2008-09-22 Regular Meeting and Public Hearing of La Porte City Council

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Minutes of Regular Meeting, Emergency Meeting and Public Hearing September 22, 2008 Page 10 ~ Fishing pier was completely destroyed. ~ Jennie Riley Community Center has roof damage. ~ Pier at Seabreeze Park has damage but is repairable. Assistant Fire Chief Donald Ladd reported: ~ Jimmy Crate (volunteer) wired the building for EOC for additional AC and generators at Baker Junior High. ~ Moved personnel from Station four to Station three, because the building might not be habitable during storm. ~ They assessed damages during the eye of the storm and noted some flooding in south part of town. ~ Launched boats for rescuing of citizens in Shoreacres and Shady River. ~ Set up four (4) A TV's brought in by volunteers to access the areas south of town. ~ They helped clear off roads by using tractors, cleaned out gutters, and helped clear debris from ditches. ~ Has one Fire Station running on a generator at this time. ~ Reported damage to Fire Station 1 (water damage). ~ Had approximately 100 calls, one of which was a retired Firefighter Mr. John Goff, who didn't survive. ~ He commended all the departments on how well everyone pulled together and helped each other out. Police Chief Kenith Adcox reported: ~ He was very impressed with La Porte Staff during preparation, initial responses and post Hurricane "IKE". ~ Police Department was working twelve hours shifts. ~ They helped with the evacuation of some citizens. ~ They had eighteen fixed traffic control points, due to the dangerous state of the city at that time. ~ Additional staff has been provided since all the power outages. ~ Sealed city off when it was dangerous to be here, due to fallen trees, debris and downed power lines. ~ Said that the curfew hours set were helpful in keeping people off the streets. ~ Reported eight (8) crimes in a total of five (5) days. ~ No looting was reported. Director of Planning Department Tim Tietjens reported: ~ Impressed with the staff working together during recovery and assessment. ~ He distributed a preliminary damage assessment report. ~ Planning Department was open over the weekend for contractor registry permit issues. (80 contractors at this time have registered) ~ They will be seeking a professional team to conduct assessment interviews. ~ Helped implement the City's Emergency Declaration.