Big Bear CERT General Meeting
April 22, 2019 – Big Bear Senior Center
Meeting called to order at 6 pm.
Attendees: Susan Elliot, Dede Hermon, Erin Fox (Red Cross), Christine Villafuerte (Red Cross), Dave Jones, Laura Nowak
Red Cross Sound the Alarm – Erin Fox
Erin discussed the upcoming Big Bear Sound the Alarm event. She distributed the Incident Action Plan for the Board’s review and records. She will be making the presentation to the General Membership tonight as well. The event has been approved by OES.
Communication Plan
The American Red Cross identified Ham and FRS Frequencies in their Incident Action Plan.
- FRS Radio: Channel 7, 462.7125 mhz
- HAM Radio: Simplex, 2 meter, 145.6150 mhz
Shane Stogorman is making himself available to program radios
Recommend running a test of FRS and Ham Radios on Wednesday’s door hanger event.
Treasurer’s Report – Dede Hermon
Financials
As of March 1st our checking balance was $4281.20; end of March balance $4281.36. No checks or withdrawals made during March.
April expenditures: $67.89 paid to Bear Valley Printing for promotional CERT postcards.
Insurance will be due June 1st and paid in May. Should be roughly $1500 to $2000.
Insurance company asked if we wanted to purchase Terrorism Insurance for the Board. Board felt it’s not necessary.
CERT Member Time Sheets
Dede has CERT time sheet forms. CERT members are encouraged to track their time spent on CERT activities outside of regular meetings. This information will be sent to John Ferdon of OES and will help justify additional future resource allocation for BBVCERT.
Member Recognition
BBVCERT has a bit of surplus money. Dede motioned that we use some of that money to purchase CERT items and use it to recognize our active members. This would be a nominal way to show our appreciation for team effort and response. Items would include:
- Lanyards for badges. (Note: Dave thinks that we may have lanyards in the Big Bear City tub.)
- Neck wallet with CERT logo for those who respond to an activation. Cost $4.48 each; purchase 50. Total expense $224
- Lapel pin for new members when they receive their Id card. Cost $3.00 each; purchase 50. Total expense $150
- CERT stickers. Sell to members; use for equipment. 100 stickers. Total expense $150
Dede brought to table as motion; Susan seconded. All in favor. Approved expenditure of above noted items.
Other Notes
Fawnskin CERT storage is by the Fawnskin fire station. There is yellow cordoned off equipment inside that is State disaster corps property. The items should be moved out of the CERT storage and marked as such or incorporate it into our inventory.
There are grants available from the state; first is due April 29thfrom the California Volunteers Office of the Governor. It’s available for the CA Emergency Preparedness Campaign. Need to find out the scope of the grants.
President’s Report – Eric Steele (Absentee Report given by Susan)
Comments from John Ferdon:
“This was the first time that all of your hard work, training and public outreach had been documented. Based on reports submitted to me and a couple calculated reports for teams not able to submit information, you all donated a total of 8,794 hours to your communities, friends and neighbors. I’m quite confident that there was probably more but this was what I could document and provide “up the chain””
The President’s Volunteer Service Award was received by the BBV CERT. We need to have the award mounted and available for display at meetings and events.
Maria Laverty was presented with a MPOD certificate.
The BBVCERT team will be recognized at Tuesday’s Big Bear Fire Department Board meeting for their response to the request for assistance during the Valentine’s Day storm. The meeting is at 6 pm at the Performing Arts Center, 39707 Big Bear Blvd, Big Bear Lake.
Upcoming Events
- Big Bear Air Fair will be held on Saturday, July 6 from 9 am to 3 pm. The application has not been turned in yet. Dede will handle submitting the application and take care of getting the certificate of insurance. The event has been approved by OES.
- Tour de Big Bear is in need of aid station staffing. BBVCERT will agree to staff a smaller aid station for the first year. About ten people are interested.
Fundraisers
- June 3: Sonora Cantina $1 tacos
- September 11: Maggio’s Pizza (a portion of every pizza sold will be donated to BBVCERT)
Big Bear Repeater
Shane Stogorman, KK6EQW, Captain, Big Bear Section Emergency Communication Service (ECS) San Bernardino County Fire-OES is working on a Memorandum Of Understanding (MOU) with the Big Bear Amateur Radio Club to allow CERT to use the repeater.
Tom & Dede Hermon’s repeater is also available for CERT use and will be the primary repeater in case of emergency or disaster.
Equipment Review
We need to go to the CERT storage container and review the equipment. Suggest starting with the Big Bear City Fire Station.
Dave Jones – Safety Reminders
Safety protection equipment. What you should wear when you show up
Power lines falling on car – how to get out of a car without getting electrocuted (Today Show); ok to back car up and do not get out of car. Nick will discuss the topic following the Red Cross presentation.
Next Meeting will be held one week early due to Memorial Day conflict. Meeting moved to Monday, May 20th. Topic: Ideal and Real Life First Aid supplies in a disaster.
Meeting adjourned at 8 pm.