Town of Halifax, Vermont
SPECIAL MEETING MINUTES

September 27, 2012

Call to Order

This special meeting for DisasterLAN training began at 5:15 PM at the Halifax Elementary.  Board members in attendance were Edee Edwards and Earl Holtz.  Lewis Sumner was present during the meeting start and end only.  Members of the public in attendance included Christina Moore, Justin Berry, William Hathaway from Bennington Rescue, and Bob Weinert, trainer from Vermont Emergency Management.

DisasterLAN training

DisasterLAN is a secure system that has been used by and in Vermont state since 2004.  Fundamentally, this is a “ticket tracking” system that can be used to report and track issues during a disaster or other incident.

By tracking calls or tickets in this statewide system, you can report, route and follow through on the multiple individual needs that arise during a disaster, connecting with folks at the state level or in other towns.  The system database components include:

•         the ability to link addresses to GPS coordinates,

•         a database of people involved in disaster preparedness and response across the state and towns

•         form libraries, such as the ICS forms that we used to track activities during Irene, and

•         A resource request component

It also can house/store town-specific files, such as those we have related to Irene.

The system further integrates with “Vermont Alert” which is a system that can be used to give mass notifications, and also with a restricted component called “Vermont Live” which included maps with various mapping layers, such as trail systems; roads, culverts and bridges; power outage notices, and so forth.

Some specific follow-through items we noted for using this system more effectively:

•         Identify the roles we have in our disaster plans, and give a list of those to Weinert to set up:  Berry

•         Locate and send a copy of Halifax’s latest Basic Emergency Operations Plan to Weinert:  Edwards

•         Practice on the system:  All trained members

•         Plan for usage and train.

The meeting adjourned at approximately 9:00 pm.

Respectfully submitted,

Edee Edwards, Selectboard Vice Chair