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[Public Safety and Homeland Security Committee on June 15, 2023.]
MEETING IS CALLED TO ORDER ON JUNE 15TH AT 2:03 PM UH, TODAY WE'RE GONNA HEAR FROM HPD SPECIAL VICTIMS COMMANDER, UH, LEE KHAN.IT'S GREAT TO HAVE YOU WITH US.
AND, UH, WE'RE GONNA HAVE AN OVERVIEW OF BEST SAFETY PRACTICES FOR ONLINE AND APP DATING.
UH, I DO HOPE I'LL SAY AT THE OUTSET, I HOPE THE MEDIA WILL PARTNER WITH US TO GET SOME OF THIS SAFETY INFORMATION OUT TO THEIR AUDIENCES AS WELL.
UH, WE WILL ALSO HAVE OUR ANNUAL BRIEFING ON HURRICANE PREPAREDNESS AND EMERGENCY RESPONSE PLANS FROM OEM.
AND THE FIRE DEPARTMENT IS GOING TO ALSO BE GIVING US A SPECIAL PRESENTATION IN CONJUNCTION WITH THAT ON THE STATE OF PREPAREDNESS FOR THE DEPARTMENT AS WELL.
UH, AND LASTLY, WE WILL HEAR FROM, UH, CHIEF SATTERWHITE ON THE NEW, UH, TASER, UH, CONTRACT THAT IS COMING TO COUNCIL.
UH, I AM JOINED IN CHAMBERS BY COLLEAGUES, COUNCIL MEMBERS, PECK AND THOMAS, AND ONLINE BY COUNCIL MEMBERS JACKSON AND EVAN SHABAZZ.
WE ALSO HAVE STAFF FROM VICE MAYOR PRO TEM MARTIN'S OFFICE, VICE CHAIR KNOX'S OFFICE COUNCIL MEMBER ALCORN AND COUNCIL MEMBER HUFFMAN, AND, EXCUSE ME, COUNCIL MEMBER ROBINSON AS WELL.
SO, THANK YOU ALL FOR JOINING US.
UH, WE DO HAVE SEVERAL PUBLIC SPEAKERS TODAY.
UH, EACH SPEAKER WILL HAVE TWO MINUTES.
UH, PUBLIC PUBLIC SESSION WILL BE AT THE END OF ALL OF THE PRESENTATIONS.
UH, BEFORE WE START, AND I SEE HE JUST WALKED INTO CHAMBERS, I DO WANNA CONGRATULATE CHIEF PENA, UH, FOR RECEIVING THE 2023 METROPOLITAN FIRE CHIEF OF THE YEAR AWARD.
UH, I, THIS AWARD, AS I UNDERSTAND IT, IS DETERMINED, UH, AND HE WAS CHOSEN BY ALL OF THE FIRE CHIEFS ACROSS THE COUNTRY.
UH, SO I WANNA REALLY CONGRATULATE YOU ON THAT HONOR.
AND I THINK IT REFLECTS AS A DEPARTMENT, UM, THE CALIBER OF PROFESSIONALISM THAT, UH, THE FIRE DEPARTMENT OF HOUSTON HAS.
SO, AGAIN, CHIEF, CONGRATULATIONS AND I THINK OEM ALSO JUST RECEIVED A RECOGNITION, WHICH THEY WILL TALK ABOUT.
UM, BEFORE WE JUMP IN VERY QUICKLY, UH, THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE ISSUED AN EXCESSIVE HEAT ADVISORY FOR OUR REGION THROUGH MONDAY.
ALL CITY OF HOUSTON MULTI-SERVICE CENTERS AND LIBRARIES WILL FUNCTION AS COOLING CENTERS DURING NORMAL BUSINESS HOURS, UH, WEEKDAYS AND ON SATURDAYS.
SO, COUNCIL MEMBERS PLEASE SHARE THAT OUT.
AND, UH, RESIDENTS CAN FIND THE NEAREST COOLING CENTER LOCATION OR AN AIR CONDITIONED CITY FACILITY, UH, BY CALLING 3 1 1.
SO, AGAIN, IF EVERYONE CAN HELP, PUSH THAT OUT.
UH, A REMINDER TO PLEASE, PLEASE KEEP AN EYE OUT AND REMIND OTHERS NOT TO LEAVE CHILDREN OR ANIMALS IN CARS THIS SUMMER, ESPECIALLY DURING THE HEAT WAVES.
WELL, ANYTIME, BUT NOW IT'S GETTING VERY DANGEROUS, UH, AND WE WANT TO BE PUSHING THAT INFORMATION OUT AS WELL.
WITH THAT, UH, FOR OUR FIRST PRESENTATION, UH, CHAIR RECOGNIZES, UH, HPD COMMANDER KHAN, UH, WHO OVERSEES OUR SPECIAL VICTIMS DIVISION.
SO THANK YOU FOR BEING WITH US FOR THIS IMPORTANT PRESENTATION.
UM, LIKE A COUNCIL MEMBER CAME AND SAID, MY NAME IS LEE KAHN.
I OVERSEE THE SPECIAL VICTIMS DIVISION IN SPECIAL VICTIMS DIVISION, AND WE INVESTIGATE ADULT SEX CRIMES, CHILD SEX CRIMES, CHILD SEX ABUSE, INTERNET CRIMES AGAINST CHILDREN, AND SEX OFFENDER REGISTRATIONS AND COMPLIANCE.
UH, MY PRESENTATION TODAY WILL FOCUS ON, UH, SAFETY TIPS FOR YOUR, UM, DIGITAL SOCIAL LIFE.
IN TODAY'S, UM, DIGITAL AGE, MANY PEOPLE USE SOCIAL MEDIA MEDIA FOR MANY DIFFERENT REASONS.
ON THIS GRAPH, YOU CAN SEE THAT SOME OF THE TOP REASONS INCLUDE, UM, UH, KEEPING IN TOUCH WITH FRIENDS AND THAT ACCOUNT FOR 80, UH, 48% OF USERS.
UH, OTHER REASONS ON THE GRAPH, UH, INCLUDE READING NEW STORIES, BUYING PRODUCTS, UM, OR FINDING CONTENTS.
AND I WANT TO BRING YOU TO, UH, YOUR ATTENTION TO THE 22% OF USERS USING SOCIAL MEDIA TO MAKE NEW CONNECTIONS WITH OTHERS.
THAT MEANS CONNECTING WITH OTHERS, WHETHER IT'S ONLINE DATING, OR JUST MEETING FRIENDS.
SO IN OUR INVESTIGATIONS, WE SEE DIFFERENT TYPE OF CRIMES ASSOCIATED SOCIAL MEDIA NEXUS, NOT NECESSARILY JUST SEXUAL ASSAULT, BUT FRAUD, ROBBERY, THEFT, AND IN SEXUAL ASSAULT INVESTIGATIONS.
IN, UH, ASSOCIATED WITH, UH, SOCIAL MEDIA, WE SEE THAT STRANGER CASES ACCOUNTS
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FOR ABOUT 50% OF OUR CASES.THE OTHER 40, UM, HAS A FAMILY VIOLENCE NEXUS, AND THE OTHER 10% INCLUDE, UM, PEOPLE THAT, UH, ACQUAINTANCES WITH SOME SORT OF RELATIONSHIP.
UH, ON THE STRANGER CASES IN TWO 20 2022, THERE WERE 16% THAT HAD A SOCIAL MEDIA NEXUS.
THAT MEANS THAT PEOPLE MET ONLINE FIRST, AND THEN IN 2023, THERE WAS A SLIGHT INCREASE TO 23%.
SO THESE ARE THE, UH, SOCIAL MEDIA APPS THAT WE'VE SEEN THAT ARE POPULAR, UH, WITHIN OUR INVESTIGATION.
THEY'RE LISTED IN ORDER IN, IN, UM, ALPHABETICAL ORDER.
UM, NOT IN TERMS OF, UH, POPULARITY, BUT WE DO USER, WE SEE USERS USE MORE FACEBOOK AND INSTAGRAM ON THE ADULT SIDE AND MORE INSTAGRAM AND, UM, SNAPCHAT ON THE TEEN SIDE.
COUNCIL MEMBER, WE, OKAY, SO MOVING ON TO THE SAFETY TIPS.
THIS, I, I WANNA START WITH JUST THE MEETING ONLINE FIRST.
UM, WHEN YOU FIRST MEET PEOPLE ONLINE, PLEASE CROSSCHECK PEOPLE ON SOCIAL MEDIA AGAINST THE OTHER ACCOUNTS.
UM, I'VE DONE RESEARCH ON AVERAGE, PEOPLE HAVE ABOUT SEVEN DIFFERENT SOCIAL MEDIA ACCOUNTS.
SO IF A LEGITIMATE PERSON IS ON THERE FOR A LEGITIMATE REASON, THEIR PICTURES WILL BE THE SAME.
UM, THEIR INFORMATION IS SOMEWHAT, IT'S GONNA BE THE SAME, RIGHT? UM, SO JUST MAKE SURE FOR, FOR THAT CONSISTENCY MM-HMM
UM, WHEN YOU ENCOUNTER SUSPICIOUS USERS OR SUSPICIOUS ACTIVITIES, BLOCK AND REPORT THEM.
EACH SOCIAL MEDIA APP HAS A WAY FOR YOU TO REPORT SUSPICIOUS ACTIVITY AND THEN CHECK THE PERSON'S CRIMINAL HISTORY OR THEIR HISTORY, WHETHER IT IS, UM, UH, HOME WHERE THEY LIVE IN THE PAST.
AND YOU CAN ALWAYS USE LEGITIMATE COMPANIES BY RESEARCHING THESE COMPANIES.
I, IF I WOULD GOOGLE A PARTICULAR COMPANY BEFORE I START USING, UM, THAT, THAT COMPANY TO RUN, UM, PEOPLE'S CRIMINAL HISTORY OR THEIR HISTORY, UM, DO NOT RESPOND TO REQUESTS FOR FINANCIAL HELP.
UH, WE HAVE SEEN CASES WHERE PEOPLE, UM, ASK FOR MONETARY, UM, FOR MONEY BEFORE THEY MEET UP, WHETHER IT'S FOR GAS OR FOR WHATEVER REASON.
SO THAT IS A SUSPICIOUS, UH, ACTIVITY.
SO I WOULD BLOCK THIS PERSON, STOP COMMUNICATING WITH THEM, AND THEN CHAT ONLINE AT YOUR COMFORT LEVEL.
IF YOU START GETTING MESSAGES THAT ARE OF, UM, INAPPROPRIATE WORDS OR TEXTS OR WHATEVER THE CASE MAY BE, AND EVEN INAPPROPRIATE PHOTOS REPORT, UH, BLOCK THE PERSON IN THE REPORT THAT, UM, ACTIVITY AND THEN ONLINE CHAT OR VIDEO CHAT BEFORE YOU MEET IN PERSON.
AND THIS IS TO ENSURE THAT, NUMBER ONE, YOU'RE SEEING THIS PERSON ONLINE FIRST, AND THEN YOU'RE GONNA SEE THAT SAME PERSON IN PERSON AT A LATER TIME.
UH, AND THEN SECONDLY IS TO MAKE SURE, DO YOU WANNA CHECK FOR LEGITIMACY? AND DO THEY REALLY WANNA MEET YOU IN PERSON OR THEY JUST WANT TO JUST TALK TO YOU? AND THAT'S THE END OF THAT.
UM, SO THE OTHER ONE I WANNA MENTION, AND THIS IS, IS QUITE IMPORTANT, IS TO WAIT TO SHARE PERSONAL INFORMATION ONLINE.
UM, ALL OF YOUR PERSONAL INFORMATION THAT YOU ENTER THROUGH THE APP IS, IS PRIVATE, BUT DON'T SHARE IT UNTIL YOU'RE, YOU'RE READY AND YOU'VE MET THIS PERSON AND, AND, AND MET THE PERSON IN PERSON.
THEN AFTER A WHILE, IF YOU ESTABLISH TRUST, THEN YOU CAN SHARE THIS INFORMATION.
UM, BUT SOME OF THE PERSONAL INFORMATION INCLUDE DATE OF BIRTH, SOCIAL SECURITY NUMBER, DRIVER'S LICENSE NUMBER, ADDRESS, PHONE NUMBER, AND FINANCIAL INFORMATION.
AND IF YOU THINK ABOUT IT, IF SOMEBODY WANTS TO BE FRIENDLY AND SAY, HOW OLD ARE YOU WHEN YOU SAY YOUR, YOUR AGE? AND THEN THEY ASK YOU, HOW'S YOUR BIRTHDATE? AND YOU GIVE 'EM YOUR BIRTHDATE AND PRETTY MUCH FIGURE OUT WHAT YOUR BIRTHDATE, YOUR DATE OF BIRTH IS, RIGHT? SO JUST BE CAREFUL ON WHAT YOU SHARE.
UM, NOW YOU HAVE ESTABLISHED THAT YOU WANNA MEET IN PERSON.
UM, YOU HAVE RAPPORT ONLINE, YOU MEET IN PERSON.
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IN PERSON, SET BOUNDARIES PRIOR TO THE MEETING.AND THAT INCLUDES, HEY, UM, GOOD FOR COFFEE AND GOOD FOR DINNER, WHATEVER YOU'RE COMFORTABLE WITH, UH, MEETING IN A PUBLIC PLACE DURING DAYTIME HOURS.
UM, SOMETIMES MAYBE THAT THE FIRST TIME TO MEET SHOULD BE COFFEE DURING THE DAYTIME.
UM, AGAIN, AT YOUR COMFORT LEVEL, UH, SHARE YOUR LOCATION WITH FRIENDS AND FAMILY MEMBERS IF APPROPRIATE.
AND IF YOU WANT TO, UH, SOME OF THE APPS THAT YOU CAN USE WHEN SHARING IN FROM IT, IT, UH, SHARING LOCATION WOULD BE I SHARING GPS LOCATION TRACKER LIVE 360, UM, OR EVEN FIND MY APP ON YOUR IPHONE.
YOU CAN SHARE YOUR LOCATION AS WELL AS STATING, I'M GOING TO THIS RESTAURANT AT THIS LOCATION.
OKAY? UH, WHAT YOUR ALCOHOL CONSUMPTION OF DRINKING.
WE HAVE SEEN CASES WHERE, UH, PEOPLE WOULD MEET UP ONLINE, INDULGE IN TOO MUCH ALCOHOL, AND THEY BE, THEY BECOME VICTIMS AFTER.
SO WATCH, UM, AND, AND, AND IT WOULD BE, UM, EVEN APPROPRIATE TO NOT DRINK ON THE FIRST DATE.
RIGHT? UM, WALK AWAY AND ASK FOR HELP WHEN YOU FEEL UNCOMFORTABLE FOR AND SAFE.
YOU CAN ALWAYS ASK RESTAURANT STAFF FOR HELP IF YOU FEEL LIKE THAT'S GONNA, YOU KNOW, YOU LEAVING, UM, IS GONNA CAUSE SOME PROBLEMS. AND OR CALL, UH, NINE ONE ONE OR CALL THE POLICE.
IF YOU FEEL LIKE THIS IS GONNA BECOME A DANGEROUS SITUATION.
IF YOU WERE TO LEAVE, UM, HAVE A GOOD EXIT STRATEGY IN TERMS OF EXIT AND MEANING.
IF YOU, THE DATES START FEELING UNCOMFORTABLE, WHAT WILL YOU DO TO TAKE AN EXIT? ALRIGHT? UM, AND THEN PLAN YOUR OWN TRANSPORTATION.
A LOT OF TIMES PEOPLE MAY NOT, UH, UM, HAVE CARS TO MEET UP.
UM, AND MAKE SURE THAT THAT IS AN OPTION FOR YOU.
SHOULD YOU NOT HAVE TRANSPORTATION.
A LOT OF TIMES WHEN YOU GET SOMEBODY PICK YOU UP AND YOU HAVE A FIGHT IN BETWEEN, WHICH WE'VE SEEN, THEN NOW YOU'RE STRANDED AND YOU HAVE NO WAY TO GET HOME.
UM, TRUST YOUR INSTINCTS, AND THEN YOU ALSO HAVE THE RIGHT TO SAY, NO, I DON'T WANT TO GO BACK TO YOUR PLACE.
I DON'T WANNA GO FOR AN TO AN AFTER HOUR CLUB AND DRINK SOME MORE.
UM, DURING APRIL, UH, OF THIS YEAR, WHICH IS SEXUAL ASSAULT AWARENESS MONTH, UM, HPD RAN A CAMPAIGN OF SEXUAL AWARENESS, UM, ON, UH, FACEBOOK, INSTAGRAM, TWITTER, AND YOUTUBE.
AND WE CREATED A SERIES OF VIDEOS THAT WE BELIEVE WOULD BE USEFUL TO THE PUBLIC TO, TO UNDERSTAND, UM, THE, THE, UM, INVESTIGATION OF SEXUAL ASSAULT.
AND SHOULD YOU BECOME VIC A VICTIM, WHAT CAN YOU EXPECT? UM, SO THESE WERE THE FORENSIC EXAM, PERSONAL SAFETY RELATED TO SEXUAL ASSAULT, UH, RIDE SHARE, SAFETY TIPS, SEXUAL ASSAULT INVESTIGATORS PERSPECTIVE AND VICTIM SERVICES.
AND I WANT TO SHOW THE ON, I WANNA FEATURE THE ONLINE DATING SAFETY TIPS THAT THE VIDEO THAT WE CREATED, HANG ON.
I DON'T KNOW IF THIS SOUND IS SOUND.
IT MAY BE, HELLO, MY NAME IS DETECTIVE SHAY WITH THE HOUSTON POLICE DEPARTMENT.
ALL, SO WE MAY NEED, NEED DETECTIVE SHA WITH THE HOUSTON POLICE.
AND THEN WE'RE GONNA, ALL RIGHT.
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WHAT WE'RE GONNA DO IS WE'RE JUST GONNA MOVE ON, BUT WE WILL MAKE SURE THAT THIS VIDEO IS AVAILABLE ONLINE, AND WE WILL SHARE IT OUT TO COUNCIL AS WELL, SO THAT THEY CAN PUSH IT OUT AS WELL.BUT I WANT TO KEEP THE PRESENTATION GOING.
AND COMMANDER, IT IS AVAILABLE, LIKE IF YOU YOUTUBE IT, 'CAUSE I SAW WE, WE HAD PULLED IT UP THROUGH YOUTUBE, SO SOMEONE CAN JUST ALSO LOOK UP LIKE HPD.
SO THE SAME MONTH IN APRIL, WE ALSO HAD, UM, A CHILD ABUSE PREVENTION CAMPAIGN.
AND NORMALLY ON CHILD ABUSE, WE FOCUS ON PHYSICAL AND SEXUAL.
BUT SINCE THIS PRESENTATION IS MORE SO ON SEXUAL ASSAULT, SO, UH, I WANNA TALK ABOUT, OR I WANT TO MENTION THE, THE, THE SET OF VIDEOS THAT WE DID.
SIGNS OF CHILD SEX ABUSE, REPORTING, CHILD ABUSE, WHAT TO EXPECT FROM INVESTIGATION, UM, AND INTERNET SAFETY IS THE VIDEO THAT I WANNA FEATURE.
AND THIS IS MAINLY FOR THE YOUNGER TEEN SIDE.
AND THEN THE, THE SERVICES AT THE CHILDREN'S ASSESSMENT CENTER.
SO WE DON'T HAVE SOUND ON IT COMMANDER, SO WE'RE JUST GONNA MOVE, MOVE IT IN AGAIN.
UM, FOR VICTIMS OF SEXUAL ASSAULT, OFTEN FEEL ASHAMED, GUILT, CONFUSION, LONELINESS.
UM, AND IT, IT'S, IT IS NOT THE VICTIM'S FAULT, WHATEVER HAPPENED TO THEM.
AND SO WE TREAT VICTIMS WITH DIGNITY AND RESPECT, AND WE START BY BELIEVING THAT IS THE MOST IMPORTANT THING.
WHEN PEOPLE COME TO YOU AND SAY, I WAS SEXUALLY ASSAULTED, DON'T DOUBT THEM.
START BY BELIEVING WHEN YOU BELIEVE.
LET THE INVESTIGATION LEAD TO WHEREVER IT LEAD LATER ON.
BUT START BY BELIEVING THAT RELIEVES THE PERSON FROM THE GUILT AND THE LONELINESS, AND THEY FEEL LIKE THEY'RE SUPPORTED.
OKAY? SO IN OUR IN SPECIAL VICTIMS' DIVISION, WE, WE BELIEVE THAT, UM, THE VICTIM COULD DO EVERYTHING RIGHT AND STILL BE, BECOME A VICTIM.
THE VICTIM COULD DO EVERYTHING WRONG FROM A SAFETY STANDPOINT, BUT THAT DOESN'T MEAN THAT THE OFFENDER HAS THE RIGHT TO SEXUALLY ASSAULT THAT PERSON, OR IS THAT VICTIM IN ANY WAY TO BE BLAMED.
THE SEXUAL ASSAULT IS THE CAUSE OF THE WRONG ACTION OF THE OFFENDER, NOT THE VICTIM.
SPECIAL VICTIM DIVISION IS COMMITTED TO HOLDING ACCOUNT THE OFFENDERS ACCOUNTABLE FOR THEIR ACTIONS IN, UH, THE SPECIAL VICTIMS DIVISION WE HAVE AT THE ADULT SEX CRIME.
AT TRAVIS, WE HAVE THIS SOFT INTERVIEW ROOM, AND IT IS, IT WAS CREATED LAST YEAR AS A PART OF THE SEXUAL ASSAULT AWARENESS MONTH.
UM, TO THIS IS TO PROVIDE COMFORT, UM, FOR VICTIMS THAT WOULD COME IN AND BE INTERVIEWED BY OUR DETECTIVES.
THIS ALLOWED THE DETECTIVES TO, UM, BILL REPORT, UH, WITH THE VICTIM AND HAVE 'EM FEEL COMFORTABLE TO RECOUNT, UH, WHAT HAPPENED TO THEM IN ORDER TO BUILD A REALLY SOLID CASE MOVING FORWARD.
UM, WE'RE VERY PROUD OF THIS, THIS, UH, CREATION BECAUSE IT REQUIRES A LOT OF, UH, COLLABORATION WITH, UM, PROJECT BELOVED TO, TO CREATE THIS ROOM.
UH, WE'VE USED IT QUITE A BIT.
AND THEN I WANNA BRING THE NEXT SLIDE, PLEASE.
AND I WANNA BRING YOUR ATTENTION TO VICTIM SERVICES DIVISION.
SHOULD YOU BECOME A VICTIM OF ANY KIND, NOT JUST SEXUAL ASSAULT.
UH, THE MAIN PHONE NUMBER FOR SPECIAL VICTIMS DIVISION IS 3 7 1 3 3 0 8 0 0 8 0.
AND EACH VICTIM, UM, WOULD GET A BLUE CARD.
AND IN THE BLUE CARD IT HAS, UH, MANY SECTIONS.
BUT I WANNA POINT OUT THE RIGHTS OF CRIME VICTIMS SECTION, CRIME VICTIMS COMPENSATION SECTION, THE U VISA INFORMATION SECTION, AND GUIDANCE FOR SEXUAL ASSAULT VICTIMS. AND MY ASK TODAY IS TO PLEASE SHARE ALL THE SAFETY VIDEOS THAT WE'VE ALREADY CREATED, UM, ONLINE.
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ARE, THEY WERE POSTED ON THESE SOCIAL MEDIA PLATFORMS. UM, SO I ASK THAT EVERYBODY HERE PLEASE SHARE SO THAT WE CAN HELP KEEP EACH OTHER SAFE AND HELP KEEP OUR COMMUNITY SAFE.WITH THAT, I OPEN IT UP FOR QUESTIONS.
AND, UH, BEFORE WE GET TO QUESTIONS, I JUST WANNA SAY THANK YOU FOR WHAT THE DIVISION IS DOING, UH, WHERE Y'ALL HAVE COME FROM.
I MEAN, EVEN IN TERMS OF THE INTERVIEW ROOM, UH, IN THE PAST YEARS, THE TRANSFORMATION THAT HAS OCCURRED TO FOCUS ON THE VICTIMS THEMSELVES AND THE WORK TO DESTIGMATIZE, UM, SEXUAL ASSAULT SURVIVORS, UH, AND THE STIGMA AROUND THAT TO MAKE THEM COMFORTABLE.
ANYONE COMFORTABLE FROM COMING FOR, FOR COMING FORWARD.
I JUST WANNA ACKNOWLEDGE THAT WORK.
WE HAVE A LOT MORE TO DO WITH THAT.
BUT, UH, THANK Y'ALL FOR THAT VERY MUCH.
FIRST IN QUEUE, UH, COUNCIL MEMBER HUFFMAN'S OFFICE, THANK YOU CHAIR, AND THANK YOU COMMANDER FOR THIS PRESENTATION.
UM, IF WE COULD GO TO SLIDE SIX.
UM, DO THESE COMPANIES SHARE DATA WITH HPD? MEANING IF THERE IS A PREDATOR WHO USES ONE OF THESE APPS, DO THEY SHARE THE DATA WITH HPD? SO THEY DO NOT SO THAT WE CAN EASILY FIND THEM.
SO HOW WOULD WE GO ABOUT ACQUIRING THAT DATA? THE, THE DATA FOR, I, I'M SORRY, I DON'T UNDERSTAND YOU.
UH, USER DATA, IF WE SUSPECT A PREDATOR IS USING ONE OF THESE APPS OH, USER DATA.
UM, SO WE, WHEN WE HAVE, UH, A SUSPECT THAT ARE USING ONLINE TO, UM, UH, IN AN INVESTIGATION, WE WOULD DO OUR RESEARCH AS FAR AS THE, UM, WHATEVER'S AVAILABLE THAT'S, THAT WE CALL, UM, OPEN SOURCE, RIGHT? THAT'S, THAT'S OPEN SOURCE FOR US TO GATHER IN ORDER TO, UM, DEVELOP A SUSPECT THAT, OR WE WOULD ISSUE A GRAND JURY SUBPOENA IN ORDER TO GET THE SUBSCRIBER INFORMATION FOR THE SUSPECT.
SO THE COMPANIES DON'T VOLUNTEER IT AT ALL.
THEN THERE IS OKAY, WHATEVER'S OPEN.
WHAT I MEAN IS WHAT'S OUT IN THE OPEN AND THE PUBLIC IS WHAT WE GATHER.
UM, I DON'T KNOW IF Y'ALL AWARE OF THIS OR NOT, BUT FOR FOLKS WHO HAVE CHILDREN OR MINORS, AND IF YOU PURCHASE A PHONE OR GIVE THEM A PHONE, I KNOW IT HAS WITH THE IPHONE.
'CAUSE I HAVE A SON, A MINOR SON, AND YOU CAN PUT ON THERE THAT THEY, IF THEY WANT TO GET AN APP, THEY REQUIRE YOUR APPROVAL AND FROM YOU IN ORDER TO GET IT.
SO JUST THROWING THAT OUT THERE IF PEOPLE ARE NOT AWARE OF THAT OR NOT.
AND YEAH, MAYBE ADDING THAT TO THE BEST PRACTICES AND THINGS LIKE THAT FOR PARENTS WOULD BE GREAT.
UH, DO WE HAVE ANY QUESTIONS ONLINE? NO.
SEEING NONE, UH, COMMANDER, I JUST HAD ONE QUESTION FOR YOU.
UH, AND THIS MAY GO TO HP'S, PIO, UH, BUT I KNOW WE DID FOR, UM, AWARENESS MONTH IN APRIL.
I KNOW THE VIDEOS ARE UP ONLINE.
ARE WE DOING ANY NEW, ARE WE PLANNING ANY NEW PSAS OR OUTREACH, UM, AROUND SPECIFICALLY ONLINE DATING AND SOCIAL MEDIA APPS? AGAIN, POST PANDEMIC, WE ARE SEEING THAT INCREASE.
PEOPLE ARE GOING, GETTING OUT MORE.
SO WE'RE OF COURSE GONNA SEE, UM, MORE USE OF THIS AS YOUR DATA HAS INDICATED.
SO WHAT, UH, WHAT DO WE HAVE NEXT ON THE HORIZON WITH THAT? UM, I WAS JUST ADVISED BY, UH, DIRECTOR KEYS WITH, UH, COMMUNITY AFFAIRS THAT YES, WE DO HAVE THAT IN THE WORKS.
AND IT'S BEING, UM, THE PROPOSAL HAS BEEN WRITTEN UP AND WE'LL WORK ON IT RIGHT, RIGHT NOW, AND IT SHOULD BE OUT, UH, IN THE NEAR FUTURE.
UM, WE WILL WORK ON ALSO TAKING THESE SLIDES AND POSTING THEM AS WELL, BUT WHATEVER WE CAN DO TO HELP AMPLIFY THE MESSAGE AND EDUCATE, UM, HOUSTONIANS AND KEEP THEM SAFE, WE APPRECIATE.
AT THIS TIME, CHAIR RECOGNIZES, UM, OEM, DEPUTY DIRECTOR MUNOZ, AND I THINK, UH, OEM'S CHIEF COMMUNICATIONS OFFICER BRENT TAYLOR IS ALSO JOINING US.
DO WE HAVE THE PRESENTATION PULLED UP? OH, YEAH.
READY? WELL, THANK YOU FOR HAVING US AGAIN.
UH, COUNCIL MEMBER AND COUNCIL MEMBERS, SO THANK YOU.
SO, THE OFFICE OF EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT, YOU KNOW, WE ARE THE, UH, CHIEF COORDINATING AGENCY FOR DISASTER RESPONSE IN THE NATION'S
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FOURTH LARGEST CITY.UM, WE HAVE THE OPPORTUNITY TO COORDINATE WITH ALL THE DEPARTMENTS THAT ARE BEHIND ME.
UH, MAJORITY IS OBVIOUSLY WITH PD, H-P-D-H-F-D, AND WE'RE VERY FORTUNATE TO HAVE SUCH A TEAM, GREAT TEAM BEHIND US WHEN WE START THE COORDINATION EFFORTS.
THE MISSION FOR US IS OBVIOUSLY TO PROVIDE INFORMATION AND PROGRAMS TO THE RESIDENTS IN THE CITY OF HOUSTON, UH, AND TO HELP THEM PREPARE AND COPE WITH AND RECOVER FROM THE EFFECTS OF A NATURAL DISASTER OR ANY TYPE OF MANMADE DISASTER AS WELL.
PART OF THE PHASES THAT WE UTILIZE ARE THE, UH, PREPAREDNESS, RESPONSE AND RECOVERY AND MITIGATION.
THAT IS THE, THE, UH, THE FOUNDATION OF WHAT WE WORK OFF OF.
SO, JUST TO GIVE YOU AN EXAMPLE OF WHAT WE'VE DONE, OBVIOUSLY BEEN MONITORING THE, THE NEWS LATELY AND, AND CURRENTLY WE ARE ACTIVATING OUR HEAT EMERGENCY PLAN.
THAT'S ONE OF THE MAJOR THINGS THAT WE DO AS WELL.
AND JUST TO GIVE YOU AN IDEA OF WHAT THAT CONSISTS OF, THAT IS, UH, FIRST WE HAVE TO HAVE 103 DEGREES OR 108, UH, DEGREES HEAT INDEX FOR TWO CONTINUOUS DAYS, WHICH AT THE CURRENT TIME, WE'RE LOOKING AT ABOUT 10 DAYS OF, OF THAT, OF MEETING THAT MATRIX.
UM, WHAT WE DO DURING THAT TIME IS OBVIOUSLY IS DUE TO COORDINATION OF COOLING SHELTERS.
UM, WE WATCH THE WEATHER, WE, WE GIVE THE SAFETY MESSAGES TO OUR RESIDENTS OF WHAT TO DO AND HOW TO MAINTAIN THAT SAFETY.
AND HERE'S AN EXAMPLE OF SOME OF THE, UH, THE MESSAGES THAT OUR CHIEF COMMUNICATION OFFICERS BEEN WORKING WITH ALL THE AGENCIES THROUGHOUT THE CITY, BRENT.
SO IN ADDITION TO, UH, AS YOU STATED AT THE BEGINNING, COUNCIL MEMBER, THAT ALL CITY LIBRARIES AND MULTI-SERVICE CENTERS ARE AVAILABLE TO PEOPLE TO COOL OFF DURING THEIR REGULAR BUSINESS HOURS.
UH, OBVIOUSLY, UH, SUNDAY AND MONDAY, THE CITY, UH, IS CLOSED FOR BUSINESS DUE TO JUNETEENTH.
AND THEN OF COURSE, JUST BEING A SUNDAY.
SO WE HAVE ACTIVATED, UH, FIVE SPECIFIC LOCATIONS, UH, ACROSS THE CITY THAT WILL, UH, OPEN FROM THREE TO 7:00 PM ON THOSE DAYS.
AND THIS INFORMATION HAS BEEN SHARED THROUGH THE ALERT HOUSTON, UH, SYSTEM THROUGH, SO THAT'S GONNA BE THE MASS NOTIFICATIONS THAT ARE SENT OUT VIA EMAIL, TEXT MESSAGE OF VOICE CALL.
UH, THOSE WERE SENT OUT IN ENGLISH AND SPANISH.
AND IT'S ALSO ON THE HOUSTON OEM.ORG WEBSITE IN ENGLISH AND SPANISH.
UH, ADDITION TO THAT, WE HAVE HEAT EMERGENCY OR HEAT, UH, SAFETY TIPS THAT ARE AVAILABLE ON, UH, HOUSTON EMERGENCY.ORG IN FIVE SEPARATE LANGUAGES.
SO THAT'S GONNA BE ENGLISH, SPANISH, UH, CHINESE, MANDARIN, FRENCH, AND VIETNAMESE.
UH, AND SO THOSE ARE, THOSE ARE ALL AVAILABLE THERE.
WE'VE BEEN SHARING THEM BOTH, UH, WITH, YOU KNOW, THE, THE GENERAL PUBLIC.
WE'VE IDENTIFIED CERTAIN STAKEHOLDERS ACROSS DIFFERENT, UH, COMMUNITIES THAT WE'RE SHARING WITH THEM AND ASKING THEM TO COORDINATE WITH THEIR, UH, LOCAL COMMUNITIES, UH, THE CONSUL GENERALS, THINGS LIKE THAT.
UM, ONE OF THE THINGS THAT WE'VE BEEN WORKING ON THROUGHOUT THE YEAR IS RESILIENCY HUBS.
AND SO WANT TO JUST TALK ABOUT WHAT THAT MEANS? RIGHT.
SO THE RESILIENCY HUBS IS OBVIOUSLY FOR EVERYDAY USE, WHICH IS TO FOSTER COMMUNITY COHESION, UH, AND PROVIDE SERVICES TO SUPPORT HOUSING, ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT, AND THE QUALITY OF LIFE, PARTICULARLY IN HISTORICALLY UNDER INVESTED COMMUNITIES.
AND OF COURSE, DISRUPTION TO REDUCE THE BURDEN ON EMERGENCY RESPONSE TEAMS BY PROVIDING TEMPORARY, UH, DAYTIME SHELTER, FOOD EMERGENCY SUPPLIES, TELECOMMUNICATE TELECOMMUNICATION ACCESS AMONG OTHER BASIC NEEDS.
AND THEN THE IMPORTANT PART IS THE RECOVERY.
NOW, WHERE DO PEOPLE GO WHEN SOMETHING DOES OCCUR, SUCH AS LOOK AT ANOTHER HURRICANE KATRINA OR A HURRICANE HARVEY? SO THIS IS THE COMMUNITY THAT LED A RESILIENT HUB, ACTS AS GATHERING THE CENTER FOR DISSEMINATION OF RELIEF AND RECOVERY FOR INDIVIDUALS, WHILE PROVIDING GUIDANCE ON ACCESSING FEDERAL AND OTHER FORMS OF RECOVERY ASSISTANCE, WHICH IS NEEDED.
ONE OF THE KEY THINGS THAT IS IMPORTANT TO US IS THAT THE WHOLE COMMUNITY APPROACH BE TAKEN WHEN IT COMES TIME TO RECOVERY FORMS CAN BE EXTREMELY COMPLICATED WHEN PEOPLE ARE ASKING FOR FEMA HELP, SBA LOANS.
SO THAT IS WHAT WE'RE LOOKING AT TO LOOK AT THAT HUB WHERE THE TRUSTED SOURCE WHERE PEOPLE CAN GO AND GET THAT INFORMATION, UH, TO, IN THE TIME OF RECOVERY THAT IS SO MUCH NEEDED.
UH, SO THEY KNOW WHAT TO DO AND HOW TO DO IT, AND THEN OFFER THE HELP THAT'S NEEDED FOR THOSE FORMS. NEXT SLIDE, PLEASE.
AND SO, WITH THAT SAID, WE'RE LOOKING AT LOOKING THE LILY PADS THAT I BELIEVE THAT IS WHAT WE'RE LOOKING AT.
YEAH, YEAH, I THINK, NO, I THINK WE, WE GOTTA DO THE LILY PADS.
YOU WANNA GO BACK? YEAH, LET'S GO BACK AND SLIDE.
SO THE DEFINITION, LILY PADS, I THINK ONE WAS SKIPPED, UM, IS
[00:30:01]
WE'VE HAD DIFFERENT DIS DISCUSSIONS ON THE DEFINITION OF LILY PADS.SO ONE OF THE THINGS THAT WE COORDINATE IS THE, THE LILY PADS, WHICH IS FOR SEARCH AND RESCUE UN FLOODED LOCATIONS WHERE PEOPLE CAN GATHER TO WAIT FOR RESCUE AND OR TRANSFER TO A SHELTER OR OTHER SAFE LOCATIONS.
AND THEN THERE'S A, THE RESILIENCE HUB IS WHAT I JUST DISCUSSED, WHICH IS THE LOCATION OF REFUGE WHERE EMERGENCY SUPPLIES CAN BE GIVEN COMMUNICATION TOOLS AND RECOVERING SUPPORT SERVICES.
AND THEN THE REFUGE OF LAST RESORT, WHICH IS A TEMPORARY REF REFUGE FOR THOSE WHO DO NOT EVACUATE BEFORE A HURRICANE.
THESE SPACES OFFER NO RESOURCES BEYOND JUST THAT SHELTER, UH, BEYOND A SHELTER FROM THE STORM.
IT'S JUST TO GET OUTTA THAT STORM.
AND AS, AS THE TITLE ITSELF, IT'S A REFUGE OF LAST RESORT.
BEFORE WE GO TO THE NEXT SLIDE, 'CAUSE I KNOW THERE'S, AS YOU SAID, UH, DEPUTY DIRECTOR, WE'VE THROWN AROUND THE TERM LILY PAD FOR YEARS, MEANING DIFFERENT THINGS.
SO I JUST WANT, I WANNA MAKE SURE I'M CLEAR.
I WANNA MAKE SURE WE'RE ALL USING THE SAME DEFINITION.
SO LILY PAD, AND THE WAY OEM IS DEFINING IT IS, FOR EXAMPLE, THAT BANK PARKING LOT WHERE THE BOATS ARE SHIPPING OUT, NOT SHIPPING OUT, BUT GOING OUT FROM INTO THE NEIGHBORHOODS FOR SEARCH AND RESCUE.
AND THEN YOU HAVE THE RESILIENCE HUB THAT ARE YOUR SUPPLY DISTRIBUTIONS, COMMUNITY SUPPORT AND THINGS LIKE THAT.
SO THOSE ARE THE DEFINITIONS CORRECT.
AND WITH LILY PADS, DOES THAT FALL UNDER THE JURISDICTION OF OEM IN A COORDINATED EFFORT WITH PUBLIC SAFETY? SO YOU'RE DESIGNATING THOSE AS NEEDED? EXACTLY.
UH, AND WE WORK, YOU KNOW, HAND IN HAND, AS I MENTIONED WITH THE, WITH THE GREAT PARTNERS BEHIND ME, YOU KNOW, H-F-D-H-P-D IS, YOU KNOW, PEOPLE HAVE ALWAYS ASKED, DO YOU HAVE ANY OF PRE-IDENTIFIED? OBVIOUSLY WE, WE, WE MIGHT HAVE SOME, BUT THEN OF COURSE, YOU KNOW, DEPENDS ON WHAT THE STORM'S DOING.
SO WE LOOK FOR THAT HIGH GROUND, PER SE, TO HAVE THAT LILY PAD WHERE WE CAN JUST START WORKING OFF OF FOR RESCUE USE AND SO FORTH.
AND THEN, OR TO HAVE PEOPLE TRANSPORTED TOO.
AND I KNOW ON THE NEXT SLIDE YOU'RE GONNA TALK ABOUT RESILIENCY HUB.
I JUST WANTED TO MAKE SURE WE WERE ALL ON THE SAME PAGE MM-HMM
SO, AS I, I GAVE THE PREVIEW ON THAT, NOW THAT WE'RE TALKING ABOUT THE RESILIENCY HUBS, YOU KNOW, THESE ARE THE, THE AREAS THAT WE'RE LOOKING LONG TERM AS OF WHAT TO DO, BECOME THAT TRUSTED SOURCE IN THE COMMUNITY.
UM, SO PEOPLE CAN GO AND GET THAT INFORMATION ON BLUE SKY DAYS AS WELL, SO THEY KNOW WHERE TO GET THE INFORMATION PRIOR, WE KNOW WHERE TO GO TO.
AND IT'S, THE TITLE IN ITSELF SAYS IT'S THE RESILIENCY OF THE COMMUNITY TO HELP THEM START IN THE EVENT SOMETHING IS COMING OR, OR YEAR LONG PREPARATION FOR THAT.
SO THIS IS ONE, UH, THE ITEM THAT WE STARTED LOOKING AT UPON OUR ARRIVAL.
UH, OBVIOUSLY FOR US, PREPARATION IS KEY.
UM, HISTORICALLY YOU'LL HEAR PEOPLE SAY, WELL, THERE'S THAT INTENSIFIED 36 HOUR PRIOR TO LANDFALL.
FOR US, WE'VE TAKEN THE APPROACH OF THE H ONE 20 TIMELINE, AND IN, IN SHORT, THAT'S A CHECKLIST FOR US THAT WE HAVE THAT 120 HOURS PART OF LANDFALL.
WE START THIS COMMUNICATED EFFORTS AND COORDINATION EFFORTS WITH ALL THE STATE AGENCIES, LOCAL AGENCIES.
YOU KNOW, WE ALWAYS SAY THAT, FOR EXAMPLE, WE HAVE 22,000 EMPLOYEES ALONE THAT WE HAVE TO START COORDINATING WITH WHAT DO WE DO ALONG WITH ALL OUR STAKEHOLDERS, H-I-V-H-P-D, PUBLIC WORKS, UM, PARKS, HR, YOU KNOW, WHAT DO WE START DOING? SO FOR US, IT GIVES US THAT TIMEFRAME TO START CHECKING OFF WHAT WE'RE DOING TO ENSURE THAT WE'RE GETTING MESSAGES OUT, THAT WE'RE DOING THAT COORDINATION EFFORT.
DO WE START TO, YOU KNOW, START GETTING OUR DISASTER RECOVERY TEAMS, OUR FINANCE TEAMS READY TO GO IF SOMETHING DOES HAPPEN? YOU KNOW, THERE'S ALWAYS THAT, THAT POSSIBILITY OF THE STORM TURNING, BUT WE'D RATHER BE SAFE AND RATHER THAN, SORRY.
SO WE TAKE THAT EXTRA TIMEFRAME AND AS IT STARTS COUNTING DOWN, WE HAVE THAT CHECKLIST.
SO THIS IS SOMETHING THAT WE STARTED FOLLOWING AND WE ARE GONNA FOLLOW TO START UNTIL THE RECOVERY PROCESS.
AND THEN WE GO INTO ANOTHER PHASE OF THAT NEXT SLIDE, PLEASE.
UM, ONE OF THE THINGS THAT WE'RE ALSO EMPHASIZE IS THE UNIFIED COMMAND STRUCTURE AND UNIFIED COMMAND GROUPS, WHICH IS, YOU KNOW, AS YOU SEE THIS, WE MAINTAIN THAT, AS I SAID BEFORE, WE ARE THE COORDINATING AGENCY WITHIN THE DEPARTMENTS, AND WE'RE VERY, VERY FORTUNATE TO HAVE THAT GREAT PARTNERSHIP WITH EVERYONE BEHIND US.
AND, AND I WANNA EMPHASIZE GREAT PARTNERSHIP AND GREAT LEADERSHIP.
YOU KNOW, CHIEF UCH RIGHT UPON MY ARRIVAL WAS VERY, YOU KNOW, CLEAR ON WHAT HE WANTED, WHICH WAS THAT THOSE PARTNERSHIPS.
AND THERE'S ALWAYS THAT SAYING, YOU KNOW, IT'S NOT WHAT YOU KNOW, SOMETIMES IT'S WHO YOU KNOW.
AND VERY, VERY BLESSED TO HAVE GREAT FRIENDS SITTING BEHIND ME THAT HELPED DURING THAT PROCESS.
AND PART OF THAT, WHEN WE DO HAVE THAT H ONE 20 OR ANY MAJOR EVENT, THESE ARE SOME OF THE AGENCIES THAT WILL, IF NOT ALL THE AGENCIES
[00:35:01]
THAT ARE GONNA BE ACTIVATED AND START WORKING WITH US DURING OUR, OUR ACTIVATION.THE LAST THING THAT WE'VE HAD RECENTLY WAS, UM, WE HAD A TABLETOP EXERCISE IN COORDINATION WITH THE STATE HURRICANE EXERCISE.
WE HAD ALL OUR DIRECTORS, MAJORITY OF THE DIRECTORS, H-F-D-H-P-D, PUBLIC WORKS PARKS TO SEE WHAT THAT'S GONNA LOOK LIKE.
WHAT IS OUR RESPONSE GONNA LOOK LIKE? UM, THIS, SOME OF THE COMMENTS THAT WE RECEIVED, AN AFTER ACTION REPORT AFTER THAT WAS THAT TO HAVE PROCEDURES, YOU KNOW, IT'S UP TO EACH DEPARTMENT TO HAVE PROCEDURES THAT PLACE AT ALL TIMES, WHICH IS WHEN WE, I MENTIONED THE ONE 20 PRIOR.
HEY, START LOOKING AT THE PLANS, WHAT EACH INTERNAL DEPARTMENT'S GONNA HAVE, AND TO START LOOKING AT THOSE PLANS AND SAY, HEY, ARE WE MISSING SOMETHING? UM, THE OTHER THING WE GOT WAS THE HISTORICAL KNOWLEDGE IN THE ROOM.
WE HAD SO MUCH TALENT, OBVIOUSLY THE CITY HAS A LOT OF TALENT.
PEOPLE, WE WERE IN THERE TRYING TO FIGURE OUT THE TRANSPORTATION PLANS, HOW DO THEY LOOK? WE HAD PEOPLE FROM CENTER POINT, OUR PRIVATE INDUSTRIES AS WELL THAT, UH, THAT HAVE BEEN INVOLVED IN, IN SOME GREAT PARTNERSHIPS.
AND THEN THE BIG ONE WHERE WE'RE PUSHING HARD FOR, AND WE'VE DEVELOPED, AND THANKS TO CHIEF BUCH SUPPORT, WE, WE HAVE A FINANCE PERSONNEL THAT'S GONNA BE HELPING WITH THE, WHAT WE CALL DISASTER SUMMARY OUTLINES, WHICH IS THE PRELIMINARY ASSESSMENTS THAT THE STATES NEED TO START CAPTURING THOSE DAMAGE ASSESSMENTS FOR RELIEF PURPOSES, BUT MORE IMPORTANTLY, TO START CAPTURING THOSE MONIES THAT COULD BE REIMBURSED IN THE EVENT.
IT IS A, IT IS DECLARED A FEDERAL DISASTER.
SO IT GIVES US A GOOD OPPORTUNITY TO CAPTURE THOSE MONIES AS WELL.
SO THOSE ARE SOME THINGS THAT WE LOOKED AT.
WE ALSO TOOK SOME LESSONS LEARNED THAT ONE OF THE KEY THINGS, AND I KNOW CHIEF PENON AND HIS TEAM AND AND CHIEF FINNER IS, UM, THE MENTAL HEALTH SUPPORT FOR FIRST RESPONDERS AS WELL AS NINE ONE ONE CALL TAKERS.
YOU KNOW, THEY KEEP ON TAKING AND TAKING, SO THAT'S ONE OF THE KEY THINGS WE TOOK AWAY.
HOW DO WE ESTABLISH THAT SUPPORT MENTAL HEALTH SUPPORT SYSTEM? SO WE'RE EXCITED ABOUT THOSE FEEDBACK.
SO WE'LL START WORKING ON OUR STRATEGIC GOALS.
AND YOU DID MENTION, UH, THAT WE RECEIVED THE STORM READY AND THAT WAS A HUGE TEAM EFFORT.
I CAN'T EMPHASIZE THE HARD WORK THAT OUR TEAM DID TO GET THAT STORM READY FROM THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE.
IT WAS THE FIRST TIME EVER THE CITY OF HOUSTON HAS GOTTEN THAT, THAT NATIONAL RECOGNITION.
SO IT'S, WE'RE GONNA BE LOOKING AT IT EVERY FOUR YEARS, AND WE'RE GONNA CONTINUE THAT PROCESS.
IF YOU SHOULD HAVE ANY QUESTIONS FOR US.
UM, WE DO HAVE SOME COUNCIL MEMBERS IN QUEUE.
BEFORE WE GET TO THAT THOUGH, UM, BECAUSE YOU TALKED ABOUT THE HEAT WAVE AND SETTING UP, AND BECAUSE WE'RE IN HURRICANE SEASON, FOLKS CAN GO ONLINE TO ALERT HOUSTON AND FOLLOW THOSE.
UM, BUT I HAD ONE QUESTION AS IT RELATES TO, UM, THE STATE NOW REQUIRES US TO KEEP A REGISTRY, UM, THAT PEOPLE CAN SIGN UP FOR, BUT I RECENTLY LEARNED THAT HAS TO BE UPDATED EVERY SINGLE YEAR.
SO JUST BECAUSE A SENIOR CITIZEN WHO MAY BE VULNERABLE DID IT ONE YEAR, DOESN'T MEAN THEY'RE IN THAT REGISTRY ANY LONGER.
CAN YOU ALL TALK ABOUT STEER REALLY QUICKLY AND WHAT IS HAPPENING WITH THAT? SO, YES, MA'AM.
UH, SO STEER, UH, YOU KNOW, IT'S BEEN AROUND FOR A WHILE NOW, RIGHT? AND HOUSE BILL 9 68 GOT PASSED AND IT'S REQUIRING, YOU KNOW, THE, THE LOCAL JURISDICTIONS OR JURISDICTIONS TO HAVE THAT CAPABILITY FOR THEIR, FOR THEIR CITIZENS OR THEIR, UH, THEIR, THEIR MEDICALLY FRAGILE CITIZENS.
AND WHAT THAT IS, IS PEOPLE WILL REGISTER FOR THAT.
AND WITHIN 24 HOURS AFTER, YOU KNOW, UH, A STORM, WE HAVE TO START THE PROCESS OF NOT, YOU KNOW, MAKING THE CALLS.
AND THEN IF NOT, IF THERE IS NO ANSWER, WE THEN HAVE TO GO AND, AND KNOCK ON DOORS TO ENSURE THE SAFETY OF PEOPLE, AS WE MENTIONED, MEDICALLY FRAGILE.
AND THERE'S A LIST OF REQUIREMENTS THAT ARE MET FOR THAT.
AND THAT IS A, THAT IS A PROGRAM THAT WE'RE REALLY, REALLY WORKING HARD AT.
HOW DO WE SOLIDIFY THAT, WHETHER IT BE THE, THE, THE TECHNOLOGY PIECE THAT WE'RE LOOKING AT, HOW DO WE COMMUNICATE WITH THOSE INDIVIDUALS IS JUST SOMETHING EASIER.
WE JUST MET WITH A COMPANY ON HOW DO WE GET THAT PO THAT THAT LINK TO THOSE INDIVIDUALS.
THE OTHER THING THAT WE'RE REALLY PROUD OF IS THAT, UM, ONCE AGAIN, THANKS TO DIRECTOR, UH, UH, CHIEF BUNICH AND DIRECTOR PONCE OURSELVES WHO WORK TOGETHER IN A COMMUNITY OUTREACH PERSON, UH, THAT IT'S GONNA BE HELPING WITH THAT PROCESS.
WE ALREADY HAVE OUR PLANNERS AND THEN OF COURSE, YOU KNOW, WITH OUR STAKEHOLDERS IN THE BACK, OUR PARTNERS IN THE BACK.
SO WHAT THAT IS, IS YOU'RE CORRECT.
YOU KNOW, THEY, THEY PUT THESE REQUIREMENTS THAT WE, WE NOW HAVE TO FOLLOW, AS I MENTIONED, HOUSE BILL 9 68.
BUT THAT IS SOMETHING THAT WE'RE REALLY WORKING OUT.
SO WITH THE TEAM THAT WE HAVE NOW, WE'VE DEVELOPED, WE'VE GOTTEN A GIS PERSON WHO DOES THE OVERLAY OF MAPS.
WE CAN SEE WHERE THOSE PEOPLE, THE ADDRESSES, ZIP CODES, LAYER BY LAYER.
[00:40:01]
PEOPLE WORKING ON THAT FOR US.SO, BUT DO, SORRY, BRENT, GO AHEAD.
OH, I WAS JUST GONNA ADD THAT ONE OF THE THINGS WE'VE BEEN WORKING ON, UH, AS PERTAINING TO THE STEER REGISTRY, ONE OF THE COMMON COMPLAINTS THAT WE RECEIVE FROM THE COMMUNITY WHO SIGN UP FOR IT IS THAT, YEAH, I PUT MY NAME ON THE LIST, BUT I DON'T HEAR ANYTHING.
I'M NOT GETTING ANY COMMUNICATION BACK.
AND SO, UH, IN ADDITION TO EXECUTING DURING EVENTS, DURING ACTIVATIONS OR, UH, DISASTER HAZARDS, THINGS LIKE THAT, WE ARE, WE'RE DEVELOPING A, UH, SEMI-REGULAR, UH, PROCESS WHERE WE'LL BE CHECKING IN ON BLUE SKY DAYS REMINDING PEOPLE ABOUT THE RESOURCES THAT ARE AVAILABLE, SENDING THOSE OUT AGAIN THROUGH THE ROBOCALLS, THROUGH THE TEXT MESSAGES, HOWEVER THEY CHOOSE TO RECEIVE THAT INFORMATION.
SO WE ARE, UH, CERTAINLY MAKING EFFORTS TO INCREASE THE ENGAGEMENT THROUGH STEER.
OKAY, SO IT'S ALERT HOUSTON PLUS STEER, AND DO PEOPLE THOUGH HAVE TO RESIGN UP FOR STEER OR ARE WE DOING THAT OUTREACH TO REMIND THEM AND THINGS LIKE THAT? WE'RE DOING THE OUTREACH AND, AND SO THERE'S ALWAYS, THAT'S A BIG QUESTION THAT WE HAVE WITH THE STATE.
HOW ARE WE, DO WE DUMP THE DATA AND REESTABLISH THE DATA? AND THOSE IS THAT TECHNOLOGY PIECE BECAUSE YOU KNOW, OBVIOUSLY THERE MIGHT BE SOME PEOPLE THAT DON'T, AREN'T REGISTERED ANYMORE OR THEY'RE JUST, YOU KNOW, FOR WHATEVER REASONS THEY'RE NOT, UH, ON THE LIST ANY LONGER.
AND, BUT THEN WE HAVE TO CLEAN THAT LIST UP.
SO THAT IS THE BIG ISSUE THAT WE'RE HAVING.
AND WE'RE WORKING, YOU KNOW, WITH THE STATE ON HOW TO DO THAT.
BUT FOR US, WE'RE LOOKING AT OUR LIST AND, AND DOING THOSE TESTS NOW WE'RE GONNA START DOING THOSE TESTS ON, HEY, IS THIS A GOOD NUMBER TO REACH? AND, AND THEN OF COURSE, BE REMINDING PEOPLE ON THAT STEER PROCESS AS WELL.
UH, FIRST IN QUEUE, COUNCIL MEMBER THOMAS.
UM, MADAM CHAIRWOMAN, UM, THIS IS ALL REALLY GOOD.
THANK YOU FOR PUTTING THIS TOGETHER.
UM, I RECALL A COUPLE OF ITEMS THAT WERE PASSED AT COUNCIL, UH, MOST RECENTLY, I BELIEVE IT WAS LIKE $120,000 AN ALLOCATION FOR GEORGIA BROWN IN GETTING READY FOR A DISASTER, RIGHT? THE FEE WE, WE PAY.
AND THEN IN 21 OR 22, WE PASSED A CONTRACT FOR LILY PADS TO START THAT PROCESS.
SO FOR ME, BECAUSE I GOT MY HEAD KICKED IN AFTER THE WINTER STORM, UH, WE DIDN'T HAVE A WARMING CENTER, WE DIDN'T HAVE ANY OF THAT.
AND I WAS GETTING DINGED ON SOCIAL MEDIA WHERE, WHERE ARE OUR RESOURCES? BECAUSE IN THE WEST SIDE, THEY'RE NOT GOING TO GEORGIA BROWN NOT HAPPENING, ESPECIALLY WHEN METRO SHUTS DOWN IT'S METRO.
ESPECIALLY WHEN ALL OF THESE THINGS, THESE BARRIERS ARE IN PLACE, THERE'S ICE ON THE FREEWAY.
SO FOR ME, WHEN I SEE THESE ITEMS AND I HEAR THIS CONTENT, WHICH IS REALLY GOOD, IT'S IMPORTANT, AND I KNOW IT'S HAPPENING, I'M ALWAYS CURIOUS HOW THAT TRICKLES DOWN TO THE WEST, UM, TO THE, TO THE CITY.
UM, WHERE ARE THE, WHERE, WHAT LOCATIONS ARE IN CONVERSATION ABOUT LILY PADS IN ALL? LIKE, THOSE ARE THE TYPES OF THINGS.
AND YOU, SOME OF THE STUFF YOU HAVE ALLUDED TO, Y'ALL ARE IN CONVERSATION IN DEVELOPING PLANS.
BUT HERE WE ARE IN HURRICANE SEASON 2023, HEAT STORM.
I'M ANXIOUS ABOUT THE ERCOT GRID.
UM, AND THERE'S STILL AND A YEAR'S GONE BY WITH THAT ITEM AND STILL WE DON'T HAVE ANY TRACTION.
SO CAN YOU HELP ME WITH THAT? SO WITH WHAT WE'RE DOING NOW, THANK YOU FOR THE QUESTION, COUNCIL MEMBER IS, YOU KNOW, WE HAD A TENDENCY TO JUST GO TO THE BIGGEST LOCATION, RIGHT? YEP.
ONE OF THE THINGS NOW LOOKING AT EVERYTHING NOW IS DIVIDING, 'CAUSE WE HAVE 968 OR 86 MILES THAT WE HAVE TO COVER DIFFERENT QUADRANTS FROM THE MINDSET OF COMING IN.
YOU KNOW, WE LOOKED AT EVERYTHING OR LOOKING AT THE QUADRANTS, WE'RE LOOKING AT THE GEOGRAPHIC AREA AND STRATEGICALLY PLACED BUILDINGS, CITY BUILDINGS, AND EVEN WORKING WITH NGOS TO MAKE IT EASIER AND ACT MORE ACCESSIBLE FOR PEOPLE WITHIN THE COMMUNITY.
CASE IN POINT, YOU KNOW, WE'RE LOOKING AT THE, THE COOLING CENTERS NOW WE'RE SEEING WORKING WITH OUR CITY PARTNERS SUCH AS PARKS AND, AND THANK YOU ALOUD, THANK YOU TO THEM FOR WORKING AND MAKING THAT ACCESSIBILITY BETTER.
ONE OF THE OTHER THINGS THAT WE'RE WORKING ON, WE JUST RECENTLY HIRED AND, AND SHE'S COMING ON OUR TEAM NOW, AN INDIVIDUAL FROM RED CROSS ON MASS CARE.
RIGHT? BUT WE'RE LOOKING AT THAT.
HOW DO I IDENTIFY THOSE ISSUES? WHAT IS THE CHECKLIST GONNA LOOK LIKE IF SOMEBODY SAYS, I WANT TO VOLUNTEER OUR BUILDING TO HELP WITH THAT.
AND YOU KNOW, ONE OF THE KEY THINGS THAT WE LOOK AT IS, YOU KNOW, WHAT'S THE, WHAT'S THE LONGEVITY THAT THAT PERSON'S GONNA BE THERE? RIGHT? FOR EXAMPLE, YOU KNOW, IF YOU LOOK AT THE BIG STRUCTURES, YOU KNOW, HOW LONG ARE PEOPLE GONNA BE THERE? WHAT'S THE FIRE SAFETY ISSUES? UM, DO THEY HAVE SHOWERS? IS IT, IS IT GONNA BE COMMENDABLE? IS IT GONNA BE ADAPTABLE TO WHAT WE'RE DOING? LESSONS TIME LEARNED TIME AND TIME AGAIN IS HOW DO PEOPLE, IF WE HAVE 'EM, STAY THERE FOR FOUR OR FIVE, SIX DAYS, CAN IT SUSTAIN THE NUMBER OF PEOPLE? SO THAT'S WHY WE'RE DISTRIBUTING WIDELY AS WE SPEAK.
NOW WE HAVE OUR TEAM WHO HAS IDENTIFIED
[00:45:01]
AREAS ALONG THROUGH OUR GIS PROCESS, YOU KNOW, WHAT'S THE CLOSEST FIRE STATION? WHAT'S THAT BUILDING? WHO MAINTAINS THAT? WHO'S GOT THE KEYS? AND, AND, AND WITH THAT SAID, IT ALLOWS US TO START SAYING OKAY, VERSUS DRIVING ALL THE WAY FROM, YOU KNOW, UH, THE FURTHEST PART OF HOUSTON INTO DOWNTOWN.AND MADAM CHAIRWOMAN, I WANT TO JUST RECLAIM A QUICKLY A, A FEW MINUTES OF MY TIME BECAUSE, UM, ALL OF THAT'S GOOD.
AND THAT'S THE INFORMATION I WANT BECAUSE I, I WAS FORCED TO CREATE MY OWN DISASTER PLAN BECAUSE THERE WAS NO RESOURCE.
SO I CAN TELL YOU ON THE FAR, FAR WEST SIDE OF ELDRIDGE, WE ALREADY HAVE A CHURCH THAT'S, CHURCH WITHOUT WALLS ON ELDRIDGE IS READY TO GO.
WE HAVE A WEST HOUSTON ASSOCIATION, WHAM, THEY'RE READY TO GO.
WE PARTNERED WITH THE TOOL BANK WITH $50,000 TO HAVE A, UH, A TRAILER READY TO POP UP FOR MATERIALS GENERATOR.
WE HAVE PINEY POINT ELEMENTARY.
SO ALL THOSE ASSETS HAVE BEEN IDENTIFIED, UM, TWO YEARS AGO.
AND SO, LIKE TO HEAR THIS INFORMATION, I'M THAT'S HAPPENING, BUT THERE'S A DISCONNECT IN TERMS OF HOW THIS GETS ON THE GROUND.
UM, WHICH ASSETS ARE ALREADY IN PLAY.
WE ALREADY HAVE AGREEMENT WITH THE COUNTY COMMISSIONER TO AND, AND ALI, ISD TO USE THEIR FACILITIES FOR PARKING TO GET FOLKS TO NRG OR GEORGIA R BROWN.
SO I WANNA CLOSE THE LOOP ON THAT.
UM, AND WHENEVER ALL OF THE PEOPLE GET ON STAFF, AND IT SOUNDS LIKE Y'ALL ARE ONBOARDING AND THINKING CRITICALLY ABOUT THIS, AND THAT'S HELPFUL.
I REALLY WANNA CLOSE THE LOOP ON THIS BECAUSE MY OFFICE, IT'S FOUR OR FIVE OF US AND YOU HAVE A TEAM TO DO THIS.
AND I DON'T THINK THE OBLIGATION SHOULD JUST BE ON COUNCIL MEMBERS TO DEPLOY BECAUSE WE CAN'T GET TO GEORGIA BROWN.
WE HAVE TO BE BAKED INTO THAT.
AND YOU MENTIONED ERCOT, JUST FYI ON EN ROUTE TO THE MEETING, I DID TALK TO CENTER POINT.
SO THEY'VE BEEN IN, THEY'RE GONNA BE IN CONSTANT CONTACT WITH US THIS WHOLE WEEKEND AND THROUGH THE WEEK.
UH, THERE IS NO, THEY SEE NO FORESEEABLE ISSUES.
HOWEVER, THERE IS, WE'RE ON STANDBY WITH THEM SHOULD VET OCCUR.
BUT RIGHT NOW THEY SAY, T IS SAYING THAT THEY COULD SUSTAIN WHAT'S HAPPENING.
AND BRENT, I KNOW YOU WANNA SPEAK, I THINK COUNCIL MEMBER, IF I MAY PIGGYBACK ON THAT, AND I THINK COUNCIL MEMBER PECK IS ALSO GONNA TALK ABOUT THIS.
WE'VE HAD SEVERAL YEARS OF WORK ON THIS AND I'M NOT PUTTING THAT ON OEM.
MY FIRST QUESTION IS, SO LILY PADS FALL UNDER OEM AND COMMAND, RIGHT? YOU'RE MAKING THOSE DETERMINATIONS BASED ON WHERE THE THREAT IS.
RESILIENCE HUBS ARE MORE PLANNING, RIGHT? WE MAY NOT BE ACTIVATING ONE RESILIENCE HUB OVER ANOTHER, BUT THERE'S A LOT OF COORDINATION THAT HAS TO GO INTO EFFECT.
DOES THAT FALL TO YOU ALL OR TO ANOTHER DEPARTMENT? BECAUSE WE'RE SITTING HERE SAYING WE NEED TO CLOSE THE LOOP.
WE, LIKE, I'VE SUBMITTED MY LOCATIONS FOR DISTRICT C, WE HAVE OUR CONTRACT WITH TOOL BANK, BUT WHO'S MANAGING THAT TO CLOSE THAT LOOP? AND RIGHT NOW LOOKING AT THE MAYOR'S OFFICE OF, UH, RESILIENCE AND SUSTAINABILITY THAT WE'RE WORKING WITH THEM ON THAT.
SO THE RESILIENT HUBS ARE NOW UNDER THE JURISDICTION, SO TO SPEAK, OF THE MAYOR'S OFFICE OF RESILIENCY AND SUSTAINABILITY.
THAT IS NOT OEM MANAGING THAT, CORRECT? CORRECT.
THE, UH, AS DIRECTOR MUNOZ MENTIONED, THE OEMS PART HAS BEEN A LOT IN ESTABLISHING THE MATRIX AND WHAT THE REQUIREMENTS WILL BE FOR THOSE BUILDINGS AND WORKING IN THAT PLANNING PORTION OF IT.
BUT THE PROJECT MANAGEMENT PIECE OF IT IS BEING MAINTAINED BY THE MAYOR'S OFFICE OF RESILIENCE AND SUSTAINABILITY.
DO YOU KNOW, AND THEY'RE NOT HERE TO SPEAK FOR THE DEPARTMENT, SO I DON'T WANT US TO SAY ANYTHING WE DON'T AREN'T AWARE OF.
BUT HOW MANY RESILIENCE HUBS, 'CAUSE AGAIN, COUNCIL MEMBER THOMAS HAS IDENTIFIED SOME LOCATIONS.
COUNCIL MEMBER PECK HAS, I HAVE, I DON'T WANNA SPEAK FOR ANYONE ELSE.
HOW MANY RESILIENCE HUBS HAVE BEEN ESTABLISHED? WE'RE READY TO GO.
SHOULD THE NEED ARISE? YOU KNOW, COUNCIL MEMBER, THE ONE THAT WE'VE BEEN WORKING WITH HAS BEEN KME GARDENS, WHICH HAS BEEN THE BETA TEST.
AND YOU KNOW, SO THAT'S WHAT THEY'RE TRYING TO IDENTIFY.
WHAT IS THAT MATRIX GONNA LOOK LIKE? YOU KNOW, I KNOW THEY'VE BEEN VERY PROACTIVE IN GETTING THE MATRIX, WHAT THE CHECKLIST GONNA LOOK LIKE AND WHAT'S THE INTERIM AND HOW THAT'S GONNA LOOK.
SO THOSE ARE THE THINGS THAT WE'RE WORKING ON WITH THEM AND SEE WHAT WE HAVE SO WE CAN START IDENTIFYING THOSE BUILDINGS AS WELL.
SO WE HAVE ONE BETA TEST RIGHT NOW IN CASHMERE GARDENS, BUT NO OTHERS HAVE BEEN FORMALLY ESTABLISHED.
AND MY COMMENTS ARE PRETTY MUCH THE SAME AS COUNCIL MEMBER THOMAS' COMMENTS.
UM, IN DISTRICT A, WE'VE ALSO CREATED A DISASTER RECOVERY PLAN BECAUSE MY CONSTITUENTS ARE ALSO NOT GETTING DOWN TO THE GEORGIA BROWN AND A DISASTER.
AND SO, YOU KNOW, WE'VE WORKED WITH, UM, THE COUNTY, WE'VE WORKED WITH THE RED CROSS, THE TOOL BANK, WE HAVE EVERYTHING POSITIONED IN PLACE, SHOULD THERE BE A DISASTER IN DISTRICT A.
AND I THINK THE FRUSTRATION, AT LEAST FOR ME, IS THAT SEVERAL DIFFERENT DEPARTMENTS SEEM TO BE WORKING ON DIFFERENT ASPECTS OF THIS.
AND WE'VE RECEIVED QUESTIONS TO MY OFFICE PROBABLY SEVERAL TIMES FROM
[00:50:01]
EACH DEPARTMENT SAYING, HEY, CAN YOU IDENTIFY LOCATIONS? AND WE'RE LIKE, WE'RE WELL PAST IDENTIFYING LOCATIONS.AND WE KEEP GETTING ASKED THAT QUESTION.
AND IT SEEMS LIKE NO ONE'S ACTUALLY PUTTING ANY OF THIS TOGETHER, AT LEAST IN DISTRICT A TO MOVE IT FORWARD.
IT'S GREAT THAT WE HAVE A PLAN, BUT IF IT'S NOT ALSO THE CITY'S PLAN, IT MAKES IT MORE DIFFICULT TO GET THOSE RESOURCES THAT THE CITY MIGHT DEPLOY TO LIKE THE GEORGIA BROWN ALL THE WAY IN NORTHWEST HOUSTON.
AND SO THAT'S BEEN KIND OF MY FRUSTRATION WITH MOVING FORWARD ON THIS.
AND SO WHAT IS THE TIMELINE TO, I KNOW YOU SAID YOU HAVE ONE, UM, THAT'S BEING TESTED RIGHT NOW, BUT HOW DO WE MOVE FORWARD FROM THIS? AND LIKE COUNCIL MEMBER THOMAS SAID, CLOSE THE LOOP.
LIKE WHAT IS THE TIMELINE ON THAT? SO THE TIMELINE FOR RESILIENCY HUBS, YOU KNOW, THAT'S SOMETHING THAT OBVIOUSLY WE HAVE TO REACH OUT TO, YOU KNOW, THE MAYOR'S OFFICE OF RESILIENCY AND, AND SUSTAINABILITY.
WHAT I CAN TELL YOU IS THAT RIGHT NOW, THE AREAS THAT WE'VE IDENTIFIED WITHIN OUR DEPARTMENT, WE COULD DEFINITELY SEND TO YOU BY THE END OF THE WEEK AND SAY, HEY, THESE IS WHAT WE HAVE RIGHT NOW.
AND WHAT WE HAVE IN OUR, IN OUR, IN OUR CACHET OF, OF IDENTIFIED AREAS THAT OBVIOUSLY WE HAVE TO COORDINATE WITH THE, THE OWNERS OF THOSE BUILDINGS, RIGHT? PARKS AND, AND YOU KNOW, WHOEVER MIGHT OWN THAT BUILDING BECAUSE THERE IS THAT OTHER ISSUE OF WHO'S GONNA SUSTAIN THAT AND WHO IS GOING TO SUPPORT THAT.
SO THAT'S WHERE WE'RE WORKING AND, AND THAT'S WHAT WE DO.
UH, AS CASE IN POINT TODAY WAS, YOU KNOW, CALLING THE PARKS DEPARTMENT, CAN YOU SUSTAIN SATURDAY? OR LIKE, FOR EXAMPLE, AS BRENT MENTIONED, SUNDAY AND MONDAY OR HOLIDAYS OR, OR DAYS OFF.
SO WE HAVE TO MAKE THOSE ARRANGEMENTS WITH THEM AS WELL.
BUT THOSE AREAS HAVE BEEN IDENTIFIED THAT HAVE BEEN LAYERED IN OUR, IN OUR MAP SYSTEMS TO IDENTIFY WHERE THEY'RE AT SO WE CAN REACH OUT TO THEM WHEN THAT WAS TIME TO COME.
AND, AND IF I CAN, I'D LIKE TO MAKE A A, A OPEN INVITATION TO THE COUNCIL MEMBERS AT THIS POINT.
SO, UH, THE MAYOR'S OFFICE, OR, OR EXCUSE ME,
THE OFFICE OF EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT, UM, THE OFFICE OF EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT HAS BEEN UPDATING ALL OF THE CITY'S EMERGENCY PLANS OVER THE PAST, UH, YEAR PLUS.
AND AS PART OF THAT, WE ARE MAKING SURE THAT THE DEPARTMENTAL PLANS THAT EACH DEPARTMENT HAVE ARE FOLDING INTO THOSE PLANS.
AND SO IF YOUR OFFICES HAVE ESTABLISHED THESE THINGS, LET'S, LET'S GET TOGETHER, LET'S MAKE SURE THAT THESE ARE COORDINATED.
WE'LL SET UP MEETINGS, WE'LL GET IT WORKING.
'CAUSE WE, WE CERTAINLY WANNA ENCOURAGE THAT.
UM, I DON'T SEE ANY OTHER COUNCIL MEMBERS OR STAFF IN QUEUE.
I DO WANNA RECOGNIZE, UH, JOINING US ONLINE, WE HAVE STAFF FROM COUNCIL MEMBER POLLARD'S OFFICE, COUNCIL MEMBER PLUMMER'S OFFICE AND COUNCIL MEMBER CI'S OFFICE.
AND I HAD ONE LAST QUESTION FOR Y'ALL.
UM, THERE HAS BEEN SOME FEEDBACK, UH, ON THE CHALLENGES FOR SOME IN ACCESSING, UH, BECAUSE OF LANGUAGE BARRIERS, EMERGENCY INFORMATION.
AND CAN YOU TALK ABOUT SOME OF THE CHALLENGES THAT OEM IS FACING? BRENT, I KNOW YOU JUST SAID THIS IS WHAT WE HAVE ONLINE ON THE WEBSITE, BUT CAN YOU JUST TALK A LITTLE BIT ABOUT WHAT THE CITY CAN DO AND HOW WE'RE LIMITED RIGHT NOW IF WE ARE? SO THE BIG QUESTION IS ALWAYS WE ARE, RIGHT? THE, THE IPOS ALERTS, I THINK IT'S IMPORTANT TO NOTE THAT THAT IS A FEMA RUN PROJECT OR APPLICATION.
THE ONLY THING THAT ALLOWS US TO DO IS TWO LANGUAGES, ENGLISH AND SPANISH.
AND THAT IS IT, RIGHT? UH, I KNOW THAT IN THE BIG CITY EMERGENCY MANAGERS MEETINGS, CHIEF BUCH HAS ASKED, YOU KNOW, HOW DO WE EXPAND THAT? RIGHT? THEN WE HAVE TO LOOK AT THE ALTERNATIVE.
WHAT IS THE TECHNOLOGY THAT'S OUT THERE AND HOW DO WE DO THAT? AND YOU KNOW, I ALWAYS SAY THAT, YOU KNOW, YOU HAVE ALL THESE GREAT COMPANIES THAT GIVE YOU THAT PROCESS, BUT IT'S LIKE, HEY, BY THE WAY, YOU KNOW, A T-BONE IS $4 WITH MEAT $25, RIGHT? AND SO THEY BUILD THESE LAYERS.
AND SO WE'RE LOOKING CONTINUOUSLY WHAT IS THE BEST PROGRAM TO ALLOW US TO DO THAT? AND INCLUDING THE DAF AND COMMUNITY, YOU KNOW, HOW DO WE DO THAT? THAT, THAT IS A BIG PIECE FOR US THAT IN ALL OUR PLANS NOW, AS YOU KNOW, UH, WE, WE WANT TO TAKE THE COMPASSIONATE APPROACH AND WE ARE TAKING THE COMPASSIONATE APPROACH, BUT THAT IS THE LIMITATIONS THAT WE HAVE.
AND THE, THE, THE FRUSTRATION QUITE HONESTLY IS HOW DO WE GET TO ENSURE THAT EVERYONE HAS THAT, YOU KNOW, WE STARTED DOING THIS, THE, THE IN IN OUR INTERNALLY IN SPANISH TO WHICH WE HAVE THAT.
NOW WE'RE WORKING OUT WITH THE VIETNAMESE COMMUNITY.
HOW DO WE DO THAT? AND WE'RE HAVING CONTINUOUSLY TO MEET WITH, WITH DIFFERENT GROUPS.
YOU KNOW, WE'RE MEETING WITH DIFFERENT CONSULATES WITHIN THE CITY TO SAY, HEY, YOU KNOW, CAN WE PARTNER WITH YOU HAVE TRANSLATORS? AND, YOU KNOW, ALL THAT IS DEFINITELY AN EXPENSE, BUT THAT'S WHAT WE'RE WORKING ON.
AND, AND LIKE I SAID, THE BIG ONE IS WHEN WE DO THAT, I PS YOU KNOW, IT'S ONLY ENGLISH AND SPANISH.
THAT'S ALL WE CAN DO DAF N CAPABILITIES AND THAT THIS IS A FEDERAL APPLICATION THAT WE USE.
SO WE'RE WORKING, WHAT'S THE GOAL AROUND ON THAT TO ENSURE EVERYONE'S GOT THAT INFORMATION? WE CAN'T ALWAYS ASSUME THAT EVERYBODY CARRIES A CELL PHONE OR, OR HAS A COMPUTER.
SO HOW DO WE PASS THAT? AND ONE OF THE THINGS WE'RE LOOKING AT IS, AND, AND OBVIOUSLY HAVE IDENTIFIED AS A GRASSROOT APPROACH, YOU KNOW, HOW DO WE RECOGNIZE EITHER WITH
[00:55:01]
THE INTERFAITH MINISTRIES OR THE NGOS AND SPREAD THE WORD LIKE WE USED TO BEFORE CELL PHONES AND, AND, AND SOCIAL MEDIA.AND, UH, ONE, A COUPLE THINGS I'D LIKE TO MENTION, JUST SO EVERYONE UNDERSTANDS THAT.
SO WE, WE USE THE SAME BRANDING OF ALERT HOUSTON FOR THE MESSAGING THAT GOES OUT IN BOTH OUR EMAIL, TEXT MESSAGES, THE THINGS THAT PEOPLE OPT INTO.
BUT THAT, THAT MESSAGE, THAT LANGUAGE ALSO GETS APPLIED TO THE WEAS, WHICH ARE THE ONES THAT ARE SPECIFICALLY OPT OUT.
SO THAT'S THE ONE LIKE AN AMBER ALERT THAT YOU WOULD RECEIVE THAT YOUR PHONE JUST BUZZES WHENEVER YOU, YOU KNOW, WHEN WHEN WE HAD THAT SHELTER IN PLACE A FEW WEEKS AGO, YOU JUST GET CLOSE ENOUGH TO A CELL PHONE TOWER, IT WILL JUST, UH, NOTIFY YOU ON THE PHONE ITSELF.
AND SO, UM, WE USE THAT LANGUAGE FOR BOTH OF THOSE SYSTEMS, BUT THEY ARE TWO SEPARATE THINGS.
AND SO TO, TO THE POINT THAT, UH, CHIEF MUNOZ WAS MAKING THAT WITH THE TWO LANGUAGES THAT FEMA SUPPORTS ENGLISH AND SPANISH, THAT IS, SO IF YOUR CELL PHONE IS, UH, NATIVE LANGUAGE THAT YOU'RE WORKING IN, THAT YOU'RE OPERATING YOUR CELL PHONE IN IS IN ENGLISH, THE PHONE KNOWS TO RECEIVE THE ENGLISH VERSION OF THE MESSAGE.
AND IT KNOWS TO RECEIVE THE SPANISH IF IT'S SPANISH, BUT IT DOESN'T OFFER SUPPORT FOR CHINESE, MANDARIN, OR VIETNAMESE OR KOREAN OR ANY OF THE OTHER, YOU KNOW, HUNDRED PLUS LANGUAGES THAT ARE SPOKEN IN THE CITY OF HOUSTON.
UM, ONE MORE THING I DO WANNA MENTION IS THAT WE HAVE WORKED WITH, UH, FEMA AS PART OF THAT.
SO A BIG PART OF THE LANGUAGE, UH, CHALLENGE THAT WE KNOW WE FACE IS ENSURING THAT THE MESSAGE IS THE SAME ACROSS ALL THE LANGUAGES.
AND A BIG PART OF THAT COMES DOWN TO TEMPLATING, RIGHT? TO CREATING THE MESSAGES IN ADVANCE AND THEN JUST PLUGGING IN LOCATIONS, ESSENTIALLY PLUGGING IN SPECIFIC, UH, IN INCIDENT SPECIFIC INFORMATION.
AND SO WE'VE BEEN WORKING WITH A, A UNIVERSITY WHO IS PILOTING A, UM, A A A PROTOTYPE ESSENTIALLY THAT IS, UH, GONNA DO A LOT TO ACCELERATE THE ABILITY TO CREATE THOSE TEMPLATES BOTH ON THE FLY AND ALSO HAVE THEM STORED.
AND WE ARE ONE OF THE, UH, ONE OF THE CITIES THAT, UH, THAT OUR OFFICE OF EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT WAS WORKING WITH THEM AND, AND CLICKING ALL THE BUTTONS AND TRYING TO BREAK IT AND DO ALL THE GOOD THINGS THAT YOU DO WITH THAT.
I, I SEE COUNCIL MEMBER THOMAS IS BACK IN QUEUE.
UM, AND JUST QUICKLY AROUND THE, THE LANGUAGES, AND THAT'S A REALLY IMPORTANT PIECE.
'CAUSE I REMEMBER WHEN WE HAD THE WATER BOIL NOTICE, UH, AND AGAIN ON TWITTER, WHY DO WE NOT HAVE THIS IN MULTIPLE LANGUAGES? SO I REPRESENT IN DISTRICT F WE HAVE EVERYBODY, EVERYBODY LIVE OUT THERE.
SO THAT'S SPANISH, UH, VIETNAMESE, CHINESE, ARAB, URDU, ALL OF IT.
AND, AND WE USE THE CITY'S TRANSLATION SERVICE FOR, UH, AN EVENT.
AND THE VIETNAMESE WAS, THE, THE DIALECT WAS, IT WAS INACCURATE.
AND SO I HAD TO SEND IT TO A VIETNAMESE NEWSPAPER FOR THEM TO DO IT.
AND SO I DON'T, YOU KNOW, I KNOW Y'ALL ARE DOING THE TECHNOLOGY, BUT LIKE BACK TO THE OLD SCHOOL, WE SHOULD HAVE, YOU KNOW, UM, RADIO PARTNERS, MEDIA PARTNERS THAT WILL LEND THIS SERVICE BECAUSE THERE'S, I HAD TO LEARN THERE'S A, UH, A FORMAL VIETNAMESE AND THEN THERE'S AN INFORMAL, AND THEN THE ELDERS, IT'S CERTAIN WORDS CAN SEND IT ANOTHER WAY.
AND SO I THINK THAT'S IMPORTANT WHEN WE'RE TALKING ABOUT DISASTER BECAUSE WE HAVE A FOOTPRINT AND I JUST WANT TO OFFER MY OFFICE AS A RESOURCE AS Y'ALL ARE BUILDING THIS TO MAKE SURE THAT NO ONE IS LEFT BEHIND.
UM, BECAUSE THESE ARE, I MEAN, Y'ALL, Y'ALL HAVE CRITICAL INFORMATION ABSOLUTELY.
AND, UM, KIND OF TO THAT POINT, SO I, I PARTICIPATED ON A PANEL, UH, A FEW MONTHS AGO WITH A GROUP CALLED THE HOUSTON ETHNIC MEDIA SERVICES.
AND IT WAS A VERY DIVERSE GROUP OF, YOU KNOW, YOU HAD SOME OF THE LARGER, LIKE THERE WAS SOMEONE FROM THE HOUSTON CHRONICLE AND SOMEONE FROM SOME OF THE OTHER LARGE, UH, YOU KNOW, TRADITIONAL MEDIA THAT WE'RE AWARE OF, BUT THERE WERE SO MANY OTHERS FROM VERY, VERY LOCAL HYPER LOCAL, UM, LANGUAGE SPECIFIC, UH, MEDIA OUTLETS THAT, THAT WE MAY OR MAY NOT BE FAMILIAR WITH OFF THE TOP OF OUR HEAD.
I KNOW I SPOKE WITH A MEMBER FROM WORRY JUNTOS, WHO HAS, THEY'VE COME TO Y'ALL AND SPOKEN TO YOU AT COUNCIL BEFORE, DURING THE BUDGET PERIOD.
UM, AND SO I'VE, I'VE BEEN IN TALKS WITH THEM AS WELL.
UH, SO THESE ARE ALL THINGS THAT WENT, LIKE FOR EXAMPLE, WITH THE HEAT ADVISORY, I REACHED OUT TO THAT GROUP OF, UH, HOUSTON ETHNIC MEDIA SERVICES AND SENT THE MESSAGE SAYING, HEY, HERE'S WHAT WE HAVE, HERE'S THE LANGUAGES, WE HAVE IT AVAILABLE, AND IF YOU HAVE SOMETHING THAT YOU CAN ADD TO IT, LET'S YOU KNOW, PLEASE JOIN THE TABLE.
AND JUST SO THAT I UNDERSTAND AND EVERYONE UNDERSTANDS, WHAT I HEAR YOU SAYING IS WE HAVE OUR OEM SYSTEM, BUT WE ALSO PLUG IN THROUGH FEMA.
AND SO WHEN SOMETIMES ALERTS ARE COMING OUT, IT'S NOT ACTUALLY US DOING IT AND FEMA IS ONLY ALLOWING THOSE TWO LANGUAGES.
AND SO THERE'S THAT TECHNOLOGICAL BARRIER THAT'S OUT OF OUR CONTROL.
BUT Y'ALL ARE WHAT I HEAR YOU SAYING.
I WANNA JUST CONFIRM Y'ALL ARE WORKING ON WHAT WE CAN CONTROL, CORRECT.
[01:00:01]
NEXT WE'RE GONNA HEAR FROM, UH, ASSISTANT CHIEF, ME AND I THINK WELLS AS WELL.BUT I WANTED TO, UH, PROVIDE AN OPPORTUNITY IF CHIEF PENA WANTED TO PROVIDE ANY REMARKS AS WELL.
CHIEF, DO YOU WANNA COME UP AT ALL? YOU DON'T, NO PRESSURE.
GOOD AFTERNOON, COUNCIL MEMBER.
UM, CHIEF ME IS, UH, IS OUR EMERGENCY OPERATIONS ASSISTANT CHIEF.
HE'LL BE PROVIDING THE, UH, THE OVERVIEW AND, BUT IN THE AUDIENCE, WE HAVE MEMBERS OF OUR SPECIAL OPERATIONS, UH, DIVISION.
DO YOU WANNA INTRODUCE THEM? YES.
UM, WE HAVE OUR DISTRICT CHIEFS AND OUR, AND OUR CAPTAINS THAT ARE DIRECTLY OVERSEEING THE PROGRAM, ENSURING THAT WE ARE, THEY'RE THE ONES THAT BUBBLE UP THE INFORMATION AND THE NEEDS FOR US TO TRY TO RESOURCE.
BUT, UH, ALL THE CREDIT GOES TO THESE INDIVIDUALS FOR ENSURING THAT THE PROGRAM IS, IS RUN, UH, EFFICIENTLY AT THE TASK LEVEL.
AND, AND, UH, YOU KNOW, I PLACED A LOT OF TRUST IN THEIR ABILITY TO MANAGE INCIDENTS WHEN, WHEN THOSE COME UP.
UM, I DON'T KNOW THAT THERE'S ANYBODY BETTER THAN, THAN THESE INDIVIDUALS THAT ARE SITTING BACK BEHIND US.
BUT, UH, THEY ALL REPORT INDIRECTLY TO, TO CHIEF MUIR AND ULTIMATELY CHIEF WELLS, UM, IN THE EMERGENCY OPERATIONS DIVISION.
SO CHIEF MUIR WILL BE PRESENTING THE, UH, THE PRESENTATION AND THEN WE'LL BE ALL AVAILABLE FOR QUESTIONS IF, IF YOU NEED TO.
SO THANK YOU COUNCIL MEMBER FOR BRINGING THIS, UH, FORWARD.
THANK YOU FOR ALLOWING US THE OPPORTUNITY TO PRESENT OUR EMERGENCY RESPONSE PLAN FOR HURRICANE SEASON.
UM, I'D LIKE TO BEGIN WITH A GENERAL OVERVIEW OF HOW WE'RE GONNA GO THROUGH THIS PRESENTATION.
UM, IT'S REALLY PRUDENT FOR US TO BEGIN WITH WHERE WE WERE IN 2017, BECAUSE YOU'LL SEE A STARK DIFFERENCE BETWEEN 2017 AND TODAY.
AND THAT'S 100% DUE TO THE SUPPORT OF OUR COMMUNITY PARTNERS.
UM, ALL OF OUR DONORS WITH THE HOUSTON FIREFIGHTERS CHARITABLE FOUNDATION AND THE SUPPORT OF THE MAYOR AND CITY COUNCIL.
UM, BECAUSE YOU'LL SEE WHAT WE'VE ACCOMPLISHED OVER THE LAST SIX YEARS OR SO IS QUITE A FEAT.
UM, IT'S QUITE A BIT TO ADD TO THE LIST OF THIS ADMINISTRATION AND TO YOUR SUPPORT.
AND THAT'LL GO AHEAD AND LEAD US INTO THE, INTO THE FIRST SLIDE.
SO IF WE CAN GO TO THE NEXT, UH, SLIDE.
SO YOU'LL SEE PRE HARVEY OUR ASSETS RIGHT THERE ON THE LEFT HAND COLUMN, THE NUMBER OF JET SKIS.
WE HAD RESCUE BOATS, HIGH WATER VEHICLES.
HIGH WATER BOOSTERS, WE HAD NONE.
PRIME MOVERS, WHICH MOVES THOSE EVACUATION BOATS AND OTHER ASSETS INTO AREAS OF NEED.
AND OUR EVACUATION BOATS, WE ONLY HAD 10.
AND THE NUMBER IN YEARS THAT YOU SEE NEXT TO THOSE ITEMS IS THE AGE OF THE FLEET.
THOSE EVACUATION BOATS, ON AVERAGE WERE ABOUT 24 YEARS.
THEY WERE WAY BEYOND THE MINIMUM STANDARDS FOR, FOR WHAT WE NEEDED IN EMERGENCY RESPONSE.
THE RESCUE BOATS WERE 11 YEARS.
YOU'LL SEE THE COLUMN ON THE RIGHT.
WE HAVE MORE THAN DOUBLED OUR INVENTORY.
AND ON SOME OF THOSE ITEMS TO WHICH WE HAD NONE, WE NOW HAVE QUITE AN, WE HAVE QUITE A RESPONSE FLEET AND EVERYTHING THAT WAS NOT REPLACED HAS AT LEAST BEEN REFURBISHED TO TODAY'S STANDARDS.
SO THERE IS NOTHING IN THE FLEET THAT'S MORE THAN SIX YEARS OLD OR HAS NOT BEEN REFURBISHED WITHIN THAT SAME TIME PERIOD.
THAT'S QUITE, QUITE AN IMPRESSIVE ACCOMPLISHMENT.
NOW THE TEAM YOU SEE BEHIND ME, DISTRICT 14, OUR TACTICAL DEPLOYMENT DIVISION, UH, WHICH CHIEF PENA SPOKE VERY HIGHLY OF.
THEY DID A LOT OF THE WORK THAT YOU SEE HERE ON THIS SLIDE.
AND THIS HAS CONTINUED IMPROVEMENTS TO ESTABLISH OUR ABILITY TO MAINTAIN OPERATIONS DURING, DURING A HURRICANE.
OUR TECHNICAL RESCUE TEAM, WHICH IS MADE OF 60 PERSONNEL, HAD NOT RECEIVED SWIFT WATER TRAINING IN SEVERAL YEARS, PERHAPS 10 YEARS OR MORE.
AND WITH THE SUPPORTIVE COUNCIL AND THE FIREFIGHTERS FOUNDATION, WE ARE NOW GONNA BE ENTERING OUR THIRD PHASE WHERE WE WILL HAVE ALL OF OUR TECHNICAL RESCUE TECHNICIANS TRAINED IN SWIFT WATER.
A WATER STRIKE TEAM DID NOT EXIST.
THIS IS A TEAM DEDICATED TO PROVIDE EVACUATION SERVICES AND ALSO SUPPORT OUR TECHNICAL RESCUE TEAM AND WATER OPERATIONS.
I KNOW SOME OF YOU ARE VERY FAMILIAR AND FOND OF OUR WILDLAND GROUP.
NOT ONLY DO THEY PROVIDE WILDLAND FIREFIGHTER AND CAPABILITIES, BUT THEY TRULY ARE THE SWISS ARMY KNIFE IN OUR ORGANIZATION.
THEY ARE A MULTI-DISCIPLINE RESPONSE FORCE THAT PROVIDES VERY EFFECTIVE AND SUPPORTIVE SERVICES TO SUPPRESSION, RESCUE, HAZMAT AND SOCIETAL RESTORATION, WHICH WE'LL TOUCH ON A LITTLE LATER.
OUR INCIDENT MANAGEMENT TEAM, ONE THAT DID NOT EXIST PRIOR.
WE NOW HAVE 112 OFFICERS WHO HAVE ATTENDED AND RECEIVED
[01:05:01]
CERTIFICATION AND ENHANCED INCIDENT MANAGEMENT.SO WHEN THESE COMPLEX INCIDENTS IMPACT OUR CITY, WE NOW HAVE THE ABILITY, THE TRAINING AND EXPERIENCE TO HAVE STAFF ON HAND TO MANAGE THESE INCIDENTS.
EVERYTHING WE'RE DISCUSSING, THE RESOURCES, THE TRAINING, THE PEOPLE, ALL OF OUR ASSETS, ALL OF THE PLANNING AND PROGRAMMING THAT'S BEEN IN PLACE, WE NOW HAVE A TEAM TO MANAGE THAT AND PUT ALL OF THAT TOGETHER.
COMPLEX INCIDENT RESPONSE PROGRAM AND TRAINING.
WHAT IS A COMPLEX INCIDENT? WELL, A HURRICANE IS ONE OF THEM.
ANY INCIDENT THAT IS LIKELY TO EXHAUST ALL OF OUR LOCAL RESOURCES TO WHERE WE ARE MAKING REQUESTS OUTSIDE OF OUR JURISDICTION TO SUPPORT OUR OPERATION.
INCIDENTS THAT WILL CONTINUE BEYOND ONE OPERATIONAL PERIOD, ONE OPERATIONAL PERIOD BEING DEFINED AS 12 HOURS OR MORE DURING THE FREEZE, HURRICANES, FLOODS AND SUCH.
WE ARE GOING THROUGH MULTIPLE OPERATION PERIODS.
WE NEED TO SUSTAIN OUR ABILITY TO RES TO RESPOND TO THE NEEDS OF THE CITY.
THAT PROGRAM AND TRAINING, WHICH IS ACTUALLY BEING CONDUCTED TODAY OR AT AT OUR ACADEMY WITH ALL OF OUR ON-DUTY CHIEFS IS ONGOING.
AND WE'VE ALMOST COMPLETED THE SECOND PHASE OF THAT WIDE AREA SEARCH.
HOW DO WE ENSURE THAT EVERY CITIZEN IN OUR CITY IS TOUCHED AND ACCOUNTED FOR? HOW DO WE ENSURE THAT ALL OF THE PROPERTY, ALL OF THE SQUARE MILES THAT WE'RE RESPONSIBLE FOR, HAS BEEN RECONNED AND SEARCHED? IT IS WITH THE WIDE AREA SEARCH PROGRAM THAT WE'VE INSTITUTED AS WELL, AND THAT WE'VE COMPLETED DEPARTMENT-WIDE.
AND HOW MUCH TERRITORY CAN WE COVER AT ONE TIME, ONE SQUARE MILE PER HOUR PER PER CREW.
WE CAN COVER THIS CITY IN A RELATIVELY QUICK, QUICK PERIOD OF TIME.
THIS ISN'T SOMETHING THAT WE WILL WAIT DAYS TO RECEIVE INFORMATION AND UPDATES ON.
THE TECHNOLOGY THAT WE'RE RECEIVED NOW PROVIDES US THE ABILITY TO PROVIDE REAL TIME INFORMATION AND INTELLIGENCE TO THE EOC, OUR DEPARTMENT OPERATIONS CENTER, AND TO OUR STAKEHOLDERS, INCLUDING THE MAYOR.
SO THAT WAY THE MAYOR AND CITY COUNCIL CAN PROVIDE GOOD INFORMATION TO THEIR CONSTITUENTS ON WHERE WE'RE AT IN THE OPERATION, GIVING CONFIDENCE, UH, FROM THE PUBLIC AND OUR ABILITIES TO MEET THEIR NEEDS.
NOW, ALL OF THIS IS REALLY GREAT IN DISCUSSION, BUT DOES IT WORK? THIS IS A LOT GOING ON IN A SMALL PERIOD OF TIME AND WITH ONE ADMINISTRATION TO HANDLE HOW WE AFFIRM WHETHER OR NOT ALL OF OUR WORK WILL WILL WORK.
WE HAVE TO DO TABLETOP EXERCISES.
HOWEVER, WE WERE MET WITH A REAL LIFE INCIDENT THAT DID NOT ALLOW US THE OPPORTUNITY TO, TO CONDUCT A TABLETOP EXERCISE PRIOR THE SAGEMONT TORNADO.
THAT ESSENTIALLY WAS OUR BETA TEST AND EVERYTHING THAT WE HAD BEEN WORKING ON, WHAT OUR PERSONNEL HAD BEEN TRAINED IN, AND ALL OF OUR ASSETS WAS PLACED INTO A REAL LIFE SITUATION AND WAS OUR BETA TEST.
AND IT PROVED TO BE EXTREMELY SUCCESSFUL.
WHAT BRINGS US TO THE CONCLUSION THAT THIS BETA TEST WAS SUCCESSFUL? WELL, 103,000 PEOPLE WERE AFFECTED AND LOST THEIR POWER.
9,000 HOUSTONIANS WERE IMPACTED BY THE DESTRUCTION LEFT BY THE TORNADO.
YET OUR ON SCENE TIME WAS FOUR MINUTES.
WE HAD OUR RESOURCES IN PLACE WITH A COMMAND, WITH A A COMMAND PRESENCE.
WITHIN FOUR MINUTES, WE HAD RECON COMPLETE.
WITHIN THE HOUR, WE EXTRICATED THREE PEOPLE FROM VEHICLES, PULLED THREE PEOPLE FROM STRUCTURAL COLLAPSE AND ALL BUILDINGS AND ALL PEOPLE SEARCHED AND ACCOUNTED FOR WITHIN THAT 12 HOUR OPERATIONAL PERIOD.
THAT BY FAR EXCEEDS ANY STANDARDS SET BY FEMA OR OTHER USAR TEAMS WHO WOULD SUPPORT US.
SO NOW LET'S BRING THIS TOGETHER INTO OUR HURRICANE RESPONSE PLAN.
WE'RE GONNA MONITOR THE SITUATION AND WE'RE GONNA DO SO WITH ALL OF OUR AGENCY PARTNERS.
UH, DEPUTY, DEPUTY DIRECTOR MUNOZ TOUCHED ON THAT A LITTLE BIT.
EVERYTHING'S GONNA BE CONSISTENT WITH THEIR PLAN.
96 TO 72 HOURS WE'RE GONNA BEGIN PREPARATION.
THAT ALSO INCLUDES MEETING OUR LOGISTICAL NEEDS BECAUSE IF IT SEEMS THAT OUR REGION'S GONNA BE IMPACTED BY A HURRICANE, YOU BET OTHER JURISDICTIONS ARE GONNA BE LOOKING FOR THE STAIN MATERIALS AS WELL.
SO THAT'S SOMETHING WE'RE GONNA GET AHEAD OF 72 TO 60 HOURS.
WE'RE GONNA BEGIN PUTTING OUR PLAN INTO PLACE 40 TO 24.
WE'LL HAVE A PARTIAL ACTIVATION, WHICH I'LL TOUCH ON A LITTLE MORE.
AND THEN 24 HOURS OF FULL ACTIVATION.
NOW, PART OF THIS PREPARE PLAN MITIGATION AND RESPONSE IS INFORMING THE PUBLIC OF HOW, WHAT IT IS THEY NEED TO DO TO PREPARE THEMSELVES.
BECAUSE MANY TIMES THE PUBLIC COULD HAVE PREVENTED THE TROUBLE THAT THEY'RE IN, HAD THEY PROPERLY PREPARED FOR THESE EVENTS.
AND THE INFORMATION WE WOULD SHARE WITH THE PUBLIC IS THROUGH COMMON MESSAGING, WHICH WE WOULD DO TOGETHER WITH ALL OF OUR PUBLIC SAFETY PARTNERS.
[01:10:02]
PUBLIC WORKS THAT WAY.WE'RE GIVEN THE PUBLIC THE SAME INFORMATION, THE MATERIALS THAT THEY NEED, FOOD AND WATER, MEDICINE AND PRESCRIPTION.
AND THE OTHER ITEMS THAT YOU SEE ON THIS LIST, UH, GENERATOR SAFETY, BECAUSE WE KNOW AND A LOT OF PEOPLE HAVE PURCHASED GENERATORS AND CONNECTED IT TO THEIR HOMES.
BUT UNFORTUNATELY DURING MANY EVENTS, INCLUDING HURRICANE HARVEY, SOME PEOPLE WERE MET WITH CHALLENGES WITH CARBON MONOXIDE IN THEIR HOMES BURNING DOWN.
SO THESE ARE ALL THINGS THAT WE WOULD TRY TO GET AHEAD OF.
AND THE COMMON STRATEGY IN THE MESSAGING THAT WE WOULD PROVIDE TO THE PUBLIC IS IF YOU DO NOT HAVE IT BY THE TIME THE STORM HITS, YOU CANNOT HAVE IT AT ALL.
AND THAT IS THE SAME MESSAGING WE PROVIDE TO OUR MEMBERS.
A MINIMUM OF THREE DAYS, IF NOT FIVE DAYS OR MORE OF SUPPLIES IS GONNA BE NEEDED TO GET THROUGH THE STORM.
FAMILIES ALSO NEED TO HAVE A PLAN FOR THEIR LOVED ONES WHO ARE IN NEED OF, OF CONSISTENT AND CONSTANT MEDICAL ATTENTION.
BECAUSE TOO OFTEN, HOUSTON FIRE EMS AND THE HOSPITAL SYSTEM BECOMES RELIANT, I'M SORRY, THE, THE CITIZENS BECOME RELIANT ON US AND THE HOSPITALS TO PROVIDE THEM SOME TYPE OF SHELTER.
SO THAT'S SOMETHING WE WOULD TRY TO GET AHEAD OF IN OUR COMMON MESSAGING.
OUR PARTIAL ACTIVATION IS GONNA BE BASED ON FORECAST ACCURACY.
I KNOW TRADITIONALLY WE HAVE ALWAYS RELIED ON THE HURRICANE WATCH AND THE HURRICANE WARNING THIS 24 TO 36 HOURS.
BUT THE REALITY IS THAT'S WHEN THE EYE OF THE STORM HITS.
WE HAVE ALREADY FE WE'RE ALREADY FEELING THE IMPACTS OF THE STORM.
SO WE NEED TO LEAN FORWARD AND WE'RE GONNA HAVE OUR ASSETS IN PLACE AHEAD OF TIME.
MULTI-AGENCY PLANNING, VERY IMPORTANT THAT WE COORDINATE THROUGH OEM PUBLIC WORKS, HPD AND OEM, HAVING COMMON INCIDENT OBJECTIVES FOR US TO ACCOMPLISH.
WE KNOW WHAT EACH OTHER'S RESPONSIBILITIES ARE.
WE KNOW WHAT RESOURCES WE HAVE IN PLACE AND HOW WE'RE GONNA DEPLOY THEM.
SO CO-PLANNING AND COEX EXECUTING IS GONNA BE ACCOMPLISHED AT THIS STAGE.
WE WILL RECEIVE 10 PUBLIC WORKS VEHICLES.
UM, ESSENTIALLY THEY'RE DUMP TRUCKS THAT ARE CONVERTED TO HIGH WATER VEHICLES.
AND WHAT WE'VE BEEN ABLE TO DO NOW IS WHEN WE RECEIVE THIS ASSET, WE ARE ABLE TO INCLUDE THEM IN OUR DISPATCH AND OUR DISPATCH PROTOCOLS.
THAT WAY, THEIR DISPATCH NO DIFFERENT THAN A HOUSTON FIRETRUCK.
OUR WATER STRIKE TEAM WILL ALSO BE ACTIVATED ALONG WITH OUR RESCUE TEAM THAT PROVIDES 140 PERSONNEL WHO WERE PROPERLY TRAINED AND RESOURCED.
AND OUR DEPARTMENT OPERATION CENTER WILL BE STOOD UP AS WELL.
WITHIN 24 HOURS OF THE IMPACT OF THE STORM, AND AGAIN, BASED ON THE SEVERITY OF THE STORM, WE WILL HAVE A FULL ACTIVATION.
AND THAT COULD, THAT COULD BE A FULL DEPLOYMENT WHERE WE DO A, A SHIFT RECALL.
IT COULD BE LIMITED TO RECALLING SPECIAL OPERATIONS, SUPPORTIVE DEPARTMENT OPERATIONS CENTER.
AGAIN, THAT'S GONNA BE BASED ON THE SEVERITY OF THE STORM AND WHAT WE PREDICT THE IMPACT TO BE.
OUR INCIDENT PRIORITIES ARE VERY IMPORTANT FOR US TO UNDERSTAND.
THERE MAY BE TIMES WHERE WE MAY NOT GO INTO AN AREA THAT'S NOT FLOODED 'CAUSE WE ARE GOING TO REMAIN IN THE RESCUE MODE.
WE ARE TRYING TO ACCOUNT FOR ALL LIFE SAFETY HAZARDS IN THE AREA.
NOW WHAT YOU SEE BEFORE YOU IS AN ORGANIZATIONAL CHART.
THIS IS HOW EVERYTHING'S GONNA BE STRUCTURED IN THE CITY.
AND THIS IS THROUGH OUR GREAT PARTNERSHIPS, UH, OVER AT H-P-D-O-E-M AND AND PWE.
YOU'LL SEE THAT EVERYTHING'S ACCOUNTED FOR.
AND ONE IMPORTANT MARK IS WITH THIS FINANCE SECTION, THE DEPARTMENT OPERATIONS CENTER IN THIS INCIDENT MANAGEMENT TEAM WILL BE ABLE TO TRACK COSTS.
BUT ALSO WHAT'S VERY IMPORTANT FOR YOU IS THAT WE WILL BE ABLE TO PROVIDE YOU THE COST OF THE OPERATION OR A PER HOUR BURN RATE.
THAT'LL ALSO HELP WITH REIMBURSEMENT WHEN WE START DISCUSSING DISASTER.
OUR DEPARTMENT OPERATION CENTER.
THAT'S THE NERVE CENTER OF, OF OUR ENTIRE OPERATION.
AND THIS IS WHERE WE BIFURCATE OPERATIONS.
NOT ONLY DO WE HAVE THE IMPACT OF THE HURRICANE AND WHATEVER OTHER EVENT AFFECTS THE CITY, BUT WE STILL HAVE TO MAINTAIN OUR RESPONSE CAPABILITY.
PEOPLE ARE GOING TO CONTINUE TO CALL 9 1 1.
SO WE HAVE TO MAINTAIN THAT ABILITY.
ALSO ASSESSING FOR OUR DEPARTMENT INFRASTRUCTURE AND THAT OF THE CITY AND PROTECTING ALL OF OUR ASSETS, PROVIDING CARE FOR ALL OF OUR MEMBERS IN SUPPORT OF THE MISSION.
OPERATIONS DOES A REALLY GOOD JOB.
THEY DON'T NEED US IN THEIR WAY.
WHAT THEY NEED IS THE SUPPORT FROM THE ADMINISTRATION AND FROM A GOOD TEAM AT A DEPARTMENT OPERATION CENTER TO MAINTAIN THE MISSION.
AND THAT'S GONNA BE THE PURPOSE OF THE DOCK.
NOW, HOW ARE WE CANVASSING THE CITY? HOW ARE WE ACCOUNTING FOR EVERYBODY IN DOING THESE SEARCHES? AND THIS IS ABOUT AS GRANULAR AS I'M GONNA GET IN THE PLAN, BUT I WANTED TO GIVE YOU
[01:15:01]
A, A GOOD PICTURE OF OF HOW IT IS.WE'RE, WE'RE TAKING LITTLE BITES AT THE ELEPHANT.
WHAT YOU SEE BEFORE YOU IS A PICTURE OF A KEY MAP SQUARE.
AND YOU'LL SEE MICRO BOXES 1, 2, 3, 4, AND SO ON ALL THE WAY TO NINE.
AND ESSENTIALLY EACH ONE OF THOSE BOXES IS ASSIGNED TO AN ENGINE CREW, A LADDER CREW OR, OR A COMPANY.
AND THEY CONTIN, THEY, THEY GO THROUGH THOSE BOXES AND DO RECON, THEY DO PRIMARY SEARCHES.
AND THE POINT BEHIND IT IS, IS THAT ONCE WE X OUT THAT BOX, WE NEVER HAVE TO GO BACK TO THAT AGAIN.
EVERYTHING IS ACCOUNTED FOR AND THAT'S HOW WE'RE ABLE TO COVER SO MUCH TERRITORY IN A SHORT PERIOD OF TIME.
THIS IS WHERE WE'RE GONNA PULL PEOPLE FROM FLOODED AREAS OR, OR RISING WATER AND BRING THEM TO A, A SAFE AREA OF REFUGE, WHICH IS THE LILY PADS WHICH HAD BEEN TOUCHED ON PREVIOUSLY.
THESE LILY PADS ARE DETERMINED.
IT'S GONNA BE BASED ON WHERE WE CAN FIND DRY LAND, WHERE WE CAN KEEP THEM OUT OF THE ELEMENTS OF THE WEATHER.
UM, IN A PLACE WHERE PUBLIC WORKS, METRO CAN PICK THEM UP AND BRING THEM TO SOME OF THESE RESILIENCE CENTERS WHERE THEY CAN RECEIVE BETTER, BETTER CARE.
THIS IS THE STRATEGY THAT HPD AND HFD ARE USING.
DROP AND GO BECAUSE WE HAVE TO MOVE LARGE AMOUNTS OF PEOPLE IN A VERY SHORT PERIOD OF TIME.
THIS IS SOMETHING THAT'S OFTEN DISMISSED BY MANY JURISDICTIONS, BUT IT IS NOT SOMETHING THAT WE DISMISS.
THIS IS SOMETHING VERY IMPORTANT.
ALL OF OUR, ALL OF OUR CITIZENS NEED TO BE ABLE TO OPEN UP THEIR BUSINESSES AND SUPPORT THEIR LIVELIHOOD, BUT ALSO, UH, MANY TIMES THEIR BUSINESSES PROVIDE THE VERY SERVICES AND RESOURCES WE NEED TO MAINTAIN OPERATIONS.
SO IT'S VERY IMPORTANT FOR US TO PROVIDE SOME CAPABILITY FOR ALL OF THOSE CITIZENS AND BUSINESS OWNERS TO OPEN UP THEIR BUSINESSES.
WORKING WITH PUBLIC WORKS FOR CLEARING UTILITIES AND ROADWAYS AND SUCH AS YOU SEE HERE IN THE PICTURE IS VERY IMPORTANT.
NOW, I THREW, I THREW A LOT AT YOU AND I KNOW I WAS PRETTY QUICK AND BRIEF THROUGH IT, BUT I CAN'T FORGET ALL OF THE SUPPORT THAT WE'RE WE HAVE RECEIVED FROM OUR COMMUNITY PARTNERS.
THE FIREFIGHTERS FOUNDATION OF HOUSTON HAS PROVIDED THE HOUSTON FIRE DEPARTMENT WITH MORE THAN $6 MILLION.
THAT'S WHAT HAS GIVEN US THE OPPORTUNITY TO ACHIEVE SO MUCH.
AND THEN CITY COUNCIL HAS APPROVED A LOT OF THE FUNDS THAT HAVE MATCHED THE DOLLARS THAT YOU SEE.
SO AGAIN, THANK YOU TO ALL OF OUR COMMUNITY PARTNERS, THANK YOU TO THROUGH THE DONORS, UH, WHO HAVE SUPPORTED US FOR SO MANY YEARS.
AND THANK YOU TO CITY COUNCIL FOR THE CONTINUED SUPPORT FOR HFD.
AND, UM, I, I REALLY APPRECIATED SLIDE 14 WHERE THE CONTRAST OF WHERE WE WERE FOR HARVEY WITH COMPARED TO TODAY.
SO I, I REALLY WANNA RECOGNIZE, UM, ALL THAT HAS GONE INTO THIS.
AND I KNOW MAYOR TURNER HAS MADE THAT A PRIORITY COUNCIL HAS MADE THAT A PRIORITY.
YOU ALL HAVE MADE IT A PRIORITY.
I THINK WE HAVE COUNCIL MEMBER ROBINSON ONLINE IN QUEUE.
AND UH, CHIEF, THANK YOU VERY MUCH FOR THE PRESENTATION.
UM, UH, FIRST OF ALL, YOU KNOW, I, I THINK WHAT WE'RE SEEING HERE, I'M HAPPY TO BE, YOU KNOW, WITH CHAIR CAYMAN FOR PUBLIC SAFETY.
BUT THIS, THAT LAST PART THAT YOU JUST SHARED ABOUT THE WORK OF PUBLIC WORKS, THE FORCE MULTIPLIER AS YOU CALLED IT, THE WAY OUR REGIONAL PREPAREDNESS HAS NOT ONLY BEEN, UM, IMPROVED AS, AS THE CHAIR JUST SAID BY THE INVESTMENT, BUT ALSO, UM, OPERATIONALLY, HOW, HOW PREPARED WE ARE, HOW MUCH MORE COLLABORATIVE THINGS ARE.
UM, SO AGAIN, UH, THANK YOU FOR ALL OF THAT BROAD THINKING.
I, I DO THINK THAT IT'S PART OF THE RESULT OF, UH, MAYOR TURNER'S INITIATIVE WITH RESILIENT HOUSTON WITH, YOU KNOW, EVERYTHING FROM THE LILY PAD, UH, PREPAREDNESS, THE COMPLETE COMMUNITIES.
THIS IS IT, IT'S REALLY COMING TOGETHER IN A WAY THAT I FEEL NOT ONLY WE SHOULD ALL BE VERY PROUD ABOUT, BUT, UM, YOU KNOW, WE'VE ACCOMPLISHED A GREAT DEAL.
SO MY QUESTION IS, UM, AND MAYBE WITH THIS PHOTOGRAPH JUST IN FRONT OF US, THE SOCIETAL RESTORATION, THINKING ABOUT, UM, THE LAST GREAT STORM THAT WE WENT THROUGH WHERE, YOU KNOW, WE HAD THE BOAT BRIGADE, THE, UH, THE CAJUN NAVY.
AND I GUESS MY QUESTION IS EVEN BE EVEN BEYOND THE ENHANCED CAPABILITY THAT YOU'VE SPOKEN OF.
UM, HAVE WE DONE ANYTHING TO THINK ABOUT SCALING THINGS EVEN MORE OR, YOU KNOW, IF SO, OR IF NOT, WHERE WE'RE GOING NEXT? WHAT I KNOW WE'RE ALWAYS GONNA BE
[01:20:01]
TRYING TO DO MORE.SO WHAT, WHAT ARE YOUR SITES TRAINED ON RIGHT NOW THAT, THAT'S A REALLY GREAT, GREAT QUESTION.
UM, SO THE FRAMEWORK THAT WE'RE FOLLOWING IS THE NATIONAL INCIDENT MANAGEMENT SYSTEM.
AND EVERYTHING THAT WE'VE DONE IS ESSENTIALLY PLUG AND PLAY.
WHETHER WE GET RESOURCES FROM OTHER LOCAL JURISDICTIONS THROUGH MUTUAL AID, OR WE GET THEM THROUGH FEMA, ALL OF YOUR URBAN SEARCH AND RESCUE TEAMS, OR OUR VOLUNTEER GROUPS SUCH AS THE CAJUN NAVY, THE FRAMEWORK THAT WE'RE FOLLOWING ALLOWS US THE ABILITY TO PLUG AND PLAY AND ASSIGN THEM TO AREAS OF OPERATION AND MAINTAIN ACCOUNTABILITY FOR THEIR TASK LOCATION AND THEIR OBJECTIVE.
SO WE CAN ACCOUNT FOR THAT, BUT ALSO IT, IT ALLOWS US TO ESTABLISH A STANDARD OF WHAT THEIR CAPABILITIES ARE AND WHETHER OR NOT THEY'RE SELF-SUFFICIENT.
BECAUSE DURING HURRICANE HARVEY, WE HAD INCIDENTS WHERE A LOT OF THESE ORGANIZATIONS WHO WANTED TO DO WELL, THEY MEANT WELL ENDED UP BECOMING VICTIMS THEMSELVES.
AND WE ENDED UP HAVING TO RESCUE, WE INHERITED A BIGGER PROBLEM.
SO IN THE FRAMEWORK THAT WE'RE FOLLOWING, WERE ABLE TO ASSIGN THEM, UH, A CAPABILITY IN WHETHER OR NOT THEY'RE SELF-SUFFICIENT AND ASSIGN THEM WITHIN OUR OPERATION AND ACCOUNT FOR THEM.
RIGHT? AND THAT BROAD GROUP OF PARTNERS THAT YOU SHOWED ON YOUR FINAL SLIDE REALLY SPEAKS TO NOT ONLY THE PHILANTHROPIC AND PRIVATE SECTOR, UM, UH, DOLLARS THAT ARE COMING TO BEAR, BUT I, YOU KNOW, I I THINK THINKING ABOUT THOSE GROUPS PROACTIVELY THINKING ABOUT FEMA, THINKING ABOUT THE RED CROSS, VARIOUS GROUPS THAT WE KNOW ARE THERE THAT HAVE WANTED TO HELP AND WILL PRESUMABLY BE THERE THE NEXT TIME.
THIS ALL JUST BODES REALLY WELL.
SO AGAIN, CHIEF, THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR ALL YOU'RE DOING HERE, AND LET US KNOW WHAT WE CAN DO ON THE INFRASTRUCTURE SIDE, YOU KNOW, UH, HOWEVER WE CAN CONTINUE TO HELP.
AND, AND I, I WANT TO ADD ONE MORE ITEM TO YOUR REMARKS.
UH, A LOT OF OUR PARTNERS IN THE COMMUNITY, THEY TRULY ARE PARTNERS IN PUBLIC SAFETY.
'CAUSE NOT ONLY DO THEY PROVIDE US THE INVESTMENT THAT WE NEED TO EXIST, BUT AGAIN, MANY TIMES THEIR BUSINESSES PROVIDE THE VERY SERVICES AND RESOURCES THAT WE NEED TO MAINTAIN THE MISSION AND TO REESTABLISH COMMERCE AND THE ABILITY TO, UH, FOR THE CITY TO THRIVE.
THIS MIGHT BE A GOOD, UH, PRESENTATION FOR THE SUPER NEIGHBORHOOD ALLIANCE.
UM, THIS FORMER CHAIR, I'LL TELL YOU, I THINK THERE'S A LOT OF FOLKS THAT COULD BRING SOME OF THIS BACK TO THEIR COMMUNITIES WITHIN BROADER HOUSTON, BUT WELL SAID.
UM, AND CHIEF, I, I DO WANT TO SPOTLIGHT THE GRID THAT Y'ALL PROVIDED, UH, HAPPENS TO BE IN ONE OF THE MOST REPETITIVELY FLOODED AREAS IN DISTRICT C.
UH, BUT I WANNA FOCUS ON, YOU TALKED ABOUT THE NEEDS LEADING UP TO THE STORM, AND WE ARE ALWAYS ASKING PE YOU KNOW, IF YOU'RE IN AN URGENT SITUATION, IF YOU'RE IN DIRE NEED, CALL 9 1 1.
AND ONE OF THE THINGS THAT, UM, I HAVE BEEN FOCUSING ON, Y'ALL HAVE BEEN FOCUSING ON, I KNOW COUNCIL MEMBER PECK IS ALSO VERY, UM, FOCUSED ON THIS IS THE SYSTEM CAPACITY, RIGHT? WITH 9 1 1.
AND WE ARE DOING EVERYTHING WE CAN TO BRING THE NEW CAD ONLINE AND THOSE ATTACHMENTS, UM, TO EXPAND CAPACITY.
CAN YOU TALK ABOUT SOME OF THE CHALLENGES, WHETHER IT WAS DURING HARVEY WITH THE RESPONSES AND ALSO, UM, WHAT SOME OF THE CHALLENGES ARE NOW? WHAT ARE WAYS THAT RESIDENTS CAN, UH, PREPARE AHEAD OF TIME OR NOT OVERLOAD THE SYSTEM? THAT IS A REALLY GOOD QUESTION.
COUNCIL MEMBER
UM, WHEN WE'RE DISCUSSING INFRASTRUCTURE THAT IS CRITICAL INFRASTRUCTURE THAT HAS TO BE ADDRESSED AND THOSE CONVERSATIONS HAVE TO CONTINUE, UM, BECAUSE WE'RE GONNA NEED A LOT OF INVESTMENT AND SUPPORT FOR THAT.
UM, THAT WOULD HELP US WELL BEYOND COMPLEX INCIDENTS OR THESE HURRICANE RESPONSES THAT WE'RE DISCUSSING THAT WOULD IMPROVE A LOT OF EFFICIENCIES IN OUR ABILITY TO RESPOND DAILY.
SO WE APP, WE APPRECIATE AND WELCOME ANY DISCUSSION THAT YOU'D LIKE TO HAVE, UH, OVER OUR DISPATCH CENTER.
UM, THE DISPATCH CENTER, THE 9 1 1 CENTER IS GOING TO BE OVERWHELMED.
PEOPLE ARE GOING TO CONTINUE TO CALL 9 1 1 REGARDLESS OF THE SYSTEM THAT WE HAVE.
BUT IN PART OF OUR PLANNING, WE TRIAGE THOSE CALLS AS THEY COME IN.
DURING, DURING HURRICANE HARVEY, WE HAD TO HAVE A SIGNIFICANT CONVERSATION, UM, ON WHAT WE WERE GONNA DO WITH CALLS THAT WERE IN QUEUE BECAUSE THE SYSTEM WAS OVERLOADED AND IT HAD THE PROPENSITY TO CRASH.
SO THAT WAS A SERIOUS DISCUSSION THAT WE HAD TO HAVE.
SO IN OUR PLANNING, WE TRIED TO BRIDGE THAT GAP BECAUSE WE KNOW THE CALLS ARE GONNA COME IN.
SO ALL OF I, I HAD TALKED ABOUT BIFURCATING OUR RESPONSE.
YOU HAVE EMERGENCY RESPONSE TO TEND TO ALL OF THE 9 1 1 CALLS, AND THEN YOU HAVE THE SEARCH AND RESCUE, WHICH IS MOST OF WHAT HURRICANE RESPONSE IS.
BUT BIFURCATING THAT, SO THE, THE SEARCH AND RESCUE OPERATION STANDS WITHIN OUR FRAMEWORK THAT WE HAVE WITH THAT WE'RE
[01:25:01]
FOLLOWING THROUGH FEMA AND SUCH, BUT TRIAGING THESE CALLS, ASSIGNING THEM SOME TYPE OF PRIORITY, THE 9 1 1 CALLS, SO THAT WAY THEY'RE ACCOUNTED FOR.EVERYBODY GETS TOUCHED, BUT THOSE CRITICAL CALLS GET ANSWERED FIRST AS OPPOSED TO SOMEONE WHO JUST WANTS SOMEONE TO COME AND CHECK ON SOMEBODY.
AND I'LL JUST PUT THIS OUT THERE.
I THINK Y'ALL HAD TOLD ME PREVIOUSLY, ONE OF THE CHALLENGES IS THE CALLS COMING IN WHEN PEOPLE ARE NOT HEATING THE WARNINGS AND THEY'RE NOT GETTING OFF THE ROADS.
SO A LOT OF THOSE INITIAL CALLS, BUT I, I DON'T, I WANNA MAKE SURE I'M CORRECT WITH THIS.
A LOT OF THOSE INITIAL CALLS ARE PEOPLE THAT GOT ON THE ROAD WHEN THEY WEREN'T SUPPOSED TO, PUTTING NOT ONLY THEIR LIVES AT RISK, BUT OUR SEARCH AND RESCUE OPERATION OPERATORS AT RISK HAVING TO RESPOND TO THOSE.
CAN YOU TALK ABOUT THAT JUST VERY BRIEFLY? YES, I CAN.
UM, IT'S VERY IMPORTANT TO NOT BE ON THE ROAD RIGHT BEFORE THIS HURRICANE HITS OR DURING THE STORM.
IF YOU'RE GOING TO EVACUATE, THAT'S SOMETHING YOU HAVE TO DO, UH, WELL AHEAD OF TIME AND HAVE THE RESOURCES TO LEAVE AND STAY GONE FOR A LITTLE WHILE.
IF YOU'RE GOING TO STAY, YOU HAVE TO HAVE THE RESOURCES FOR SELF SUSTAINMENT FOR AT LEAST THREE TO FIVE DAYS.
BUT PEOPLE ON THE ROADWAY, WE'RE TRYING TO KEEP THE ROADWAY CLEAR, AND I KNOW MOST MAYORS ARE NOT FINED OF, UM, DOING CURFEWS, BUT THE INTENT OF KEEPING PEOPLE OFF THE ROADWAY IS TO ENSURE THAT ALL OF OUR ROADWAYS, OUR MAJOR ARTERIES ARE OPEN FOR OUR RESPONDERS TO COME IN AND OUT OF, FOR THOSE WHO NEED TO BE TRANSPORTED TO THE HOSPITAL.
THOSE ROADWAYS ARE CLEAR, BUT ALSO, UM, TO PROVIDE FOR SAFETY AND SECURITY BECAUSE WE DON'T WANNA INHERIT ANY MORE VICTIMS. YOU KNOW, PEOPLE WHO ARE TRAPPED ON THE ROADWAY.
AND WE DON'T WANT ANY BUSINESS OWNERS TO FEEL THE NEED TO COME INTO THE CITY OR IN THIS AREA OF, OF IMPACT AND FEEL THE NEED TO ARM THEMSELVES AND DEFEND THEIR PROPERTY.
SO BY KEEPING PEOPLE OFF OF THE ROADWAYS, WE CAN STAY AWAY FROM CURFEWS AND WE CAN ENSURE SAFETY AND SECURITY OF OUR RESPONSE TO THIS INCIDENT.
SO PLAN, PRIOR PROPER PLANNING THE KITS, CHECKING ON YOUR SENIORS.
HAVING YOUR PLAN IN PLACE AND LISTENING AND ADHERING TO, UH, WHAT OUR PUBLIC SAFETY OFFICIALS ARE SAYING.
CITIZENS ARE PART OF THE RESPONSE PLAN TOO.
I DON'T SEE ANY OTHER, UM, STAFF ARE COUNCIL MEMBERS IN Q.
WE REALLY APPRECIATE, UM, ALL THAT THE DEPARTMENT'S DOING.
UH, AND LAST BUT CERTAINLY NOT LEAST, UH, WE HAVE CHIEF SATTERWHITE, UH, WHO IS GOING TO BE PRESENTING ON, UH, A LARGE ITEM COMING BEFORE COUNCIL CHIEF, THANK YOU FOR YOUR PATIENCE.
ALRIGHT, IF Y'ALL WANT TO PROCEED, UH, ANYWAY.
SO THANK YOU, UH, CHAIRMAN KAMAN AND ALL OF COUNCIL REALLY APPRECIATE YOUR, APPRECIATE YOURS AND THE MAYOR'S SUPPORT ON THIS.
I HAVE WITH ME, UM, FRANK RODRIGUEZ, HE IS OUR POLICE ADMINISTRATOR FOR OUR DEPARTMENT, AND HE IS OUR EXPERT WHEN IT COMES TO CONTRACTS.
SO IF IT COMES UP, THEN THAT, UH, FRANK'S GONNA BE YOUR GO-TO.
I ALSO HAVE WITH ME THE REST OF THE TEAM, UH, EXECUTIVE STAFF AND ANALYST, UH, SONYA ODOT AND STAFF ANALYST ASHLEY CLARK IN THE BACK.
AND BASICALLY MY, UH, MY LIFELINE, I HAVE LIEUTENANT MICHAEL MISRA AND, UH, SERGEANT DARRELL HOLLOWAY.
AND THEY, UM, IF THE QUESTION GETS TOO TECHNICAL ABOUT THIS DEVICE, UH, THEY'RE MY PHONE A FRIEND.
SO WITH THAT, UM, REALLY APPRECIATE ALL YOUR SUPPORT.
TODAY WE'RE HERE TO TALK TO YOU ABOUT, UH, SOME NEW TECHNOLOGY.
UM, IT'S NOT, IT'S BASICALLY AN IMPROVEMENT ON WHAT WE ARE ALREADY USING AND IT'S IN AN EFFORT TO, UH, PROTECT THE PUBLIC.
IT'S ALWAYS OUR EFFORT TO, UM, LEVERAGE TECHNOLOGIES IN A MANNER THAT WOULD BEST, UH, RESOLVE SITUATIONS AND SAVE LIVES.
YOU KNOW, OBVIOUSLY SANC OF LIFE IS UNDER ONE RESPONSE, MORE RESPONSIBILITY.
SO WITH THAT, I GET THIS CHAIR JUST RIGHT.
OKAY, SO, UH, NEXT SLIDE PLEASE.
SO TODAY, UH, WE'RE GONNA BE TALKING ABOUT OUR CONDUCTED ENERGY DEVICES THAT WE USE.
UH, THIS IS, UH, THE OBJECTIVE TO KIND OF TALK ABOUT CEDS TO YOU, WHAT THEY ARE AND HOW WE USE THEM, UH, TO LIST PREVIOUS CEDS THAT WE USE, KIND THE HISTORY OF IT.
YOU CAN SEE HOW WE'VE IMPROVED ON THE TECHNOLOGY AND LEVERAGING THAT, AGAIN, ALWAYS TO SAVE LIVES, TO BETTER PROTECT THE PUBLIC, OUR OFFICERS AND PEACEFULLY RESOLVE THESE SITUATIONS.
AND OF COURSE, DISCUSS SPECIFICALLY THIS NEW TECHNOLOGY THAT WE'RE, UH, WANTING TO BRIEF YOU.
SO FIRST, UH, WHAT IS A CED OR CONDUCTED ENERGY, UH, DEVICE? I KNOW A LOT OF YOU ALREADY KNOW WHAT THAT IS, BUT FOR THE SAKE OF THE PUBLIC, UM, A CONDUCTED ENERGY DEVICE IS A LESS LETHAL WEAPON'S DESIGNED TO INCAPACITATE, COMBATIVE, THREATENING, AND NONCOMPLIANT INDIVIDUALS, ALLOWING THEM TO BE
[01:30:01]
APPROACHED AND HANDLED IN THE SAFEST MANNER POSSIBLE.UH, CDS BASICALLY DEPLOY SMALL, UH, PROBES.
THEY, THEY LIGHTLY PUNCTURE THE SKIN AND REMAIN ATTACHED TO OUR TARGET.
UH, THE PROBES ARE CONNECTED TO THE MAIN DEVICE AND THEY HAVE AN, A THIN INSULATED COPPER WIRE THAT DELIVERS A MODULATED ELECTRICAL, UH, CURRENT.
THAT SOUNDS SCARY, BUT IT ACTUALLY IS DESIGNED FOR ONE REASON THAT HAS TO INTERRUPT THE MUSCULAR, THE NEUROMUSCULAR, UM, UH, MUSCLES WITHIN THE BODY.
AND, AND THERE'S A PERSON UNABLE TO, UM, YOU KNOW, TO FIGHT OR CONTINUE THEIR, THEIR AGGRESSIVE POSTURE SO THAT WE CAN SAFELY GET THEM INTO CUSTODY.
AND THAT'S WHAT IT DOES, THAT'S WHAT IT'S DESIGNED TO DO.
UM, THEY ARE NOT WILL AND WILL NOT ELIMINATE ALL, UH, DANGEROUS ENCOUNTERS, PHYSICAL CONFRONTATIONS, AND THEY'RE NOT NECESSARILY, OR GENERALLY INTENDED TO BE USED AGAINST PERSONS THAT HAVE A LETHAL WEAPON IN THEIR, UH, POSSESSION.
ALRIGHT, SO ALL OF OUR PREVIOUS MODELS, UH, ONE OF THE CHARACTERISTICS, UM, WAS THE RANGE.
THERE ARE APPROXIMATELY 21 TO 25 FEET.
UM, AND, AND ACTUALLY EFFECTIVE RANGES WERE MUCH CLOSER THAN THAT, AS YOU MIGHT IMAGINE, BECAUSE THAT WAS THE OUTER LIMITS OF THEM FORCING OUR OFFICERS TO BE A LITTLE CLOSER.
WE STILL HAVE MANY OF THOSE IN THE FIELD, AS YOU'RE GONNA FIND OUT.
UM, BUT BECAUSE THEY'RE STILL FAR BETTER THAN NOT HAVING THE CAPACITY.
BUT I THINK YOU'LL SEE ONCE WE GET TO THE NEW DEVICE, HOW MUCH BETTER IT IS AND HOW MUCH BETTER IT'S GONNA SERVE, UM, THE, OUR OFFICERS AND, AND ALSO BE ABLE TO SAFELY RENDER THESE SITUATIONS.
SO JUST SO YOU KNOW, THERE ARE MANY CED MANUFACTURERS OUT THERE.
UH, OUR DEPARTMENT, OUR CITY HAVE CONTRACTED WITH.
SO THE, THE MANUFACTURER AND THE DEVICES, THE MODELS THAT WE'LL BE TALKING ABOUT ARE ALL MANUFACTURED BY EXXON, WHICH IS OUR CURRENT CONTRACT.
SO IN 2005, UM, JUST WE, UH, WE ADOPTED THE X 26 HERE IN THE HOUSTON POLICE DEPARTMENT.
UM, IT WAS EARLIER TECHNOLOGY.
UH, THE DEVICE HAD A SINGLE CARTRIDGE, UH, SO, AND YOU HAD TO CARRY AN EXTRA CARTRIDGE ON YOU.
UM, AND SO WHEN OFFICERS WERE ISSUED THESE DEVICES, UH, THEY HAD TWO, TWO CAP, TWO TIMES CAPABILITY OF, UH, DELIVERING, UH, THIS TYPE OF DEPLOYING, THIS TYPE OF, UM, CHARGE AND HOPEFULLY RESOLVING THE SITUATION.
AND ONCE THEY WERE DONE WITH THAT, THEY WERE OUT.
SO YOU'LL SEE THAT AGAIN, A LOT BETTER OR TECHNOLOGY, AGAIN, RANGE BEING 21 FEET.
SO NEXT GENERATION WAS OUR X TWO, AND THAT WAS IN 2013.
IT CARRIED, UM, UH, TWO CHARGES, UH, IN SEPARATE BAYS.
SO IT AFFORDED US CAME AN EXTRA CHARGE FOUR TIMES VERSUS THE TWO TIMES WE HAD, AND YOU DIDN'T HAVE TO RELOAD, WHICH IN CASE OF, OF A DIRE SITUATION, UH, THAT COULD MAKE A HUGE DIFFERENCE IN SAVING, UM, THAT INDIVIDUAL'S LIFE, SAVING THE OFFICER'S LIFE IF THE PERSON WAS CLOSING DISTANCE AND THE FIRST DEPLOYMENT DID NOT WORK.
SOMETHING INTERESTING TO NOTE, WE HAVE 34 OF THESE, 3,400 OF THESE DEVICES ARE MORE STILL ON THE STREETS.
UH, THEY'VE BEEN ON THE STREETS OVER FIVE YEARS AND ALL WARRANTIES HAVE EXPIRED.
BUT AGAIN, UH, THIS TAKES TIME FOR REPLACEMENT AND IT, THERE'S A SIGNIFICANT COST.
IT IS BETTER TO HAVE THEM TO NOT HAVE THEM, BUT WE ARE LOOKING TO REPLACE AND WE ARE CURRENTLY DOING THAT.
AS YOU WILL SEE, THE NEXT MODEL YOU SEE, AND THERE'S A PICTURE OF IT, IS THE TASER SEVEN.
UH, WE HAVE ABOUT 1300 PLUS DEVICES IN THE FIELD.
UH, THEY HAVE MULTIPLE IMPROVEMENTS OVER THEM, UH, IN TERMS OF PROBE ACCURACY AND DESIGN, AND THEY BUILT THEIR ABILITIES.
UH, THEY ALSO HAVE, UH, DOWNLOADABLE, UH, THE BATTERIES AND ON ALL THE OPERATION FOR US FOR BETTER TRACKING AND USE OF THOSE DEVICES.
UM, THEY HAVE, UH, THREE, THEY HAVE A LONG RANGE AND A SHORT RANGE CARTRIDGE.
SO AGAIN, AN IMPROVEMENT OVER THE, UH, THE X TWO AND THEN EVEN ALSO WAY ABOVE THE X 26.
UM, BUT THAT BRINGS US TO THE CURRENT ONE.
AND BY THE WAY, UH, SARGE, UH, LIEUTENANT MISRA AND SERGEANT HOLLOWAY DO, DID BRING, ACTUALLY WHAT I'M ABOUT TO SHOW YOU, WHICH IS THE NEW DEVICE, THE TASER 10 OR T 10 AS WE CALL IT.
UH, THEY CAN ACTUALLY SHOW IT TO YOU.
UH, IN TERMS OF ACTUALLY SEEING THIS IN FUNCTION, WE WOULD, UH, INVITE YOU OUT TO OUR POLICE ACADEMY.
WE, WE WILL NOT DO IT HERE, UM, BEFORE YOU, WE WILL DO IT AT THE ACADEMY.
I, I WAS GONNA SAY, ARE YOU, ARE YOU ASKING TO, UH, DO A, A DEMONSTRATION RIGHT NOW? NOT NOW, NO.
WE JUST HAVE 'EM TO SHOW, THEY'RE JUST SHOW AND TELL TODAY, BUT, UH, WE CAN BRING THEM OUT OR BRING YOU OUT TO THE ACADEMY IN AN THEN CONTROL ENVIRONMENT AND YOU CAN ACTUALLY SEE THE FUNCTION ANYWAY, THE TASER 10, AND THAT'S THE, UH, THE PICTURE YOU SEE.
AND AGAIN, WE'LL HAVE THAT OPPORTUNITY FOR YOU TO ACTUALLY SEE THEM IF YOU WISH TO DO SO.
SO SOME OF THE FEATURES OF THE NEW TASER 10, UH, IT'S CAPABLE OF
[01:35:01]
DEPLOYING UP TO TO 10, UH, TARGETED PROBES.SO IT HAS, IT HAS 10, WHICH IS A HUGE INCREASE OVER THE CURRENT, UH, TA, UH, T SEVEN.
AND YOU DO HAVE TO FIRE TWO PROBES.
BUT THERE'S A, THERE'S A REASON FOR THAT BECAUSE YOU'RE LOOKING FOR A CONNECTION BETWEEN THE TWO PROBES, UH, WHICH IS THE MODULATED CURRENT, WHICH INTERRUPTS THE, THE MUSCULAR SYSTEM AND RENDERS THAT PERSON UNABLE, UH, TO, TO FIGHT, HOPEFULLY GET THEM SAFELY IN CUSTODY.
ONE OF THE HUGE ADVANTAGES OVER THIS, THIS DEVICE, BECAUSE THE PREVIOUS DEVICES, AND YOU'LL SEE IN A, IN A SLIDE FOR COMING FORWARD, IS THAT THE PREVIOUS DEVICES ALL HAD A, A WHEN YOU FIRED, UH, OR, UH, DEPLOYED ONE OF THEIR, ONE OF THEIR, THE DEVICE.
IT WAS A ONE TIME WITH TWO PROBES EXTENDING OUT FOR THAT 21 FEET MAXIMUM.
THE PROBLEM WITH THAT WAS IT, IT WAS DESIGNED TO WHERE YOU HAD ONE PROBE STRIKING AND ANOTHER PROBE CREATING A SPREAD STRIKING IN THE LOWER EXTREMITY.
OBVIOUSLY WE ALWAYS WANNA AVOID ANYTHING THAT'S SENSITIVE.
UH, SO OUR, OUR, THE, THE LOCATIONS THAT WE TRY TO, UM, DEPLOY THIS WOULD BE AROUND THE MID CHEST DOWN AND THEN AROUND THAT DEFIES.
THAT'S OUR, THAT'S THE OPTIMUM PLACES FOR THE PROBES TO MAKE CONTACT AND INTERRUPT THAT, UM, THE, THE, THE MUSCLES IN THOSE AREAS.
A LOT OF TIMES WITH THE PREVIOUS DEVICES, WE, WE STILL EXPERIENCE SOME FAILURE.
THERE'S A LOT OF REASONS FOR THAT.
UH, HEAVY CLOTHING IS ONE REASON.
ANOTHER REASON THOUGH, AND A AND A AND A BIG ONE IS THE, THE MISS OF THE SECOND PROBE, BECAUSE YOU'RE HAVING TO GUESS NOW, WE TRAINED VERY WELL AT THIS AND TRAIN, AND AGAIN, SO FAR SUPERIOR, WE'D LOVE TO HAVE THEM WHEN WE HAVE THEM.
BUT THERE IS A BIT OF, OF, OF FIGURING OUT WHERE YOU ARE IN DISTANCE, WHERE THE TOP PROBE WOULD HIT AND WHERE THE BOTTOM PROBE WOULD MAKE CONTACT.
AND DEPENDING ON YOUR, YOUR PROXIMITY MAYBE TOO CLOSE, YOU, IT WOULD NOT, UH, CREATE THE PROPER DISTANCE TO BE EFFECTIVE MAYBE TOO FAR.
AND, AND IF THE PERSON IS MOVING, WHICH THEY OFTEN ARE, THE SECOND PROBE MISSES AND THEREFORE IT RENDERS IT INEFFECTIVE.
SO THE TWO, THE TWO DEPLOYMENTS INDIVIDUALLY BY THE TASER 10 IS FAR SUPERIOR BECAUSE THEY'RE WHAT WE CALL POINT OF AIM, POINT OF IMPACT.
THERE IS A LASER, A GREEN LASER THAT COMES OFF OF THE DEVICE AND, AND, UH, AND SHOWS YOU YOUR TARGET.
UM, WHEREVER THAT TAR THAT.IS ON THAT INDIVIDUAL THAT IS BEING COMBATIVE AND RESISTANT, THAT'S WHERE THAT PROBE GOES.
SO DEPLOY ONE, IT GOES THERE, AND THEN ALL THE OPERATOR OFFICER HAS TO DO IS THEN PUT THAT SAME LASER WITH TO THE NEXT LOCATION THAT, THAT HE OR SHE WISHES TO, UH, TO TRY TO, UH, STRIKE THAT INDIVIDUAL TO CREATE THE KIND OF, UH, INTERRUPTION THAT WE'RE LOOKING FOR.
UM, THIS HELPS US IN A LOT OF WAYS, AS YOU'RE GONNA SEE ANOTHER HUGE INCREASE OR ADVANTAGE OVER THIS IS THE RANGE.
THE RANGE IS NOW 45 FEET AT THE OUT END, UH, IDEALLY 40 FEET AND IN, BUT IMAGINE THAT IS WAY SUPERIOR TO THE 15 TO 18 FEET, WHICH WAS PROBABLY THE, THE, UM, THE, THE MOST OPTIMAL RANGE THAT WE'RE LOOKING FOR IN THE, IN THE PRIOR DEVICES THAT WE'RE USING.
TO JUST THINK OF IT LIKE THIS, THE OFFICERS DON'T HAVE TO GET SO CLOSE TO THE INDIVIDUAL.
WE'VE ALL HEARD ABOUT HOW FAST AN INDIVIDUAL CAN CLOSE JUST A FEW FEET AND, AND, AND THAT CAN CAUSE CREATE A VERY LETHAL SITUATION FOR THAT INDIVIDUAL AND FOR THE OFFICER.
SO THIS ALLOWS OUR OFFICERS TO STAND OFF A LOT FURTHER TO TRY TO GET THAT PERSON IN CUSTODY FOR THE SAKE OF EVERYBODY'S, UH, SAFETY.
UM, ANOTHER IMPORTANT THING ABOUT THIS NEW DEVICE, THIS T 10, IS THE ELECTRICITY DOESN'T INCREASE WITH THE NUMBER OF PROBES DEPLOYED.
SO IF ONE, IF THE FIRST TWO DON'T WORK AND YOU HAVE TO DEPLOY AGAIN, IT DOESN'T INCREASE THE AMOUNT OF, UH, UH, OF, OF ELECTRICITY OR ANYTHING LIKE THAT.
AND THE DEVICE, UM, CAN CONTINUE TO TEST THE PROBES AND, YOU KNOW, ATTEMPT TO ACHIEVE THE BEST, UH, CONNECTION.
WHAT I MEAN BY THAT IS IT'S, IT'S A SMART DEVICE.
SO THE DEVICE IN ITSELF IS FIGURING OUT HOW TO BEST ACHIEVE WHAT WE'RE TRYING TO ACCOMPLISH, WHICH IS TO GET THIS PERSON TO, UM, UH, TO CAPACITATE THIS PERSON SO THAT WE CAN GET 'EM INTO CUSTODY.
UH, THE PRO PROBES ARE DESIGNED, UH, TO NOT DIG DEEP INTO THE SKIN.
THERE IS A RUBBER GROMMET AROUND THE END, SO THEY CAN'T PREVENT A TRAIT.
THEY JUST SLIGHTLY INTO THE SKIN THAT'S DESIGNED TO MAKE SURE THAT THERE'S NO OVER PENETRATION AND THE BATTERIES, UH, ARE NOW RECHARGEABLE AND THEY CAN BE REUSED.
UM, THEY CAN ALSO, THE, THE BEST PART IS THAT THE T SEVEN, THE BATTERIES WE ALREADY OWN ARE USABLE IN, IN THIS, UH, T 10, SO WE DON'T HAVE TO INCREASE OUR BATTERY PURCHASE THERE.
SOME MORE UPDATED FEATURES ON IT ARE, UM, THE WAY WE CAN TRACK IT FOR THE PERFORMANCE OF IT AND MAKING SURE THAT THE DEVICE IS FUNCTIONING PROPERLY.
[01:40:01]
UM, YOU KNOW, WE CAN TRACK THE NUMBER OF PROBES.WE CAN ALSO LOOK AT THE, UM, THE AMOUNT OF, OF CURRENT THAT GOES THROUGH.
AND OF COURSE, IT ALSO CAN HELP US EVEN IN TERMS OF HOW FAR AWAY, UH, THE OFFICER WAS WHEN HE HAD TO DEPLOY.
AND THAT HELPS WITH THE INVESTIGATION.
UH, THERE ARE HIGH VOLTAGE MO MODULE ON THE T, UH, 10 HAS BEEN REMOVED.
UH, SO THERE'S, THERE'S NOT A HIGH VOLTAGE MODEL.
UH, THERE'S NO LONGER A DRIVE STU, WHICH AGAIN, UH, THE DRIVE STU, JUST TO EXPLAIN WAS, WAS A PERSON, YOU KNOW, AN A DIRECT CONTACT TYPE OPTION ON THE PREVIOUS MODELS NOT THAT EFFECTIVE BECAUSE THERE IS NO SPREAD.
AND SO IT ONLY INTERRUPTS WHAT IT MAKES CONTACT WITH.
AND SO YOU CAN IMAGINE IF IT'S JUST MAKING CONTACT TO ONE PLACE, IT'S NOT REALLY, UH, INTERRUPTING MUSCULAR, UH, MOVEMENT AND THAT PERSON CAN EASILY STILL HURT YOU.
AND THEN FINALLY, ANOTHER, UH, VERY IMPORTANT FEATURE OF THIS, UH, T 10 MODEL IS THAT THE, UM, THE, THE RISK OF IGNITION.
UH, I KNOW THAT MANY OF PEOPLE HAVE ALWAYS BEEN WORRIED ABOUT AN ELECTRICAL CURRENT AND SOME TYPE OF PROPELLANT ON THE INDIVIDUAL.
WE DO HAVE PEOPLE THAT ARE IN CRISIS OR, OR JUST, JUST RESISTANT THAT WE'LL, UH, DOUS THEMSELVES WITH PROPELLANT WHEN THAT WE DON'T KNOW ABOUT WHEN WE DO KNOW, OBVIOUSLY THIS IS NOT AN OPTION, BUT TAKE THOSE TIMES WHEN WE DON'T KNOW.
UH, THE, THE ADVANTAGE OF THIS DEVICE IS, EVEN WHEN WE DON'T KNOW AND WE DEPLOY, UH, IS STILL FAR LESS LIKELY FOR THAT TO HAPPEN.
SO AGAIN, OUR GOAL IS ALWAYS HOW DO WE SAFELY AND PEACEABLY, UH, BRING THIS SITUATION TO A, A CONCLUSION, UH, FOR ALL INVOLVED.
AND FINALLY, UH, THERE IS A WARNING LIGHT, UH, WARNING SOUND ON THIS ONE WHEN YOU TURN IT ON.
AND A LOT OF TIMES THE WARNING IS ENOUGH THAT THE, UH, INDIVIDUAL WE'RE TRYING TO GIVE, UH, VERBAL COMMANDS TO, TO GET THEM TO, UM, COMPLY WITH WHAT OUR ORDERS AND, AND SO WE CAN PEACEFULLY RESOLVE THIS.
THE SOUND ALONE IS A LOT OF TIMES ENOUGH AUDIBLY THAT WE NEVER HAVE TO DEPLOY, WHICH IS A GOOD THING.
I THINK YOU'RE LOOKING AT A LITTLE BIT OF A SIDE BY SIDE COMPARISON.
AND THIS EXPLAINS AND SHOWS YOU KIND OF WHAT I WAS TALKING ABOUT EARLIER ON THE EARLIER DEVICES.
IT'S A ONE DEPLOYMENT WITH TWO PROBES EXTENDING OUT FROM THE DEVICE.
AS YOU CAN SEE, IT CONTINUES TO SPREAD, GIVEN OVER DISTANCE.
HENCE THE REASON, UM, THAT EVEN 21 FEET ISN'T REALLY PROBABLY VIABLE BECAUSE OF THE FACT THAT THE, UH, THAT THE SECOND, UH, PROBE HAS A FAR LIKE GREATER LIKELIHOOD OF NOT EVEN MAKING CONTACT MISSING ALTOGETHER.
YOU'RE RELIANT ON WHERE THAT FIRST PROBE IS GOING FOR, WHERE THE SECOND ONE MIGHT LAND.
AND IT'S THE SAME FOR THE T SEVEN THERE, THAT THERE WAS SOME ADVANTAGE BECAUSE OF THE TWO CARTRIDGES I MENTIONED.
ONE FOR SHORT RANGE, ONE FOR LONG RANGE, BUT THAT REQUIRES THAT YOU, UM, YOU CHANGE THE, THE CARTRIDGES OUT.
AGAIN, THAT TAKES TIME AND TIME IN THIS PARTICULAR CASE CAN MEAN LIVES.
UH, SO YOU CAN SEE AS THE TASER 10 FAR GREATER IN TERMS OF, OF THE, UH, THE DISTANCE THAT IT WILL TRAVEL THAT WE CAN AND THE STANDOFF, AND AGAIN, POINT OF AIM, POINT OF IMPACT, MEANING THAT WHEREVER YOU PUT THE, THE, THE LASER DOT, THE GREEN LASER.IS WHERE THE PROBE GOES.
UH, IMAGINE IF YOU'RE UP CLOSE AND IN A, IN A PHYSICAL CON STRUGGLE WITH AN INDIVIDUAL, THE PREVIOUS MODELS ARE NOT VERY EFFECTIVE BECAUSE THERE'S NOT ENOUGH DISTANCE FOR A SPREAD.
IN THIS PARTICULAR CASE, THE, UH, THE OFFICER COULD ACTUALLY EVEN UP CLOSE WITHIN A FOOT DEPLOY IN TWO LOCATIONS AND ACHIEVE THE DESIRED EFFECT AND BRING THAT SITUATION UNDER CONTROL, GET THAT PERSON INTO CUSTODY.
SO THE NEXT, UH, SLIDE IS REALLY ABOUT THE CONTRACT.
AND, UH, AND IT IS, WE ARE MOVING IN THAT DIRECTION.
WE DO HAVE SOME, UH, T STATE TASER TENS ALREADY IN, IN OUR, UM, INVENTORY, BUT THEY HAVE NOT THAT WE'RE WORKING ON POLICY AND NEW TRAINING BECAUSE IT IS SLIGHTLY DIFFERENT TO GET THEM DEPLOYED.
UM, BUT WE WANTED THE PUBLIC SAFETY, HOMELAND SECURITY COMMUNITY TO SEE THIS DEVICE, SEE WHAT ITS CAPABILITIES ARE, SEE HOW, UH, WE'RE CONSTANTLY WORKING FOR, YOU KNOW, LEVERAGING TECHNOLOGY, UH, TO PROTECT THE PUBLIC AND TRY TO COME UP WITH BETTER WAYS, UH, TO RESOLVE THESE SITUATIONS PEACEFULLY.
THIS IS ONE PIECE OF MANY THINGS THAT WE'RE DOING, BUT WE WANTED YOU TO SEE THIS BEFORE IT WENT TO FULL COUNSEL.
AND SO WITH THAT, UM, UNLESS YOU WANT TO ACTUALLY SEE 'EM PHYSICALLY, UH, I THINK WE ARE DONE AND WE'LL TAKE QUESTIONS.
UM, I DON'T SEE ANY QUESTIONS IN QUEUE.
JUST A FEW TECHNICAL PROCUREMENT QUESTIONS IN SOME CHIEF FOR USE, UH, SAFETY TRAINING QUESTIONS.
UH, FROM THE PROCUREMENT SIDE, UH, OR CONTRACT SIDE, WHEN CAN WE EXPECT THIS TO COME TO COUNCIL? NOW WE'LL GIVE BACK.
SO, SO WE'RE, UH, HOPING THAT, YOU KNOW, AT THE EARLIEST IT WOULD BE IN TWO WEEKS, BUT MOST LIKELY, YOU KNOW, UH, OTHERWISE IT WOULD BE EARLY JULY.
SO WE'RE, IT'S STILL, THE CONTRACT'S STILL NOT FINALIZED.
WE'RE STILL WORKING WITH CITY LEGAL AS WELL AS WITH THE CONTRACTOR.
[01:45:01]
HOPEFULLY RESOLVED WITHIN THE NEXT COUPLE OF DAYS.AND ARE YOU ABLE TO SAY ABOUT ESTIMATE HOW MUCH FOR THE NEW PURCHASE? NOT YET.
I NO STAY WITHIN THE BOUNDS OF WHAT YOU'RE ABLE TO SAY.
UM, THE, AS IT RELATES TO THE LIFECYCLE OF THESE TASERS ABOUT IF WE'RE PURCHASING, AND IT'S GONNA BE, I'M ASSUMING A LARGE PROCUREMENT THAT IS NEEDED RIGHT NOW, WHAT IS THE LIFE CYCLE ON THESE FIVE YEARS? FIVE YEARS? SO, UH, IN, IN THE ONE THING THAT CHIEF IDE MENTIONED WAS THE LAST BIG CONTRACT THAT WE DID HAVE WITH AXON WAS IN 2013.
SO AS YOU CAN SEE, I MEAN THERE WERE PAST, UH, THE ONES THAT WE HAVE RIGHT NOW ARE WAY PAST THAT LIFE PLAN, BUT, UH, WE ARE GETTING MONEY IN THE CIP, SO, UH, WE'RE ANTICIPATING STARTING TO GET A LOT OF THOSE REPLACED AND, AND OUT OF CIRCULATION AND HAVE THE T TENS AVAILABLE.
SO THE CIP BUDGET THAT WE'RE GONNA BE REVIEWING AND APPROVING BY COUNCIL ALSO INCLUDES SOME OF THE, UM, CRITICAL EQUIPMENT NEEDS FOR YOU.
AND WE'RE ALREADY PAST THE LIFECYCLE, UM, ON THESE TASERS, WHICH I'M ASSUMING NOT ONLY MAKES IT, UM, DANGEROUS FOR A LAW ENFORCEMENT OFFICER, BUT ALSO, UH, THE INDIVIDUAL THAT THEY MAY COME INTO INTERACTION WITH.
UM, AGAIN, LIKE I SAID, COUNCIL MEMBER, WE, WE WANT, YOU KNOW, THEY'RE STILL FAR SUPERIOR TO NOT HAVING, UH, THAT PIECE OF EQUIPMENT EQUIPPED WITH THE OFFICERS, BUT YES, UH, WITH EVERY DAY THERE, THERE IS A DIMINISHING RETURN BECAUSE OF THE AGE OF DEVICE.
AS IT RELATES TO TRAINING, UM, THIS IS OBVIOUSLY THE NEXT GENERATION OF TASER EQUIPMENT BECAUSE IT IS, UM, IT HAS A DIFFERENT TYPE OF SPREAD IF I'M SAYING THAT DIFFERENTLY.
YOU'RE DOING, UM, THE RETRAINING THAT IS REQUIRED FOR THIS.
CAN YOU TALK A LITTLE BIT ABOUT THAT AND HOW, YOU KNOW, WITH A LARGE PROCUREMENT LIKE THIS, HOW ARE WE RETRAINING AND WHAT ARE JUST THE BASIC TRAINING REQUIREMENTS, UM, WITH THE FORCE RIGHT NOW? SURE.
SO I DO HAVE MY TWO TRAINERS IN THE BACK OF THE ROOM, SO THEY'RE PROBABLY GONNA COME AFTER ME LATER ON WHEN I MESS THIS UP.
BUT, BUT IT, IT IS REALLY ACTUALLY NOT, UH, THAT, THAT THE, THE CHANGE ISN'T THAT MUCH BECAUSE NOW, UH, POINT OF AIM, POINT OF IMPACT, THE TRAINING IS, AND, AND YOU GUYS CAN CORRECT ME IF I'M WRONG, UH, IS GOING TO BE THAT IT'S NOW A, A TWO FIRE INSTEAD OF ONE.
THAT'S ONE THING THAT, OR TWO, TWO DEPLOYMENT VERSUS ONE.
BUT YOU JUST, YOU DETERMINE, UH, WHERE YOU WANT THE PROBE TO GO.
AND WE HAVE A CHART, WHICH IF YOU COME OUT TO THE ACADEMY, I'LL SAY WE HAVE ALL OF THAT TO SHOW THAT.
SO IT'S JUST SLIGHTLY DIFFERENT, UH, IN TERMS OF ACTUAL USE.
UH, AND, AND, UM, YOU KNOW, AND, AND, AND, AND BRING THAT SITUATION UNDER CONTROL TWO VERSUS ONE, YOU DETERMINE THE SPREAD, THOSE TYPES OF THINGS.
UH, PROBABLY WHERE IT MIGHT BE A LITTLE BIT DIFFERENT IS THE ACTUAL CARTRIDGES OURSELVES ARE DIFFERENT, THE DIFFERENT TYPE OF, OF, UH, YOU KNOW, UH, PUTTING THE CARTRIDGES ON, ON THE DEVICE, THINGS OF THAT NATURE.
UM, BUT UNLESS I AM MISSING ON SOME STUFF YEP.
SO, AND IT'S MORE INTUITIVE BECAUSE IT'S A, IT'S A DIRECT SHOT.
VERSUS IT'S TRYING TO DO A SPREAD AND SO IT'S MORE NATURAL FOR THE OFFICERS TO USE IT.
SO THE ONES THAT HAVE HAD THE OPPORTUNITY TO USE IT, I MEAN, PICKED IT UP BECAUSE THEY'RE ALREADY TRAINED WITH THE, WITH THE DUAL SHOT, THIS MADE IT A LOT EASIER.
AND CHIEF, I KNOW YOU GAVE US A GENEROUS OFFER TO COME AND, UH YES.
DO ALL POLICE OFFICERS FROM A TRAINING PERSPECTIVE HAVE TO, I GUESS, EXPERIENCE THE SHOCK THEMSELVES? NO.
UM, WE, NOT ALL OF THEM HAVE TO DO THAT.
NOW WE SEE THAT IN SOME WAY OR ANOTHER.
UM, I HAVE ALSO EXPERIENCED IT, UH, BUT NOT FROM A SHOT, BUT JUST FROM THE CONTACTS BOTTOM, BUT IT'S NOT, UM, WHAT THE PUBLIC MIGHT THINK IT IS, IT DOES JUST INTERRUPT.
IT'S NOT COMFORTABLE, NO WHATSOEVER.
IT WAS, UH, VERY UNCOMFORTABLE BUT FAR SUPERIOR TO BE UNCOMFORTABLE FOR A FEW SECONDS SO THAT WE CAN GET THIS PERSON IN CUSTODY SO NO ONE IS, UH, YOU KNOW, LOSES THEIR LIFE OR, OR SURFACE OR ABOUT SERIOUS BODILY INJURY.
IT'S, UH, WHAT, WHAT I HEAR YOU SAYING IS IT'S NOT THE LAST RESORT OPTION, BUT THE NON-LETHAL OPTION AND WE ARE TRYING TO SAVE LIVES.
THIS IS OUR GOAL IS HOW DO WE GET A LOT OF, SOME, SOME INDIVIDUAL THAT IS IN CRISIS POSSIBLY, UH, OR IS INCREDIBLY COMBATIVE AND WE WANT TO SAVE THIS PERSON'S LIFE, WE WANNA PROTECT HIM OR HER, EVERYBODY AROUND THEM.
AND WE ALSO WANNA PROTECT OUR OFFICERS.
AND, AND THIS IS JUST ONE DEVICE THAT DOES HELP US IN THAT REGARD.
THERE ARE OTHER THINGS, BUT THIS IS ONE DEVICE THAT WE DO LEAN ON FOR THAT, THAT, UH, INITIATIVE.
ALRIGHT, CHIEF FRANK, THANK YOU BOTH VERY MUCH.
UH, WITH THAT, AGAIN, I DON'T SEE ANY COUNCIL MEMBERS OR STAFF IN QUEUE.
[01:50:01]
TO PUBLIC SPEAKERS.UH, FIRST LAURA GALLIER
I BELIEVE SHE WAS TRYING TO LOG IN VIRTUALLY, BUT WE DON'T SEE HER.
SO WE'LL GO TO THE NEXT SPEAKER.
UH, ROBERT C***E, SHE'S OKAY, MR. C***E, GO AHEAD.
A LOT OF BALI WHO OVER THE LAST COUPLE YEARS ABOUT CRIME AND CRIME RATES AND YOU KNOW, AS YOU WELL KNOW, I'VE BEEN ONE OF THOSE WAVING THE FLAG, BUT I TOOK A GOOD LOOK AT SOME OF THE STATISTICS AND 2022 WASN'T AS BAD OF A YEAR AS SOME OF US MADE IT OUT TO BE.
IT WAS NUMBER TWO OVER THE LAST FOUR YEARS IN CRIMES, BUT IT WAS THE LOWEST NUMBER OF SERVICE CALLS.
BUT ONE OF THE THINGS THAT STUCK OUT AND AS A, UH, IN THE HANDOUT OF A COVER SHEET WITH THE SUMMARY AND THEN SOME PAGES OF BACKUP WAS THE DRASTIC INCREASE IN RESPONSE TIMES ON A WEIGHTED AVERAGE.
AS YOU CAN SEE, GOING FROM 38.37 MINUTES IN 2018 TO 47 MINUTES TO 45 MINUTES TO 58.
UH, LOOKING AT SOME OF THE OTHER FIGURES, THERE WASN'T ANYTHING TO DRASTICALLY DECREASE.
WE DIDN'T LOSE LEGIONS OF, OF, UH, POLICE OFFICERS.
OUR POPULATION ACTUALLY WENT DOWN A BIT.
SO I'M JUST PRESENTING IT TO THE PUBLIC SAFETY AND HOMELAND SECURITY COMMITTEE AS A FACT THAT MAYBE NEEDS TO BE EXPLORED SOMEHOW.
UM, WHERE DID YOU GET THE DATA FROM? HPD.
SO THROUGH THE, IT'S ALL HPD RELATED DATA? YES, MA'AM.
UH, WHEN CAN WE EXPECT THE GUN SAFE DISTRIBUTION AND DISTRICT C? UM, I, YOU CAN EMAIL OUR OFFICE AND WE'LL GET YOU THAT INFORMATION.
THERE HAVE BEEN MULTIPLE DISTRIBUTIONS ALREADY.
ALRIGHT, NEXT WE HAVE, I BELIEVE LAURA GALLIER IS BACK ONLINE.
MS. GALLIER, ARE YOU THERE? PLEASE HIT STAR SIX TO UNMUTE IF YOU'RE THERE.
UH, WE'LL GO ONTO THE NEXT, UH, FINAL SPEAKER, HILLARY HAYNES, WHO IS ALSO VIRTUAL.
SEEING THAT, UH, NEITHER OR ON RIGHT NOW? UH, THAT CONCLUDES, UH, TODAY'S COMMITTEE MEETING.
THANK YOU TO ALL OF OUR PRESENTERS AND STAFF ESPECIALLY, AND COUNCIL MEMBERS FOR STAYING.
UH, OUR NEXT SCHEDULED MEETING IS ON JULY 20TH.
YEAH, I'M SORRY, LAURA IS ON NOW.
OKAY, WE'RE GONNA TRY ONE MORE TIME FOR LAURA GALLIER IF SHE'S ON.
UH, OUR NEXT SCHEDULED MEETING IS ON JULY 20TH, 2023.
THE AGENDA AND PRESENTATIONS CAN BE FOUND ONLINE ON THE COMMITTEE'S WEBPAGE.
THE RECORDING OF THIS MEETING WILL BE POSTED ON HTVS WEBSITE AS WELL.
THE MEETING IS ADJOURNED AT 3 57.