• Conduct regular meetings of the cross-departmental committee to identify needs and facilitate communication among Public Works, Utilities, Fire, Police and other departments. 
• Create and maintain a Database of volunteer response resources.  Make registration available via the Website.
• Create and maintain a means of linking persons with disabilities with the volunteer response resources.
• Participate in regional workshops to stay current on of the latest information regarding the storm season’s potential.
• Coordinate with the Palo Alto Unified School District, American Red Cross, Santa Clara Valley Water District and Office of Emergency Services from Santa Clara County and contiguous agencies (San Mateo County, Menlo Park, East Palo Alto, Mt. View, Stanford, Los Altos).
• Coordinate emergency activities with neighborhood groups, local businesses, Stanford University and Research Park businesses.
• Send fliers in the October Utility bills and/or issue press releases to provide the public with tips and contacts to help them prepare for the storms. 
• Keep current:  Emergency Website, Cable T.V. Ch. 16, radio information, (include creek monitoring info on tv).
• Creeks and storm drains to be cleared by Public Works and Santa Clara Valley Water District by October to prevent stream clogging.
• Sandbag stations are to be stocked and have seasonal lighting and access by November 1.
• Verify emergency supplies inventory prior to October 1.
• Verify emergency callback staffing plans are current prior to October 1
• Maintain GIS system and maps in the EOC that reflect special problem areas during flooding as well as maps with current elevation information.
• Provide public education to train residents to help themselves and their neighbors during the first 72 hours following a disaster as per Emergency Management Plan.
• Provide ongoing internal training for city employees on the Standardized Emergency Management System (SEMS) and evacuation procedures.
• Test Teleminder emergency notification system quarterly.
• Inventory equipment/supplies prior to October 1.
• Monitor weather station in Foothills Park and stream gauges in San Francisquito, Matadero and Adobe Creeks.
• Provide a 24-hour purchasing and requisition system to promptly secure needed emergency supplies and materials.
• Purchase an automatic sandbag machine by November 1, 2000. Evaluate adequacy of one sandbag machine.
• Inform residents and businesses of the flood notification plan and provide a variety of other important preparedness tips. Develop a flood information poster and deliver door-to-door in the flood impacted areas.

• Establish Mission Objectives. General mission is to ensure public safety and prevent the loss of life, To keep the public and Council informed, and to provide for the continuity of City services to the extent possible. Secondary mission, to take effect when emergency conditions subside is to provide residents and businesses with recovery assistance.
• Respond to emergency calls for service.
• Identify area for Car evacuation point, disseminate information the recovery of early loss of cars.
• Request Mutual Aid and/or volunteers, as necessary.
• Continue to monitor weather forecasts.
• Employ procedure for notifying residents of the threat of flooding via community alerting system and radio broadcasts at trigger points of creek capacity.  Use fire and police sirens and emergency vehicle public address systems for notification.  Use bullhorns and City cars.
• Implement a plan for contingency call routing to handle the potentially high volume of calls the City might receive in the event of further flooding.  A bank of phones and computers to be used that non-emergency calls would be transferred from 9-1-1 and Communications Dispatch lines. Ensure prompt response to requests for information while not overburdening emergency lines needed for calls regarding life-threatening situations.
• Restock the sandbag stations.
• Patrol neighborhoods.
• Provide evacuation notification and assistance.
• Provide security in the evacuated areas.
• Establish shelter assistance as needed with City staff/volunteers.
• Maintain road safety.
• Coordinate with other jurisdictions.
• Provide current emergency information to the media and the public through a variety of channels including: press releases, community meetings, the City’s website, the Channel 16 scroll, a 24 hour phone line, public announcements in the Palo Alto Weekly/Daily, Library, reports to the City Council.  Also if possible, provide a flood information poster to affected residences.
• Check storm drains and pumps to ensure that they were functioning properly.
• Provide barricades and signs to divert traffic from inaccessible and unsafe areas.
• Close roadways where unsafe.
• Identify and publicize safe routes into the City.
• Coordinate with Palo Alto Unified School District to inform it of flood conditions and determine school closure status.
• Provide mutual aid to the other cities and jurisdictions as requested if the demand for service in Palo Alto allows.
• Maintain open lines of communication with the Santa Clara Valley Water District, Stanford University, Santa Clara County Office of Emergency Services, American Red Cross, East Palo Alto, Menlo Park, San Mateo County, Calif. Utilities Emergency Assoc., State OES, and any other appropriate or threatened entity. 
• Provide information to employees through twice daily cross-departmental briefing sessions, calls and faxes to City Council Members, and e-mails to all City staff.
  

• Determine the need to update this emergency plan addendum to outline the City’s future response to floods and other emergencies and will describe the resources and programs that will be put in place to implement various elements of the Emergency Management Plan.
• Coordinate post-incident debriefings and counseling.
• Deliver door-to-door information to notify residents about the flood. 
• Make available, through a variety of mediums, recovery and non-emergency assistance to flooded households, e.g., the Red Cross book regarding what to do about water, sewage, gas, electric problem, and Poison Oak.
• Send clean-up crews into neighborhoods to clear roadways and sidewalks and haul away mud and debris from flooded areas.

Recommend City Council approve:

1. Provide free debris bins in accessible locations. 
2. Reimburse residents who rent their own debris bins from the Palo Alto Sanitation Company (PASCO).
3. Temporary suspension of disposal fees at the City landfill.
4. Temporary suspension of building-permit fees for storm-related repairs.
5. A process for residents to receive a credit on their utility bill if they increased their use of electricity, gas and water due to flood-related cleanup and repair.
6. Elimination of fees for non-occupied buildings due to flood issues for services that cannot be discontinued, e.g., garbage pick-up.
   
   

• Fire Department to provide around the clock emergency pumping of water from basements and critical business locations.  Priority given to health & safety issues.
• Public Works Department to assess road conditions and identify areas needing emergency repairs.
• Building Inspection Division to assess homes for flood damage and simplify the building permit process for damaged homes.
• The City Council to meet with Palo Alto’s Federal and State legislators and asked them to help Palo Alto residents in their dealings with the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) and other Federal and State disaster relief organizations.
• Schedule outreach meetings for recovery.
• The City to provide space for the Small Business Association (SBA) to meet with residents/businesses at a convenient location/s.
• Hire consultants to help residents with the Federal flood-assistance application process, if necessary.
• City staff to coordinate and/or participate in a variety of meetings with the public to disseminate information and hear people’s comments and concerns about flooding.
• Establish a 24-hour phone line for residents to ask questions and request assistance or leave messages for response during business hours
• Provide battery-operated AM/FM radios to residents who need them.
• Provide regular press releases to the newspapers regularly and posted to the City’s website. 
• Develop after action report, with community input.
• City Manager to give regular recovery progress updates at City Council.