50A - URGENCY ORD - EL NINO - Laserfiche WebLink

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El Nino Plan, Urgency Ordinance, Funding Authorization and Pre - Qualified Vendors for Emergency Services December 15, 2015 Page 2 The City Council is asked to adopt the proposed ordinance (Exhibit 2) updating the Municipal Code. The ordinance will give the authority to the City Manager, followed by the Police Chief, and then the OCFA Division Chief in charge in Santa Ana to declare an emergency; it will remove the requirement for a Disaster Council; and the proposed ordinance will create efficiencies in the City's emergency planning and response activities. The proposed changes are intended to be an interim step in order to respond to El Nino. The City's emergency planning staff will propose a more comprehensive ordinance as they update the City's emergency plan. Given that El Nino storms may begin as soon as the end of December, the City Council is asked to adopt the urgency ordinance as provided for in Section 415 of the City Charter. "Any ordinance declared by the City Council to be necessary as an emergency measure for preserving the public peace, health, or safety, and containing a statement of the reasons for its urgency, may be introduced and adopted at one and the same meeting if passed by the affirmative votes of at least two- thirds (2/3) of the members of the council." Section 415 — S.A. M. C. For the reasons set forth in this report, staff recommends the urgency ordinance The Public Works Agency, Parks, Recreation, and Community Services Agency, the Community Development Agency, and Planning and Building Agency staff have all identified potential impacts of atypical rain events resulting in large amounts of rainfall in concentrated periods of time. Street flooding, tree emergencies, potential basement flooding in both public and private buildings are possible. Staff has identified service contractors that may be needed to respond to these rain and water related emergencies within the City. The City's Municipal Code allows for the City Council to dispense with public bidding procedures when it is in the City's best interests to protect health and safety, but this can only be done after the declaration of an emergency. Recognizing that an El Nino type of emergency can be better anticipated, staff and the City Attorney have prepared an alternative purchasing process involving the pre - qualification of vendors for the City Manager to authorize expenditures in advance of and related to El Nino event(s) for an amount not to exceed $250,000. By approving the pre - qualified list of vendors the City Council will expedite the purchasing process in the event of an El Nino emergency. The staff will be able to respond to situations prior to the formal declaration of an emergency by engaging those on the approved list and with funds authorized by the Council. The pre - qualified vendors will only be engaged to respond to El Nino related emergencies and only up to the amount authorized by the City Council. In the event that any expenditure exceeds the authorized amount, staff must follow the standard emergency purchasing procedures. The pre - qualification alternative is offered to increase efficiency and staff response time in the event of an El Nino emergency only. The list of proposed contractors and vendors is set forth in Exhibit 3. 50A -2