Town of East Longmeadow
Office of the Local Emergency Planning Committee
150 Somers Road
East Longmeadow, MA 01028-2929
To The Members of the Board of Selectmen and the
Community;
During
the past calendar year the Committee has once again, continued to move ahead
and is on track with its required duties. We have also taken on additional
tasks.
In
2005 we requested that all programs coming through the office of the Board of
Selectmen, that deal with emergency planning, come before this committee for review.
For
the fifth year the Committee, the Fire Department, and the Massachusetts Office
of Emergency Management (MEMA) have received updated Tier II –
Hazardous Materials reports in
electronic format. This information has been placed in service, for use by the
Committee, the local Office of Emergency Management, and the Fire Department
through paper files and on computer for quick retrieval during an emergency.
Late
in 2006 the committee submitted to the State Emergency Response Coordinator a“new” Hazardous Materials Evacuation Plan (HMEP) and an
application to move the committee from Provisional to Full Committee Certification. The committee is still waiting to hear on its
application.
The
new HMEP now replaces Part Five of the Town’s Comprehensive Emergency
Management Plan. Part 5 deals with hazardous materials transported through and
used/stored within the community.
During
the year, meetings have been conducted quarterly. All meeting notices are
published in the Reminder and posted at the Town Hall by the Town Clerk.
Notices and postings are made per the “Open Meeting Law”. The public is always
welcome to attend.
During 2006 the committee continued to spearhead
NIMS and ICS Training as required, for all town employees.
One of the additional duties taken on by this
committee was the development of the
EDS Program (Emergency
Dispensing System). Through a combined effort by many of the committee members
and town department heads, all of the local data was compiled, and forwarded to
Randori Associates in Amherst for completion.
In 2005 the Committee became the primary receiving
agency for any future programs involving/requiring emergency planning.
We also worked with the Planning Board on
definitions for the Town By-laws. The definitions addressed two subjects
– “Highly Hazardous Chemical” and “Process”. They were presented at the
Special Town Meeting in October and adopted by the Town.
The definitions as adopted were taken from 29CFR
under SARA (the Superfund Amendment Re-Authorization Act), the EPA
(Environmental Protection Agency), and OSHA (Occupational Safety & Health
Agency).
For
2007 plans are being made to look at and address multiple subjects.
The
first will be a joint tabletop exercise, conducted by this committee and the
East Longmeadow Emergency Management Agency.
As
noted in our 2004 report this Committee receives no funding from the Town. Grants are currently the only funding source for
this Committee. While grants are an excellent source for funding they may not
be available in the future. At some point the Town may need to provide funding
for this committee.
I
wish to thank the members of this committee, all Town Departments & Boards,
the
local businesses, and all of
the State Agencies that the committee works with for their cooperation.
Respectfully Submitted,
Brian A Falk, Chairman
Local Emergency Planning
Committee –
Brian A. Falk, Chairman
Frank Morrisino, Jr.,
Emergency Management Director & Vice Chairman
Brenda Brouillette, American
Red Cross
Dr. Michael Lemanski, Health
Representative
John M. Claffey, Board of
Health Representative
James Driscoll, Selectmen’s
Representative
Raymond Kallaugher, Citizen
Representative
Dr. Edward Costa, School
Department & Buses
Richard Clark, Council on
Aging Representative
Dave Gromaski,
DPW/Transportation Representative
Robert Gregory, AMR/Emergency
Medical Service Representative
John Haraty, Environmental
Representative
Stephen Rybacki, Fire
Department Liaison
Tom McGowan, Regional Hazmat
Team Representative
Mike Maheux, Industry
Representative
Chris Buendo, Media
Representative
David Mellis, Police Chief
Walter Niznik, Police
Department Liaison
Mary Lou Donahue, School
Nursing Supervisor
Bruce Augusti, State
Emergency Management Representative
