HomeMy WebLinkAboutLEPC Minutes 2023.04.25Knox County Local Emergency Planning Committee
Meeting Minutes
April 25, 2023
Regular and Annual Meeting
Members Present:
Brock Schmitt, Randy Hovind, Jim Cueno, Mandy Dixon, Kevin Legate, Tyler Nelson,
Richie Springer, David Buchanan and Jenni Moser.
LEPC Chairman Brock Schmitt called the Regular Meeting to order at 2:00 p.m.
APPROVAL OF MINUTES
Minutes from the April 26, 2022 meeting were reviewed by Chairman Schmitt.
Springer made a motion, seconded by Hovind that the minutes as presented be
approved.
Ayes: Schmitt, Hovind, Cueno, Dixon, Legate, Nelson, Springer, and Buchanan.
Nays: None
Chairman declared motion carried.
OLD BUSINESS
KCEMA HazMat plan update. Chief Hovind stated that the County and the City of
Galesburg both approved the resolutions adopting the HazMat plan. Several other towns
and organizations have also approved it, but there were some that still have not
approved the resolution.
IEMA Report
DRILL – Chief Hovind advised the group met last Friday to put a plan together. They are
working on building training for the requirements for the Full Scale drill. The various groups
are looking to see what training they need. Tabletops, drills and seminars all count
towards the requirements.
Chief plans to get more GFD staff involved in EMA to help absorb the growing list of tasks
that are required.
Chief announced that CodeRED notification system was purchases by the ETSB that
provides a free app with specialized messages sent including weather alerts, emergency
notifications, etc. There are a lot of capabilities to the system and he is working to
determine what all we can do with the system. One example of the use would be HazMat
release notification, evacuating a certain area of the county.
FEMA/IEMA using Amplifund online software for the EMPG quarterly grant. Chief said that
they need to assign positions, but the individuals assigned have to have training to the
level FEMA requires.
NEW BUSINESS
The East Paletine derailment incident caused a lot of calls to GFD about what the
capabilities of the department are for containing spills, etc. Chairman Schmitt handed
out a sheet showing what the evacuation area would be for one car derailment with a
release of Vinyl chloride. Physical evacuation would be very difficult. Utilizing CodeRED
would be a huge help.
Chairman Schmitt stated that the HazMat Team currently has 23 techs and GFD’s
equipment. He stated that BNSF has a 3rd party contractor that handles HazMat incidents,
but they are based out of St. Louis. It would take around 3 hours for them to respond.
Chairman Schmitt asked Springer if there was an incident with 50 people needing
medical care, how quickly would they be able to respond getting them to the hospital.
Springer stated it would take hours for their units to get them all transported. Discussion
was held regarding the ability to get area ambulance services to provide aide.
HEALTH DEPARTMENT REPORT – None
OFFICER ELECTIONS – Chairman Schmitt stated that he is working diligently to make the
Knox County LEPC validated. To do so, the LEPC has to be registered and Officers need
to be elected. He asked for volunteers to fill the positions of Chairman, Information Officer
and Secretary.
No offers to volunteer were made. Chairman Schmitt nominated himself to be Chairman
again, Kelli Bennewitz as the Public Information Officer and Jenni Moser as the Secretary.
Chairman Schmitt made a motion, seconded by Randy Hovind that the Officers be filled
as follows:
Chairman – Captain Brock Schmitt
Information Officer – Kelli Bennewitz
Secretary – Jenni Moser
Ayes: Schmitt, Hovind, Cueno, Dixon, Legate, Nelson, Springer, and Buchanan.
Nays: None
Chairman declared motion carried. He will submit the paperwork with the new names.
OTHER BUSINESS
TIER II Reports – Chairman Schmitt stated that all that turned in their reports last year also
did this year. Cueno made a map based on the TIER II reports.
INCIDENTS & RESPONSES
Chairman Schmitt stated there was only 1 response to a HazMat situation since last year.
Public Comment
No public comment.
Adjournment
It was moved by Chairman Brock Schmitt and seconded by Randy Hovind to adjourn the
meeting at 2:19 p.m. The vote was unanimous.
Next meeting:
Tuesday, April 23, 2024 at 2:00 p.m.
Galesburg City Hall, 55 W Tompkins St, Galesburg, IL - Erickson Conference Room