MARYSVILLE – If a regional disaster like the expected big earthquake cuts off Marysville from critical emergency management services south of the Snohomish River and centered around Everett, Marysville needs to be ready to fend for itself.
The City Council on Monday will consider a recommendation to end a contract with the county Department of Emergency Management for services, and transition to in-house emergency management.
In reality, the city and DEM will continue as partners with other jurisdictions should a disaster strike, but the community would be better served if citizens and city staff work together to provide better response and preparedness within its own city limits, officials said.
After the 2010 Central Marysville Annexation added another 20,000 people to push the population over 54,000, the city a few years later began funding a smaller-scale in-house emergency management program while still contracting with DEM.
With additional departmental trainings, emergency management plan development and citizen-targeted offerings such as the Certified Emergency Response Team and Map Your Neighborhood, the demand for services has expanded.
Chief Administrative Officer Gloria Hirashima said in a staff report that the city has reached a juncture where policy-makers must decide whether to fully support disaster preparedness within the community and city departments, or continue to rely on DEM like most other county cities.
Taking emergency management in house is the right move, Mayor Jon Nehring said.
“This decision, as far as I’m concerned, is based solely on the growth of our city and the needs of our community,” Nehring said. “It has zero to do with DEM’s service.”
The city spends about $80,000 a year for the DEM contract. In addition, there is about $35,000 in emergency management funding that the city would be able to access directly with its own program, instead of passing it to the county DEM, Hirashima said.
That would give the city about $110,000 to spend on developing the program. That money would amount to almost one full-time employee, with additional staff resources used to pursue grants and support needs.
Nehring met with county executive staff to discuss the potential for a smooth transition in 2018. The city would contract with DEM for a half-year of training.
The city must give notice by June 15 if it intends to pursue its own emergency management program starting in January 2018.
“We wouldn’t do this if we didn’t feel we have highly competent people at the director (and key staff) level, and the staff that we have,” Nehring said.
Within King and Pierce County, most cities run their own emergency management programs. Within Snohomish County, Everett runs its own. Many volunteers who live in Marysville are training now with Everett.
“They want to be part of our community’s response in the event of a disaster, but they need coordination through our city,” Hirashima said.
Police Chief Rick Smith said an in-house emergency management program is necessary.
“We need to remember that if a major widespread event occurs, whether it’s a natural or man-made disaster event with multiple agencies and jurisdictions affected, that’s going to divert DEM’s attention away from some of our own community’s needs, so being ready is huge,” he said.
Council Member Jeff Vaughan asked if the city would need a facility similar to DEM’s command center at Paine Field in Everett. Hirashima said an Emergency Operations Center facility is being built in the Sunnyside area to complement the existing center in the Public Safety Building downtown.
