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HomeMy WebLinkAboutMINUTES - 12022003 - C164 elefl TO: BOARD OF SUPERVISORS Contra FROM: INTERNAL OPERATIONS COMMITTEE -M Costa DATE: NOVEMBER 3, 2003 County SUBJECT: STATUS OF IMPLEMENTATION OF THE MULTI-LANGUAGE CAPABILITIES OF THE EMERGENCY TELEPHONE NOTIFICATION (RINGDOWN) SYSTEM SPECIFIC REQUEST(S)OR RECOMMENDATION(S)&BACKGROUND AND JUSTIFICATION RECOMMENDATIONS: 1. RECALL that on June 10, 2003, the Board directed the Health Services Department and the Office of the Sheriff to proceed with the pilot project to provide multilingual emergency telephone messaging capabilities, to explore the use of public safety messaging devices as a possible element of a Countywide emergency telephone notification (ringdown) system, to explore the use of fines as a potential funding mechanism for associated costs, and to report back to the InternalOperations Committee. 2. RECOGNIZE that the new emergency telephone ringdown system,to be implemented in early 2004 will be capable of sending emergency messages in multiple languages. 3. RECOGNIZE that as a potential supplement to the new emergency telephone ringdown system, a new product called a "public safety messaging device"that can deliver emergency messages in many languages is now available, and would obviate the need to maintain an expensive database of languages spoken'at each household. 4. DIRECT the Health Services and Sheriffs departments to proceed with the testing of the multi-language public safety messaging device to determine its applicability in the County's emergency notification system, fully evaluate both the current pilot project and the new device to determine which provides the best solution for the County, and report back to the 2003 Internal Operations Committee in January 2004 with the preliminary results of the test. FISCAL IMPACT: The costs of conducting the test will be funded through grants received from the California Air Resources Board and the Bay Area Air Quality Management District Board. CONTINUED ON ATTACHMENT SIGNATURE: RE COMMENDATION OF COUNTY ADMINISTRATORER COMMEN MTI NOF BOARD COMMITTE APPROVE OTHER SIGNATURE( }S: _ �G. � -. �-�2-��.._---- j AY ! EMA, CHAIR FEDERAL D. GLOVER ACTION OF BOARD ON December 2, 2003 APPROVE AS RECOMMENDED X __.OTHER VOTE OF SUPERVISORS I HEREBY CERTIFY THAT THIS IS A TRUE AND CORRECT COPY OF AN ACTION TAKEN X UNANIMOUS(ABSENT, None 1 AND ENTERED ON THE MINUTES OF THE BOARD OF SUPERVISORS ON THE DATE AYES: _ _ - --NOES: SHOWN. ABSENT: ABSTAIN: ATTESTED: DECEMBER 2,2003 CONTACT: JULIE ENEA (925)335-4077 JOHN SWEETEN,CLERK OF THE BOARD OF SUPERVISORS AND COUNTY ADMINISTRATOR CC: INTERNAL OPERATIONS COMMITTEE STAFF LEWIS PASCALLI,HAZMAT PROGRAM MANAGER MICHAEL KENT,HAZMAT OMBUDSMAN LIS KLUTE,SHERIFF'S EMERGENCY SERVICES DIVISION LAOTION ORGANIZING PROJECT,FAX(540)238.4572 13� 1 7 BY Vd PUTY Mufti-Language Emergency Messaging Capabilities November 3, 2003 internal Operations Committee Page 2 BACKGROUND: On December 13, 1999, the Internal Operations Committee was asked by the Board to receive updates from, and provide additional direction to, the Health Services Department on the status of implementing the multilingual capabilities of the Community Alert Network, the current provider of emergency telephone notification services to the County. The IOC has overseen, and received regular reports on, the progress of the project. Costs of the project are funded completely by outside grants. During the course of the project, responsibility for managing the emergency telephone notification (ringdown) system was transferred from the Health Services Department to the Office of the Sheriff. Since the transfer, the Health Services Department and the Office of the Sheriff have worked collaboratively on obtaining and providing emergency notification services. Recently, the Board of Supervisors approved the implementation of a new telephone ringdown system in early 2004 that is capable of delivering emergency messages in multiple languages. The multi-language pilot project involving the Laotion community, begun in March 2401, has been led by Michael Kent, Hazardous Materials Ombudsman. The project involved gathering data about the languages and dialects spoken at each household within the target Laotian community, and building a database of this information for use by the emergency telephone ringdown system. Funding commitments were received in the amounts of$100,000 from the California Air Resources Board and $40,000 from the Bay Area Air Quality Management District Board. Mr. Kent worked with the community and affected agencies on this project and provided progress reports to the Internal Operations Committee in March, May, August and December 2001, in March 2002, and in June and November 2003. On March 4, 2002, Mr. Kent provided our Committee with a draft work plan developed by Phaeng Toommaly, the Project Coordinator hired from within the Laotioncommunity to help facilitate the project. The immediate goals for the project in March were to complete the work plan, hire and train outreach workers, develop a database for managing the information collected through outreach efforts, and develop outreach materials. In December 2002, the IOC reviewed the updated work plan and asked for a six-month update in 2003. In June, 2003, the IOC received a report prepared by Lewis Pascalli, Hazardous Materials Program Manager, providing a comprehensive history of the department's efforts to implement a system that is capable of communicating emergency messages in the language spoken at each home contacted. Mr. Pascalli advised that the biggest challenge encountered in the project was the maintenance of information about what language is spoken at each home. In any system that relies on a central database of information, it is essential that the data be kept accurate and current. Concurrently, in the course of researching emergency telephone notification systems, the Sheriffs Department was introduced to a new device that connects to an',ordinary telephone, detects the special frequency of emergency messages, and can announce an emergency situation or an "all clear" signal in any language specified without the resident having to pick up the receiver. At staffs first assessment, the new device has the potential for being placed in any household or business in the County for the purpose of receiving emergency messages. Since the use of such a device, if it can perform as described, would obviate the need for maintaining a central database, our Committee believes it is important to fully evaluate both the current pilot project and the new device to determine which provides the best solution for the County. The IOC will also consider the BAAQMD's policy that fines for violations of air quality standards be applied to help communities affected by reduced air quality, as a possible model for funding expenses related to a Countywide emergency messaging solution. The Laotion Organizing Project (LOP), at our.lune 2 meeting, indicated that it fully supports the County's efforts to look at all potential solutions and will continue to actively participate in the County's pilot project. Multi-Language Emergency Messaging capabilities November 3, 2003 Internal Operations Committee Page 2 At our November 3, 2003 meeting, the Health Services and Sheriffs departments requested authorization to proceed with a test in December of this device in 900 households within the Laotion community, which has been participating in the multi-language pilot project. The test will involve community outreach and education, installation of devices, and a follow-up evaluation. The costs of conducting the test include staff to conduct the outreach and education, the devices at$35 each, and certain telephone company charges. These costs will be funded through grants awarded by the California Air Resources Board and the Bay Area Air Quality Management District Board, and will require no additional County funds. Our Committee recommends that the Board authorize staff to proceed with the test and report back to the 2003 Internal Operations Committee in January 2004 with the preliminary results.