I am glad the city’s emergency preparedness program and emergency medical service provided by the Fire Department have recently received so much attention. The city is working hard to ensure that when the next disaster comes, the city is prepared to manage the disaster, along with our invaluable partners in the fire and sheriff’s departments. But more importantly, we want to help you help yourself. Our goal is to have every resident able to sustain themselves and their families (including pets) for 72 hours.
That is why we offer the Community Emergency Response Team training. Another class starts in October. The city has extensive training materials on its Web site. The city installed an emergency radio station (1620 am) and the telephone hotline (456.9982) that are updated with traffic and other emergency news. The city’s Web site (www.ci.malibu.ca.us) also has a subscription service where you can receive notice when the Web site is updated with breaking emergency news. These are just a few of the programs that your city has created and implemented to prepare for the next disaster. I can assure you that this is one of our top priorities.
While I am pleased to discuss these great accomplishments, I am obligated to correct a number of misrepresentations and address a number of accusations that have recently appeared in the press. The accusation that the city staff violated the Brown Act when it hosted the meeting of medical professionals is unfounded. The Brown Act applies to a “legislative body” like the City Council or a commission appointed by the City Council. Additionally, no members of the council attended the meeting because it was about operations not policy. Finally, this group of medical professionals is established via these dedicated professionals donating their time—not via appointment by the City Council. The Brown Act simply does not apply.
As it relates to communicating with members of the Malibu Medical Reserve Corp (MMRC) about the meeting, rest assured that the MMRC was copied on all the communications in this meeting and the time of the meeting was clearly stated as 12 noon [sic]. Dr. Dorodny, representing the MMRC, electronically forwarded the invitation to others and the meeting time was clearly 12 noon [sic]. It is a shame that they missed the meeting because there was considerable interest on the part of the group to hear directly from Dr. Dorodny about the MMRC.
Members of the MMRC who arrived late met briefly with me and had a more extensive meeting with the city’s emergency preparedness coordinator, the only fulltime coordinator for a city Malibu’s size in the region. I understand their disappointment but there is absolutely no connection between their missing a meeting and lack of commitment on the part of the city. The primary city and Fire Department representatives attended the meeting and are continuing to coordinate with the medical professionals that attended the meeting.
I hope that the MMRC clearly defines its mission in the near future so that we can begin coordinating with the appropriate parts of the Fire Department, Los Angeles County Department of Health Services and the medical community.
Katie Lichtig
City Manager