This meeting was convened by the Local Emergency Planning Committee (LEPC) to address a lack of quorum preventing the approval of minutes. The primary discussion centered on the structural bylaws of the committee, specifically the undefined membership criteria which has historically hindered decision-making. While the Executive Council meets regularly, the full LEPC committee lacks a formal, fixed roster of members required to establish a quorum for voting. City Manager Justin Howalt and other members proposed forming a small working group to review state bylaws, define membership eligibility under the SARA Title III act, and volunteer to draft recommendations before the end of the year. Standard reporting from emergency services agencies confirmed no major incidents requiring immediate collective action, with ongoing updates provided on the Curry County Hazard Mitigation Plan and the upcoming National Preparedness Month event.
Quorum and Membership Definition:
Agency Reports:
If I could have everybody take a seat real quick. I think so. Is this on? Yes. Yeah. I can hear it on this side. We're going to go ahead and get started, y'all, if we could. Thank you. So make sure you sign in before you leave if you haven't done so already. Since I don't have a quorum, we're going to table the approval of the minutes. That is what we base our quorum off of the lot bigger than what is recommended in the handbook for from FEMA for the LEPC. And that is a lot bigger than what is recommended in the handbook for from FEMA for the LEPC. Um I did finally find a copy of that. It is no longer available online for those of you who think you can go look for it. I will scan in the paper copy I have and send it out. Online you can find chapter by chapter. Um, but it's easier to read if you just have one big document. That list that we have, one, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight, thirteen, fourteen, fifteen. We've got eighteen people on that list. Recommended in the handbook. One, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight, nine, ten, eleven, twelve, thirteen. Lists 13 different people. So not a huge difference, but when we're trying to make a quorum, that could make or break us. Um sections I had, page along with on page three, starting at line 32 with standing committees. Uh we really need to review these. There are some committees that are listed that no at this present time do not meet. And if we feel that they still need to be part of our standing committees, we need to reformat or reform those committees so that we are meeting. The one I would like to definitely bring back would be membership to make sure that we have the right people invited to our meetings. Um any of the standing committees. Anybody? Madam Chair. Yes. Uh I'm reviewing the the ordinance itself that created uh this committee. And the LEPC committee is separate from the executive council. The purpose of the executive council is actually to oversee the LEPC commit committee. Um we don't per ordinance regulate how many members are actually on the LEPC committee itself. And so do you know, and I've seen the application that's in the packet here for membership. Do we actually have a list of the members of the LEPC committee? So is who it is? One thing I know from past meetings. The so this was in our email in the agenda in the agenda packet was the what he's talking about, the membership application. These were not utilized within the last 12 years. Uh so that is something I'm requesting everybody to fill out so we can get a formal membership list. I have a I have a list of people who have been showing up and what agency they represent. Um there are definitely some holes in that in that list. Um but I do agree the executive council um looking through some draft, not drafts, but looking through some other bylaws for LEPCs in the state. San Juan County, their executive council is literally the chairperson, the vice chair, the secretary, and a treasurer. And I think there's one other because I'm I'm pretty sure there was five. Um a drastic difference from what we currently have written. Um they also talk about different meeting types.