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HomeMy WebLinkAboutSSN071811CITY OF CENTRAL POINT City Council Study Session July 18, 2011 I. MEETING CALLED TO ORDER Mayor Williams called the meeting to order at 6:00 p.m. II. ATTENDEES Mayor: Hank Williams Council Members: Bruce Dingier, Allen Broderick, Carol Fischer, Kelly Geiger, and Kay Harrison were present. Ellie George was excused. City Manager Phil Messina; Parks and Public Works Director Matt Samitore; Community Development Director Tom Humphrey ;Human Resource Director Barb Robson; and City Recorder Deanna Casey were also present. III. BUSINESS A. Central Point Hazard Mitigation Plan Floodplain Coordinator Stephanie Holtey presented a PowerPoint presentation to explain the overview and project history, plan organization, and Mission, Goals and Objectives of the Central Point Hazard Mitigation Plan (CPHMP). Planning efforts have been funded by the Federal Emergency Management Agency's (FEMA) Hazard Mitigation Grant Program (HMGP) and has been conducted under the direction of a Hazard Mitigation Advisory Committee formed in 2007. The project mission is: Proactively facilitate and support community-wide policies, practices, and programs that make Central Point more disaster resistant and resilient. Project goals are: 1. Protect life & safety 2. Protect Central Point buildings and infrastructure 3. Enhance emergency response capability, emergency planning and post- disaster recovery 4. Vigorously seek funding sources for mitigation actions 5. Increase public awareness of natural hazards and enhance education and outreach efforts 6. Incorporate mitigation planning into natural resource management and land use planning. Completion of the Central Point Hazard Mitigation Plan will be a significant achievement for the community. The plan promotes awareness of risk, potential losses and risk reduction actions for natural hazards; it also makes the city eligible for mitigation grant funding from FEMA once adopted by the City. These funds would be used to implement actions identified in the plan to reduce risk hazards. Council Study Session February 28, 2010 Page 2 The plan addresses natural hazards that have the potential to affect the community: • Floods • Earthquakes • Severe Weather • Other hazards that are low risk for our area but should be addressed (Wild land/Urban Interface Fires, Landslides, Volcanic Events, Drought, Subsidence, Expansive Soils, and Sinkholes). Mrs. Holtey explained that the Griffin Creek area presents the biggest hazard to Central Point because some of the culverts are too small for a large amount of water. We currently see Griffin Creek back up in these locations with a heavy rain storm. If we were to experience weather severe enough to cause flood watches, these areas would be a huge risk for infrastructure damage and damage to property owners. There are funding options available to help with these issues but the CPHMP must be adopted by Council. There was discussion in regards to property taxes and assessed value of the homes in the Griffin Creek Hazard areas. The damage to the infrastructure could be up to 10 million dollars for the city. Council members were in agreement the plan should be implemented so that we can apply for grants to help replace the culverts and avoid some of the flooding problems in the future. There was_discussion regarding some of the minor issues that could affect Central Point. There are mitigation options for the other lower risk hazards. These need to be addressed in the plan but are a lower priority at this time. Conclusion: Staff will continue forward with the public hearing set for August 9, 2011. The process is about 90% complete. The items remaining prior to adoption are the public hearing, submitting final plan to OEM/FEMA; approval from FEMA; then adoption by City Council. After the plan is adopted staff will begin submitting grant applications for the mitigation items listed in the plan. B. Cross Connection and Backflow Prevention Parks and Public Works Director Matt Samitore explained that OAR 333961 - 010 is an unfunded mandate from the State of Oregon requiring back flow prevention devices. Central Point Municipal Code 12.20.060 was established to set policy for the City of Central Point in regards to installation and annual inspections to comply with State requirements. The Back Flow Prevention (BFP) device is a check valve that prevents water from flowing backwards into a water supply line resulting in a contaminated water. He explained different scenarios where back flow or cross connection could happen. The State is asking cities to be diligent in enforcing the annual maintenance checks on BFP devices within their jurisdiction. To date the City has accepted any maintenance reports submitted by property owners, and printed articles in Council Study Session February 28, 2010 Page 3 the City News about getting backflow devices checked annually, but have not fully enforced the program. Staff is looking for direction from Council on how they would like to enforce this mandate. Options could be: Set up a monthly fee to cover expenses for the City to check the devices annually. Revise the Ordinance allowing the City to test the devices if property owners are in non-compliance and bill the owners. Continue doing what we have been doing by educating the public with newsletter articles. The BFP program began in 1980 and is still growing. Currently there are approximately 5,300 backflows in the City with 40% of those being tested and reported annually. Public Works would like to increase the annual testing to 80% or better by the end of 2012. They plan to divide the city up into sections creating a data base that can be updated annually once all the information is collected. Conclusion: The City could provide a letter to property owners from the state stating the mandate and reason for the devices and why they need to be tested annually to see if that would help with compliance. Mr. Samitore will submit a five year plan and cost estimate for the next budget. IV. ADJOURNMENT The Study Session for July 18, 2011, was adjourned at 7:23 p.m. L'