Some notes from 19 April 2016 WEACT meeting

Discussion from DART exercise of 24 April.  

• Too much process
• Only the organizers knew how to do anything

Question, any way to get disaster ID to help volunteers get to the airport, past law enforcement?

Re addressed roles and organization

• Volunteers - Tom
• Check in
• Assignments
• Materials - Daniel
• Movement
• Assignment
• Flight Operations - Marjorie
• Flight management and briefing
• Ramp control a subset
• Communications - Bob
• Finance and legal - JR
• 501 (3)c
• Treasury

Some discussion about FEMA ICS courses.  Useful to understand how they work and ideas for how we may mimic.

https://training.fema.gov/is/courseoverview.aspx?code=IS-100.b

https://training.fema.gov/is/courseoverview.aspx?code=IS-200.b

There is a big warning about getting a student ID to take the exam, but going through the course doesn't require one.

Suggestion to look into Mail Chimp (free version) that may allow easier notification of volunteers for training and information.

More discussion about role of Connex Boxes.

• Storage of WEACT supplies
• Flight Operations Center
• EAA Hanger
• Volunteer center
• Materials start point?

Next meetings:

• May 14th to clean up the Connex Boxes
• June 14th meeting on status

Did I miss anything?  Comment below!

April 25 Exercise Support

Kelsey and I set up outside the shipping containers as if we providing support to South County disaster relief.  We didn't get any activity at WVI, maybe due to the weather, it was low overcast and windy and maybe none of the E19 pilots wanted to come around under it.  They also were a little slower than planned setting up according to Peter.

But Kelsey and I had a long conversation about the disaster media course she attended earlier this year, went over some of the material a little.  Also discussed some of the social media efforts she can do eventually.  But first she said she would contact the lawyer Marjorie suggested in hope he'll help set up our non-profit status.  We agreed that would be our first priority.

Lessons were learned just from doing this set up, even if there was no activity.

1. We do need a couple of pop-up canopies. (I borrowed one from EAA.)
2. Need a coffee maker.
3. Need power at the shipping containers.  (Rayvon stopped by and we discussed that a little, run the conduit across the tops from the comm shack, ensuring they are flexible since the containers will shift around in a big shaker.)
4. Chairs and tables.  (I borrowed some from my hangar and the EAA hangar.)
5. Need anchors for pop-up tents because of the wind.  Some dirt filled buckets would work.
6. Remember to bring food!

Overall it was time well spent by Kelsey and I!

Meeting Minutes 4/4/2015

I am finally getting around to uploading my notes from the last meeting.

DART - SCAMPA Exercise

• 25 April at 9am
• Peter and Marjorie (Dan also went) volunteering
• Bob - Radio work
• Tom at WVI to support if necessary

501(3)(c)

• Kelsey and Tom working
• Marjorie has a lawyer she knows, info given to Tom

Comm

• Wifi in comm shack, 1w transmitter
• Mesh network
• Will try to link into local network which extends throughout bay area
• Loma Prieta node

Emergency Media Course

• Kelsey went, will meet with Tom to go over notes

Forms

• Discussion on current forms
• Marjorie will send out her forms
• Dan is working on materials forms
• Will get some lessons learned from DART - SCAMPA exercise

Get list (list of things to get for WEACT)

• Bolt cutters!

Airport Diagrams

• For fundraising effort
• City will print
• We will need to get laminated

Bumper stickers

• Passed out a few
• Put up for sale - $1 each

Disaster Relief Packet

• Large - cost $16.50, sell for $25
• Small - cost $5.00, sell for $10
• Young Eagles, Air Show, 2nd Saturday

Signage

• Need to design and print
• Utilize at Young Eagles, 2nd Saturday, Airport meetings

Human Race

• Marjorie will check on setting up a fund raiser
• (dropped for this year)

We then went out to the Connex boxes (Shipping containers) and looked them over along with the comm shack.  The padlock combo was given out along with the comm shack combo.  Discussion on how to use the shipping containers.  The idea floated is that one be set up as the ops center with desk, briefing boards/maps, furniture.  The other set up as storage.  Ventilation need to be added and power extended from the nearby hangar to them.

WEACT Meeting Minutes 01/10/2015

Below are my notes from the January 10th meeting which turned into a burger grilling by JR and potluck.  I had more written down but I've misplaced my notebook, so if you have more to add from your memory, please comment in the comment section.  Especially with regard to actions, I wrote some names but I only remember one for me and Kelsey.

• Agenda
• Connex boxes
• Non-profit organization
• Task list

• Connex boxes
• Located near RWY 9-27
• Stayed dry in the rains
• Need to get ventilation fans to keep dry inside
• Reasonable size, shelving in one of them
• Need cleanup, remodeling
• Moved WEACT box of supplies into one
• Locked with combo locks - combo distributed
• Non-Profit
• From Kelsey Olson:
• I do however have a few leads from the lawyer I spoke with. He said our best bet will be to look around for a retired attorney that has a pilot's license and is familiar with Watsonville Airport. The reason being, it's unlikely to find an attorney that will volunteer because the penalty would be to pay potential tax on income generated by the organization.
• I'm going to put feelers out for retired attorneys with pilot's license, if you guys could do the same we might be able to find the right person to help. I know that there is a firm near the airport that might be worth checking, I'll do that on Monday.
• LegalZoom does make the process possible, but it's definitely tedious.
• Action: Tom and Kelsey to work this more
• Task List
• Procedures
• Update from October excercise
• Supplies/Equipment
• Locks for boxes - already purchased 
• Ops stuff… canopies, chairs, bulletin boards, map-boards
• Need more volunteers
• 2nd Saturday display
• Open House display
• Young Eagles parents 
• Pamphlets
• Fund raiser ideas
• Laminated airport map
• Disaster kit sale
• There may be more notes but I've misplaced my notebook before completing this
• Next meeting agreed on 5pm, Saturday, 21 February.  Potluck dinner.

WEACT Meeting Minutes 10/21/2014

Notes:

• It was pointed out that the first game of the World Series had started and the Giants were already 3 runs ahead.
• Introductions with Kelsey Olson from KSCO as Public Relations 
• Asked Kelsey to look into how to get non-profit status
• Discussed Material handling flow during 4 Oct drill, need to take Ramp crew out of it
• Discussed improving communications with Comm, Ramp, Flt-Ops, & Material crews
• Location of Flt-Ops
• Scrub WEACT document from lessons
• Paper flow
• Discussed paper requirements
• Need to be streamlined, DART model seems onerous
• Need to observe DART exercise next month
• Discussed insurance and waivers
• State disaster workers comp applicability
• State good Samaritans laws
• More... ?

Actions:

• Kelsey - Non-profit investigation
• Marjorie - Examine connex boxes with new insight
• Daniel - Material handling paperwork, reexamine
• More...  [I am working from memory during lunch break at work...]

Lessons Learned from October 4th Drill

First discussion: Lessons learned from October 4th drill.

Please add your thoughts in the comments below.

Here are the observations from Rod Pharis from SCAPA DART (South County emergency airlift team).

 My two-cents from SCAPA DART follows: I liked that you had a sectional chart displayed and the org chart projected for convenient reference. I liked that safety vests were worn by the managers, and had large placards showing the persons name on the front and the position on the back.. I liked that you had handheld comm radios that were very effective. I liked the attention to newspaper publicity and inviting the district Supervisor to see what you are doing. Very smart! I also very much liked the friendly professional attitudes

 Not having seen your documentation, I’m not sure what the status of that may be. However, I didn’t see any of your disaster Plan manuals, or the individual Manager manuals being referenced, and the related forms unique to each manager’s duties. Even the pilot sign-in sheet was made up of what looked like a car rental form, asking for a driver’s license number. Is that because you have not studied the plan in detail, or because you prefer to operate on a less formal basis? Because of the litigious society in which we must operate, SCAPA DART much prefers and strongly recommends that we all operate formally like a mini FedEx service. Document everything. Know who is delivering or picking up what and where. What are the pilots credentials, and is the pilot current? Is the insurance policy valid, is the airplane airworthy? When is that airplane expected to arrive at the destination, and how many pounds of cargo and how many soles are on board? Who is monitoring the status of each fight? Are you weighing the packages, and marking the weight on each package so the pilot will know what is being loaded? Has the pilot done a weight and balance calculation, and is PC available to assist the pilot and to save time when calculating W & B? Is an airplane long overdue or missing? Who should be contacted? When do you send out a search and rescue mission?

You should make sure that you reference the latest DART V2.0 Plan which is available on www.southcountypilots.org and shows all of the latest forms, which have been vetted dozens of times. Some are multiple pages each of a different color for specific purposes. We are about to have all of our forms re-printed in preparation for our annual exercise in mid-November, and to update them to the V2.0 level. If you want some of these forms we could double our order, which would reduce the price per copy and save you and us some money. We should know by next week what the dollar amount would be either way. Look at the forms in detail in Plan V2.0 ASAP so you will know what we are doing.

Please contact Paul Marshall or me if you have any questions or suggestions.

Fair skies and tailwinds.
Rod Pharis Co-Chair
SCAPA DART