San Leandro City Council Emergency Management Work Session

The San Leandro City Council held a work session on February 11, 2025, from 7:00 PM to 8:34 PM to receive a training presentation on emergency management for elected officials. The session, led by Emergency Management Specialist Libby Bassman, covered the National Incident Management System (NIMS), Incident Command System (ICS), the role of the Emergency Operations Center (EOC), and the specific responsibilities of council members before, during, and after a disaster. No formal votes or actions were taken, but the council discussed lessons learned from a recent gas leak incident and explored improvements to community preparedness and communication.

Public Comments & Testimony

• Kat (Bayo Vista resident): Expressed full support for wildfire preparedness efforts, noting their community has 3,500 residents, many with mobility issues, non‑English speakers, and limited smartphone/computer access. She called for a clear evacuation plan for their two‑exit neighborhood, block captains, and more drills, stating that gridlock during an actual event is inevitable and that residents need to know how they will be evacuated.
• Online speaker (senior citizen): Expressed concern about the loss of landline service and the need for reliable emergency notifications. She requested that the police have pre‑recorded multilingual messages to broadcast during evacuations, and emphasized that many residents, especially seniors, lack smartphones and social media access.

Discussion Items

• Emergency Management Presentation (Libby Bassman): Bassman reviewed the California Emergency Services Act, NIMS, and ICS, explaining how they provide a scalable, consistent framework for all incidents (e.g., gas leaks, atmospheric rivers, earthquakes). She distinguished between everyday emergencies (quick, handled by first responders) and major incidents requiring EOC activation. The EOC (currently at Sterling Grant) supports the incident command post with coordination, resource allocation, and public information. Bassman stressed that council members form the “policy group” (purple box in the org chart), separate from operations, and their primary role during an emergency is to support the EOC director, stay home/safe, and share vetted information. She urged council members to prepare personally (register for Nixel, have a go‑bag, develop a neighborhood plan) and to encourage community self‑sufficiency, noting San Leandro has 90,000 residents but only about 400 city staff.
• Council Questions & Clarifications:
  • Councilmember Simon asked about EOC director succession (city manager Janelle first, Mike second, Tom Liao third) and about how the California Emergency Services Act has been used (most recently during COVID and the 2022 atmospheric river).
  • Councilmember Aguilar asked how the policy group interacts with the EOC director. The city attorney clarified that the city manager (EOC director) can proclaim an emergency, which must be ratified by council within seven days. The policy group’s role is to make major policy decisions (e.g., curfew, declaration of emergency).
  • Councilmember Acevedo asked about communication channels: the EOC director will contact council members directly (especially for their districts) and provide email updates; for citywide events, regular email notifications will be sent.
  • Councilmember Bolt inquired about community drills. Bassman explained that large‑scale evacuation drills are complex and require careful planning, but exercises for staff are conducted. Councilmember Bolt suggested starting with small, area‑specific drills (e.g., east side fire, west side flood) to build participation and experience, even if gridlock occurs – residents would learn and be more likely to evacuate in a real event.
  • Councilmember Viveros‑Walton raised concerns about multilingual and multigenerational households, and the need for clear direction during emergencies (e.g., the gas leak email was vague). The city manager acknowledged that future communications should include specific guidance on whether council members should shelter in place or report to safe locations.
  • Councilmember Simon noted the gas leak shelter at the Marina Community Center, where council members went to show support. The city manager said that was acceptable because it was safe, but during an atmospheric river or similar, staying home is critical.
• After‑Action Report from Gas Leak (Chief Kate): The police chief shared three key lessons from the recent gas leak incident: (1) the Nixel autocall feature was not used (an oversight); (2) multilingual messaging was not produced quickly enough – a plan is being developed; (3) evacuation maps were not included in initial notifications. The EOC was activated virtually. The city is now working on templates and pre‑recorded messages in multiple languages.
• Mayor’s Comments: The mayor emphasized the need for frequent, consistent updates even when there is no new information, to prevent residents from turning to unverified social media. He also stressed the importance of a single source of truth for evacuation maps and pre‑canned multilingual press releases.

Key Outcomes

• No votes or formal actions were taken at this work session.
• Directives and next steps identified:
  • The city manager and emergency management staff will prioritize creating multilingual pre‑canned templates for various emergency scenarios (tsunami, active shooter, large fire, etc.).
  • The city will improve the use of Nixel, including the autocall feature, and ensure that evacuation maps are included in all alerts.
  • The city will explore reinstating regular siren tests and developing different tones for shelter‑in‑place versus evacuation, as suggested by community members.
  • Council members are encouraged to sign up for Nixel (all zip codes), develop personal go‑bags and family communication plans, and work with their neighborhoods to identify residents with access and functional needs.
  • The city will consider expanding the role of resilience hubs and block captain programs to better track vulnerable populations.
  • A follow‑up community meeting on the gas leak incident was held the prior week (around February 5, 2025); additional community emergency preparedness events are planned (e.g., a joint event with the mayor and Supervisor Tam).

Note: The agenda and transcript consistently state the meeting date as Tuesday, February 11, 2025, though the user instruction provided a date of February 12, 2025. This summary uses the date from the source materials.