lewis
The Amador-Calaveras Consensus Group is a collaboration between Local, State and Federal government agencies, Tribal entities, nonprofit organizations and local businesses that are working together to create fire-safe communities, healthy forests and watersheds, and a sustainable local economy.

Incident Command System (ICS) Training-Dennis Lewis
ICS includes procedures to select and form temporary management hierarchies to control funds, personnel, facilities, equipment, and communications. ICS is a system designed to be used or applied from the time an incident occurs until the requirement for management and operations no longer exist.
Is classroom training for those that do not have access to the internet available?

5. New Business
Change our meeting dates beginning in 2011 from meeting every month to every other month to facilitate Dennis being appointed to the Calaveras Foothills Fire Safe Council which also meets every other month on the same date as we.

6. Comments/Suggestions by anyone
7. Adjourn

Note: If you would like to discuss an item/topic/subject of emergency preparedness at a committee meeting, please call Dennis Lewis at 712-3120 or e-mail him by the 10th of the month so that it can be included on the agenda prior to the agenda being distributed.

Next Meeting: 6:00 PM Wednesday, 26 January 2011 at the West Point All American Veterans Building
(22237 Hwy 26, West Point)

None

None

EIN: 26-2877219