Chapter 2.225
EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT COMMISSION
Sections:
2.225.030 Organization – Meeting rules – Quorum.
2.225.010 Created.
(1) An advisory emergency management commission is hereby created. The advisory commission shall consist of five voting members, plus two nonvoting councilmembers. At least three of the voting commission members shall be legal voters of the town of La Conner, and the remaining two members may be drawn from within the boundaries of the La Conner School District. A majority of the voting members shall form a quorum of the commission. The initial terms of office for three voting members shall be three years, a fourth member shall have an initial term of four years, and a fifth member an initial term of five years. After the initial term, the public members of the commission shall be appointed by the mayor with the consent of the town council to serve for a three-year term, or until their successors are appointed.
(2) An additional alternate member may be appointed by the mayor and confirmed by the council. The alternate member may attend all commission meetings, but shall not have a vote, except in circumstances in which a quorum of members is not present, in which case the alternate member shall be counted as a member and afforded a vote. The alternate member need not reside within the La Conner School District boundaries.
(3) The mayor shall fill the vacancies of voting members and alternate members with the consent of the town council.
(4) Nonvoting councilmembers shall be selected by the council as a whole.
(5) Members shall be chosen based upon:
(a) Desire to serve;
(b) Expertise in a field related to flood control, environmental science, meteorology, civil or structural engineering, grant research and writing, emergency management, and associated topics beneficial to emergency planning; and
(c) Organizational skills. [Ord. 1225 § 1, 2023; Ord. 1221 § 2, 2023.]
2.225.020 Duties.
The duties of the emergency management commission shall be to create a framework from within which the town can increase its capability to respond and recover from a major disaster. The advisory commission shall not make any expenditures without prior motion and approval of the council. The emergency management commission shall:
(1) Draft, review, and recommend disaster preparedness and mutual aid plans and/or agreements, and such ordinances and resolutions as are necessary to implement such plans and agreements;
(2) Propose rules and regulations on matters reasonably related to the protection of lives and/or property injured or damaged, or likely to be injured or damaged, by a disaster;
(3) Recommend the designation of buildings and/or premises as shelters for persons and/or property in the event of a disaster;
(4) Recommend procedures for disaster coordination including:
(a) Explore the historical precedence for various types of disasters so as to provide relevant information to be used in planning a response to future disasters, including floods, earthquakes, fires, and other types of disasters;
(b) Explore and recommend options of various methods to prevent or mitigate future disasters;
(c) Make recommendations on the best practices and procedures to evacuate residents in the event of a disaster;
(d) Make recommendations on the best practices of recruiting and coordinating volunteers able to respond to a disaster;
(e) Make recommendations on communications during and after disasters;
(f) Make recommendations on the best means of forecasting disasters;
(g) Make recommendations on the best practices to provide security so as to safeguard lives and property during and after a disaster. [Ord. 1221 § 2, 2023.]
2.225.030 Organization – Meeting rules – Quorum.
The advisory commission shall elect its own chairperson and create and fill such other offices as it may determine it requires. The commission shall hold at least bimonthly meetings (six per year) on a time and date and at a location as established by the commission through a written motion. The commission may adopt written rules for transactions of business and shall keep a written record of its meetings, resolutions, motions, findings, determinations, and recommendations. The commission’s meetings shall be open to the public in conformance with the Washington Open Public Meetings Act. A quorum shall consist of three (of the five) voting members of the commission. [Ord. 1221 § 2, 2023.]