The meeting was held at the Emergency Operations Center at Benicia Fire Station 11, commencing at 1535 hours. The list of attendees will be found at the end of these minutes. The following topics of discussion are in the order of the meeting agenda prepared by Chairman Bob Mutch.

BSG Update. Marion McKown

The March 3, 2005 meeting was attended by 14 members.

It was agreed at this meeting that only the annual general meeting of all BERT members would be called a muster.

Jean Colomy reported that 40 BERT members will attend the March 26, 2005 refresher training.

Chief Hanley will have a list prepared for distribution to all captains and co-captains that describes their responsibilities and procedures. Jean Colomy will furnish Chief Hanley all pertinent questions and suggestions from team meetings for possible addressing in the list.

Jean Colomy noted that she is still in need of staging location identification from all captains.

Status of Rio Vista Grant Offer. Chief Hanley

Rio Vista has not yet formed a citizen corps council. Chief Hanley believes Rio Vista still has a 50-50 chance of receiving the grant.

BERT Class #9 Status. Chief Hanley

Chief Hanley reported that the class is proceeding on schedule, with graduation set for April 2, 2005. Marion McKown noted that more BERT members are still needed to help in the April 2 training.

BERT DVD Production Status. Chief Hanley

All who have seen the introduction in the video agree that it is excellent. Editing is continuing, with effort to get all material on to one disk.

Red Cross Benicia Shelter Survey Status. Bob Mutch

Bob Mutch reported that Leslie Kvasnicka has completed surveying two more churches since the last report dated 2/5/2005.

Cache Supply/Deployment Status. Chief Hanley

All supplies have been ordered. Receipt status is unknown. Locating cache boxes in accessible private side or back yards of members was discussed. The boxes must be protected from rainfall and high temperatures. Mike White agreed to identify suitable, low cost shelters for the boxes.

April Drill Preparation.

Bob Mutch has notified all BERT captains of the city-wide drill planned for April 30, 2005. This must be conveyed to all members to get maximum participation. Chief Hanley agreed to mail a letter on Fire Department letterhead to all members approximately three weeks before the drill. Art Mayoff reported that there will be an ACS practice on April 14, 2005, in which radio operators will use the current BERT forms devised by the Fire Department. Chief Hanley will have the forms sent to Art. Art said ACS will have radio operators assigned for each of the BERT Management Zone Teams.

ACS. Art Mayoff

Art reported that the March 5, 2005 drill was very successful. The second radio channel that was added was extremely effective in reducing radio traffic congestion. Art noted that there was a problem in providing physical accommodation for the second radio operators in the EOC. The old radio used for the second channel did experience some crosstalk from the other radio channel.

Throughout the drill It was impossible to communicate with the County due to terrain interference. Art recommends acquiring a digital forwarder to solve this problem.

Art requests that the Fire Department provide funding for second radio operator working space, headphones, foot switches, a digital forwarder and power supply. He will furnish budgetary estimates to Chief Hanley by Monday, March 21, 2005, for consideration in the new fiscal year budget.

At Art's request, Chief Hanley will investigate the possibility of providing an additional key for access to the repeater site.

Roundtable.

Officer Baron reported that two Fraud Awareness for Seniors presentations by the Benicia Police Department are planned: one at the Senior Center, and one at Rancho Benicia.

Mike White noted that volunteer firefighter Jay Garibaldi has been recognized for his 25 years of service as a volunteer. Mike also reported that he received his first inquiry as a result of registering Benicia Volunteer Fire under the National "Fire Corps" program. The inquiry was received from Fireman's Fund Insurance Company's Bucket Brigade Committee and may lead to a contribution.

Ron Uhlman reported hearing a reference to the Medical Service Corps at a recent conference. He will investigate further to determine if the Medical Service Corps may still be viable.

Officer Baron reported that 11 Benicia police volunteers attended the California Peace Officers Association conference in Lodi on March 11, 2005. She also reported that police volunteers put in 3400 hours in 2004, notably up from the 1300 hours logged in 2003. The 2004 volunteer hours would equal $30,000 in equivalent paid police officer time. Officer Baron has recommended that the volunteer hours be reported to the Benicia City Council at an April council meeting. Mike White has recommended that all Benicia public safety volunteer hours be complied and reported in local newspapers.

Pastor Pollard reported that an Assembly of God Church committee is considering establishing a coordination function for Northern California/Nevada chaplains.

The meeting concluded at 1709.

The next meeting is scheduled at the same time and place on Wednesday, April 20, 2005.

Attendees

Name and Affiliation

Patti Baron, Benicia Police Dept.
Jean Colomy, BERT Support Group
Len Corbaley, BERT/BARC
Ken Hanley, Benicia Fire Dept.
Art Mayoff, ACS/BERT/VIPS
Marion McKown, BERT Support Group
Joe Murray, BCCC scribe/BERT/VIPS
Bob Mutch, BCCC Chairman
Jerry Pollard, Benicia VIPS
Mike White, Benicia Volunteer Firefighters