What’s the New Public Safety Committee Working On?
The new Piedmont Public Safety Committee spearheaded by Piedmont City Council Member Margaret Fujioka has jumped into its work to improve public safety and disaster preparedness in Piedmont between now and April 2011. (See the Committee’s members and charge, see p. 3-4.) The Committee submitted the first of four quarterly reports on its activities to the Piedmont City Council. In addition to plans for a citywide disaster drill in Spring 2011, the Committee has been looking at other possible enhancements to public safety and preparedness, including:
- training local residents to increase 911 dispatch capacity in a major emergency
- insuring City emergency supply containers support residents as well as disaster workers
- installing signs at City entrances
- a web-based or phone notification system for schools and residents
- an email notification system
The Committee has also been the impetus behind neighborhood training sessions to prepare and educate residents on disaster preparedness in neighborhoods throughout the City. Residents are notified when a meeting in their area will be occurring.
The Committee was advised by the Piedmont Police and Fire Departments that plans for a community outreach program creating formal relationships between Police and Fire and the City’s 10 districts would be on hold for now, and they will not be looking into gas lines issues in Piedmont. However, our new Interim Public Works Director, Chester Nakahara, is working to obtain information on the location and shut-off points for gas distribution lines in Piedmont. See the Minutes of the September 20, 2010 Piedmont City Council at pages 2-3.
Future public meetings of the Public Safety Committee will be on the fourth Thursday of each month.
