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HomeMy WebLinkAboutItem 12b - COVID-19 Preparations DATE: March 17, 2020 TO: Honorable Mayor and City Council FROM: Dominic Lazzaretto, City Manager By: Michael Bruckner, Deputy City Manager SUBJECT: UPDATE ON COVID-19 PREPARATIONS AND ADOPTION OF RESOLUTION NO. 7299 AMENDING THE FISCAL YEAR 2019-20 GENERAL FUND BUDGET AUTHORIZING A SUPPLEMENTAL APPROPRIATION FROM THE EMERGENCY RESERVE FUND IN THE AMOUNT OF $50,000 TO PURCHASE EMERGENCY SUPPLIES FOR COVID-19 TRANSMISSION MITIGATION ON AN AS-NEEDED BASIS Recommendation: Adopt SUMMARY The Novel Coronavirus (“COVID-19”) is an emergent public health concern. Recent guidelines from federal, state, and local public health officials have encouraged the public to practice good hygiene (hand washing), avoid close contact (social distancing), refrain from traveling to or from outbreak areas, and to self-quarantine pending further direction from medical professionals if you believe you have been in contact with an infected person or show symptoms of infection. There are currently no reported cases of COVID-19 in the City of Arcadia. Per the latest information from federal, state, and local public health officials, the risk of contracting the virus remains low. The City has been in contact with our local and regional partners regarding their mitigation efforts and strategies. Of particular concern are supply chain disruptions occurring across multiple sectors of the economy, and in particular for goods that help in COVID-19 transmission mitigation efforts. As a result of the City’s analysis of its COVID- 19 response requirements, an additional purchase of goods is necessary to ensure an adequate supply of resources to not only help respond to any public health emergency but to also ensure continuity of City operations. Therefore, it is recommended that the City Council adopt Resolution No. 7299 authorizing a supplemental budget appropriation in the amount of $50,000 from the General Fund Emergency Reserve for emergency supplies for COVID-19 transmission mitigation efforts. COVID-19 Preparations and Resolution No. 7299 Authorizing a Supplemental Budget Appropriation March 17, 2020 Page 2 of 3 BACKGROUND On March 4, 2020, Governor Gavin Newsom declared a State of Emergency to make additional resources available, formalize emergency actions already underway across multiple state agencies and departments, and help the state prepare for a broader spread of COVID-19. That same day, the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors declared a local health emergency in response to the increased spread of COVID-19 across the County. In response to the emerging public health concerns regarding COVID-19, out of an abundance of caution, on March 9, 2020, the City of Arcadia suspended all large scale public events featuring a high concentration of older adults in order to help slow the transmission of the COVID-19. This action was undertaken in response to additional guidance received from the California Department of Public Health (“CDPH”). The suspension includes all City-sponsored events with an expected attendance of over 100 persons featuring attendees who are mostly age 55 and over. The suspension will initially be in effect until April 12, 2020; however, the City will continue to actively evaluate this dynamic situation and may need to extend suspensions further. Furthermore, the City’s executive leadership have met several times over the past few weeks to discuss transmission mitigation, emergency procedures, and continuity of operations should conditions change locally. Those discussions are currently ongoing and the City Council and the public will be notified of any further changes to services resulting from a governmental response to COVID-19. DISCUSSION On March 9, 2020, the City conducted a tabletop Emergency Operations Center (“EOC”) exercise that hypothesized a scenario in which a local outbreak of COVID-19 occurred in the City. As part of the City’s after action review, and in addition to the guidance provided by federal, state, and local public health agencies, the City took inventory of its supplies designed to help mitigate the transmission of COVID-19 both within City departments and the public at-large. Although City stores have an adequate supply of resources to support current operations, should there be a larger outbreak of COVID-19 locally, these resources would be utilized quickly and adequate reserves are not available. Recent supply chain issues from the global impact of COVID-19 have heightened concerns that goods may not be available for supply when they are needed most. As a result, and out of an abundance of caution, a supplemental budget appropriation of $50,000 from the General Fund Emergency Reserve is requested to help support and resupply vital resources to not only ensure the continuity of City operations in the event of a broader outbreak locally but also to help provide COVID-19 transmission mitigation as part of the City’s daily service orientation. COVID-19 Preparations and Resolution No. 7299 Authorizing a Supplemental Budget Appropriation March 17, 2020 Page 3 of 3 The supplemental budget appropriation will be used to acquire additional supplies to include handwashing stations, toilet paper, sanitizing agents, water, and other consumables. Given the widespread concerns of COVID-19, many of the items are already under low supply or out of stock, with long-lead and delivery times. Therefore, the prudent thing is to acquire these supplies now so they can be available later when they would be even more difficult to obtain. ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT The proposed action does not constitute a project under the California Environmental Quality Act (“CEQA”), and it can be seen with certainty that it will have no impact on the environment. Thus, this matter is exempt under CEQA. FISCAL IMPACT At this time, the request is for $50,000, which would allow the City to purchase specific items in demand now as well as to have a budget to quickly address needs as they develop. There are sufficient funds available in the General Fund Emergency Reserve for this purpose. RECOMMENDATION It is recommended the City Council determine that this action does not constitute a project and is therefore exempt under the California Environmental Quality Act (“CEQA”); and adopt Resolution No. 7299 amending the Fiscal Year 2019-20 General Fund Budget authorizing a supplemental budget appropriation from the Emergency Reserve Fund in the amount of $50,000 to purchase emergency supplies for COVID-19 transmission mitigation on an as-needed basis. Attachment: Resolution No. 7299