Meeting held on Thursday, 04 April 2019 from 6:15 p.m. to 7:55 p.m. at the home of Lori Stafford.

Saratoga Cox CERT Division meeting attendees were the following:

  1. Tom Baker
  2. Uma Challa
  3. Debbie Ellis
  4. Kevin Marques (19 May 2019 CERT Academy graduate)
  5. Peter Melhus
  6. Chuck Rader
  7. Brad Silveria
  8. Lori Stafford
  9. Lyle Topham
  10. Jeff Walker

Discussion items:

  • The results of the first monthly Cox CERT Division FRS radio check-in drill conducted on Monday evening, 01 April 2019, were discussed by Peter Melhus. A total of eight divisional members were successful in checking in with the simulated CERT Incident Command Post (manned by Peter Melhus as our initial drill Net Control) at Kevin Moran Park. Three members were not able to establish contact with the simulated ICP. These were Debbie Ellis and Jack Griswold in the Saratoga Woods neighborhood and Kevin Marques in the eastern side of the Brookview neighborhood. All three of these attempted – and unsuccessful – contacts replicated what was seen in the prior maximum-range FRS radio experiment conducted by Peter Melhus, Chuck Rader and Brad Silveria on Friday, 01 February 2019. That experiment – and the 01 April check-in drill – confirmed that CERT team members living in the far extremes of the divisional AOR, and attempting radio contact with a CERT Incident Command Post in Kevin Moran Park, will not be able to establish direct communications via FRS radio. Instead, they will need to work through an intermediate relay contact to get their message traffic into the ICP.

The next monthly FRS radio check-in drill will be conducted on Monday, 06 May 2019, at 7:30 p.m. Chuck Rader will act as Net Control for this month’s exercise, and will again be positioned at the simulated ICP in Kevin Moran Park. All participating divisional team members will log whether they (1) were successful in reaching Net Control, along with logging (2) who they heard on Channel 11 test frequency and (3) whether they were able to act successfully as an intermediate relay contact for more distant FRS operators.

In an effort to determine if a successful FRS radio “bridge” can be established with our more distant members in both Saratoga Woods and the eastern side of the Brookview neighborhood, Peter Melhus will position himself at the intersection of Titus Avenue and Bellwood Drive to act as an intermediately-positioned FRS relay “station.” 

Future monthly check-in drills will be conducted on the first Monday of every month, unless the group decides differently.

  • A review of all upcoming CERT-related training and exercises for the next 90 days was discussed. Please see the other attachment to this e-mailed minutes document.
  • Training was continued from the Cox CERT Division Emergency Operations Plan (EOP). Training topics included:  
    • conclusion of discussion on CERT activation (mobilization) and initial post-activation activities
    • CERT apparel, identification, and personal protective equipment
    • City of Saratoga CERT caches and the need for “mini-caches” of “starter” material at identified locations earmarked for CERT incident command posts
    • “go” backpack organization and recommended contents

              Training topics for the next monthly divisional meeting include:

  1. CERT incident command: what it means and the responsibilities of the CERT Incident Commander
    1. the establishment and operations of a CERT incident command post
    1. additional staffing requirements to fully man a CERT incident command post, and the responsibilities of these other ICP members
    1. area hazards assessment for the Cox CERT area of responsibility
    1. use of Saratoga CERT members after disasters or incidents other than a major magnitude earthquake

ACTION ITEM(S)

  • Chuck Rader to contact Michael Taylor and Crystal Bothelio in regard to the

FEMA/California Governor’s Office of Emergency Services monetary grant under the “CERT Capacity Building RFA” program. This program makes available a total of $9.5 million, to be divided among registered California CERT programs and County CERT programs as grants through an RFA process.  The grants will be tied to deliverables for the California for All Emergency Preparedness Campaign.  The RFA will be released on 03 April 2019 with an application due date of 09 May 2019.  Programs will have from June 2019 to January 2021 to expend the grant funds.  All CERT programs in California that are registered on the FEMA CERT website (of which the City of Saratoga CERT program is one) will be eligible to request grant funding.

            A proposal would be for this grant money to be used by the City of Saratoga

            to purchase:

  1. medical supplies promoted during the “Stop the Bleed” training, such as C.A.T. Gen 7 tourniquets, QuikClot, NuStat or Celox Z-fold bleeding control dressings (hemostatic gauze), and H&H flat-fold compression bandages.
  2. storage sheds, storage boxes and any fencing requirements for divisional “mini-caches” at identified divisional incident command post sites (i.e., El Quito Park, Kevin Moran Park, etc.)
  3. additional “general-purpose” CERT supplies for the main cache locations

CARRY-OVER ACTION ITEMS FROM THE FEBRUARY DIVISIONAL MEETING:

  • Chuck Rader to research the role the Santa Clara County Office of the Medical Examiner-Coroner and federal DMORT resources have in addressing the deceased after a major-magnitude earthquake.
  • Chuck Rader to research the possibility of using Church of the Ascension Catholic Church and Congregation Beth David Jewish Synagogue as inclement weatherCERT medical treatment sites.
  • Chuck Rader to continue discussions with the City of Saratoga on establishing a “subset” cache of immediate response CERT materials and equipment on the grounds of Kevin Moran Park.

NEXT COX CERT DIVISIONAL MEETING:

        Monday, 13 May 2019, from 6:00 p.m. to approximately 7:45 p.m.

        location: Lori Stafford’s house at 19850 Kane Court, Saratoga, CA