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HomeMy WebLinkAbout143-04 RESOLUTION• • RESOLUTION NO. 1; 4 3-.0 4 A RESOLUTION AUTHORIZING THE FAYETTEVILLE FIRE DEPARTMENT TO APPLY FOR AND ACCEPT A UNITED STATES FOREST SERVICE FIREWISE GRANT IN THE AMOUNT OF $56,000.00 TO CONDUCT A WILDLAND INTERFACE FIRE SAFETY ASSESSMENT. BE IT RESOLVED BY THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF FAYETTEVILLE, ARKANSAS: Section 1. That the City Council of the City of Fayetteville, Arkansas hereby authorizes the Fayetteville Fire Department to apply for and accept a United States Forest Service Firewise Grant in the amount of $56,000.00 to conduct a wildland interface fire safety assessment. PASSED and APPROVED this 21St day of September, 2004. APPROVED: By: , za4/ AN COO P Mayor IPPIP ATTEST • c^ =V. .�: By:"�—'� � ? t ; FAYETTEVILLE: SONDRA SMITH, City Clerk• °I9s'9RKAN5FE'• • • • FIREWISE Hazard Assessment and Mitigation Planning for Fayetteville, Eureka Springs, and Bella Vista Submitted To: David J Samuel, CF, RF FIREWISE Coordinator Arkansas Forestry Commission 3821 West Roosevelt Little Rock, AR 72204 501-296-1940 Submitted By: Dynamac Corporation 4981 Independence Street, Suite 149 Wheat Ridge, CO 80033 303-996-8535 May 20, 2004 This proposal includes data that shall not be disclosed outside the Govemment and shall not be duplicated, used, or disclosed—in whole or in part—for any purpose other than to evaluate this proposal. If, however, a contract is awarded to this offeror as a result of—or in connection with—the submission of this data, the Govemment shall have the right to duplicate, use, or disclose the data to the extent provided in the resulting contract. This restriction does not limit the Government's right to use information contained in this data if it is obtained from another source without restriction. All pages within this proposal that are subject to this restriction are marked as such Use or disclosure of data contained on this page is subject to Page I of 4 the restrictions on the cove sheet of this document. Dynamac Corporation Arkansas FIREWISE Hazard Assessment for Fayetteville, Bella Vista, and Eureka Springs • • 1.0 PROJECT PURPOSE AND GOALS Dynamac Corporation proposes to conduct FIREWISE hazard assessments and develop mitigation plans. for Fayetteville, Eureka Springs, and Bella Vista, Arkansas. The goals are to assist the leaders of these communities to organize FIREWISE Boards, conduct WUI (do we need to identify what WUI is??) Fire Risk Assessments, and prepare Mitigation Plans for each community. Dynamac will also help these communities become recognized as FIREWISE USA Communities. 2.0 COMPANY INFORMATION AND RELEVANT EXPERIENCE Dynamac Corporation, a small, woman -owned, multidisciplinary scientific and environmental services company, has provided advanced technology and information -driven services to assist clients in meeting and exceeding their environmental management responsibilities since 1970. Headquartered in Rockville, Maryland, Dynamac maintains offices nationwide, including offices in Denver, Colorado and Ada Okalahoma. Dynamac offers an in-depth understanding of wildfire science, WUI issues and the National Fire Plan, having conducted wildland fire hazard assessment and mitigation plans for over 50 communities in Idaho, Oregon, Nevada, Wyoming, Tennessee, and Pennsylvania. Dynamac has recent and relevant experience performing wildfire hazard assessments for WUI communities similar to Fayetteville, Bella Vista, and Eureka Springs. In our past WUI community assessments, we conducted hazardous fuel, structure, and community profile surveys to identify direct relevant risks to the community. We also identified potential mitigation projects that if implemented would reduce the risk of wildfire. Dynamac personnel organized and facilitated open -house meetings to publicize information about FIREWISE practices, and obtain public input to identify resources of value to the community and actions that might reduce the risk of wildland fire. Following the meetings, fuel surveys were conducted by categorizing vegetation type, fuel load, slope, and aspect relative to wildfire risk. Structure surveys involved classifying the risk of wildland fire to homes and other community values according to construction materials, the presence of survivable space, and accessibility to emergency equipment. Dynamac's staff interviewed community officials and fire -prevention personnel, and performed systematic observation to assess the adequacy of each community's fire suppression capabilities and infrastructure, including adequacy of roads, water supplies, local FIREWISE regulations and ordinances, and fire fighting equipment. Dynamac personnel integrated the fuel and structural surveys, community interviews, firefighting infrastructure, and community profile into a hazard assessment report for each community. The report described in detail the community profile, values at risk, on-going wildfire hazard reduction, and a discussion of the different risks identified from the various surveys. GIS maps and tabular data identified specific high-risk locations with significant hazards, which included flammable fuels or properties without defensible space. Additionally, GIS maps presented the topography, slope, and aspect for each fuel survey point and section, and predominant fuel types and corresponding hazard rating. The hazard assessment report included photographs of each assessment point, corresponding field data forms, and community survey forms. Dynamac personnel incorporated input from fire professionals and residents into a companion hazard mitigation report. In this report, Dynamac staff recommended and prioritized specific activities that would most effectively reduce the risk of wildland fire hazards that were identified during the hazard assessment. Examples of recommended mitigation activities include reducing flammable fuels, creating local firebreaks, improving the community's firefighting capability, and expanding community education programs that teach FIREWISE practices. Use or disclosure of data contained on this page is subject to Page 2 of 4 the restrictions on rhe cove sheet of this document. Dynamac Corporation Arkansas FIREWISE Hazard Assessment for Fayetteville, Bella Vista, and Eureka Springs • • At a second public meeting, the wildfire hazard assessment results and the proposed mitigation projects were presented to the community. A large GIS "mitigation map" was developed, allowing community members to see what mitigation actions were recommended and where they would be located. The maps used symbols, text, and labels to clearly identify the actions, such as firebreaks, fuel reduction, and water storage tanks. Following the second public meeting, the mitigation report was made available for public review and comment before finalization. 4.0 TECHNICAL APPROACH The project goals will be accomplished by conducting WUI wildfire risk assessments, identify mitigation projects, convening public meetings, and assisting in the organization of FIREWISE Community Boards for Fayetteville, Bella Vista, and Eureka Springs. The field assessment will consist of evaluating home owner associations within a community as to their risk to wildfire. If a home owner association is to large or diverse to be meaningful, the associations will be divided into neighborhoods based on houses located in close proximity that can be grouped by similar attributes such as type of building material, street location, or presence of hazardous fuels. The neighborhood will be assessed as to the prevailing conductions of the houses and roads, and ranked according to FIREWISE criteria. The neighborhoods will then receive a low, moderate, or high hazardous ranking based on the FIREWISE score. Community maps will be developed that display the hazardous rankings. Mitigation projects will be identified and defined that could reduce the risk of wildfire to the community or home owner association. The mitigation projects will be identified based on observations while conducting the structure surveys and from interviews of elected and emergency personnel. Examples of potential mitigation projects are hazardous fuel modification, improvements to rural fire department equipment and/or training, or improving emergency vehicle assess to neighborhoods. Dynamac personnel will prepare a mitigation report for each community that will detail the results of the structure survey and prioritized mitigation projects. All mitigation projects will be described as to location, need, hazard description, project design, anticipated outcome, and estimated cost. Sufficient detail will be provided in the reports to help the FIREWISE Boards in preparing grant applications to support the proposed mitigation projects. A mitigation map for each community will be developed that illustrates all projects in relationship to home owner associations or neighborhoods. Dynamac staff will also conduct a thorough community outreach effort. The community outreach will consist of one open -house meeting with the general public and two targeted meetings with the FIREWISE Board for each community. The first FIREWISE Board meeting will be held in conjunction with the public open -house meeting. The second FIREWISE Board meeting will be held two to three weeks later. The purpose of the Board meetings is to discuss and apply the procedures necessary to qualify as a FIREWISE USA Community. The FIREWISE Broad will have the discretion to invite the public to their meetings. We will keep detailed notes on the issues discussed and the concerns of the attendees. A list of attendees will be maintained. The open -house meetings will be held in a public location such as a library, rural fire department, or city hall. Public notification will occur through newspaper articles, mass mailings, and radio announcements. We have found that open -house meetings serve best the public interest. The meetings will be coordinated with community officials as to location, length, and time. We will provide FIREWISE brochures and informational displays, and other important resources. We will ask the attendees to fill a survey questionnaire in which will solicit information on perceived fire risk to the community, community values, and potential mitigation projects. Targeted meetings with the community FIREWISE Broads will focus on the procedures necessary to be recognized as a FIREWISE USA Community. The process will include planning for a project that will reduce the risk of wildfire to the community. Use or disclosure of data contained on this page is subject to Page 3 of 4 the restrictions on the cove sheet of this document. Dynamac Corporation Arkansas FIREWISE Hazard Assessment for Fayetteville, Bella Vista, and Eureka Springs • • 5.0 Services and Deliverables Dynamac Corporation will provide the following services and deliverables to each community: Services: • Assist in the organization and initiation of a Community FIREWISE Board • Coordinate and facilitate a FIREWISE Public Meeting to convey the results of the wildfire risk assessment and mitigation findings, • Work with the FIREWISE Board to coordinate and facilitate a FIREWISE Demonstration Project and FIREWISE Day Community Event. Deliverables: • Conduct a Community FIREWISE Assessment and prepare a wildfire risk report and map that rank home owners associations and/or neighborhoods as to low, moderate, or high risk using the FIREWISE hazard assessment criteria. • Develop a mitigation report and map that will define and prioritize potential mitigation projects that if implemented may reduce the risk of wildfire to the community 6.0 Cost Proposal We estimate that the Fayetteville community will cost $56,000, the Bella Vista community will cost $47,000, and the Eureka Springs community will cost $47,000. These costs will apply for individual communities or in any combination. Use or disclosure of data contained on this page is subject to Page 4 of 4 the restrictions on the cove sheet of this document. Dynamac Corporation Arkansas FIREWISE Hazard Assessment for Fayetteville, Bella Vista, and Eureka Springs • NAME OF FILE: CROSS REFERENCE: Date Resolution No. 143-04 w/grant Document • 1 08/30/04 memo to mayor & City Council 2 draft resolution 3 email from Kelly Hurt 4 email from Terry Lawson 5 Staff Review Form 6 memo Chris Bosch 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 NOTES: • CITY COUNCIL AGENDA MEMO lets , 57 it 7e1 /f�3 City Counci eeting of September 21, 2004 Fi' gr./ To: Mayor and City Council From: Chris Bosch, Fire Chie Date: August 30, 2004 Subject: A Resolution providing the Fire Department with the ability to apply for a Firewise Grant in the sum of $56,000 to conduct a community wildland interface fire safety assessment. RECOMMENDATION The Fire Department recommends approval of a Resolution providing the Fire Department with the - authority to apply for, and take delivery of a Firewise Grant in the sum of $56,000 to conduct a community wildland interface fire safety assessment. BACKGROUND As a result of the recent wildland fires in California the US Forestry Service has established a national funding program for local governments to conduct wildland interface fire safety assessments. This program is being administered through the State Department of Forestry. This program provides funding for an assessment, which will assist the City of Fayetteville in determining the level of community risk related to the wildland/urban fire interface. DISCUSSION The development of this risk assessment will be conducted by the Dynamac Corporation, which is the State's risk assessment contractor. Once this risk assessment has been completed Dynamac will present its findings to the Fayetteville Firewise Board, which is made up of representatives from the Council of Neighborhoods. The mitigation recommendations will be utilized as a guide to facilitate discussions with the respective Neighborhood groups regarding their areas. These groups will then be asked to conduct these mitigation efforts in order to meet the guidelines of the Firewise program. Once the assessment has been finalized and the mitigation recommendations have been developed the City of Fayetteville will be recognized as a Firewise Community. Currently there are only four cities in Northwest Arkansas that have been earmarked for these funds. The approval and award of these funds is based on our willingness to apply. The only requirement for receipt of these funds is that the City establishes a Firewise Board to oversee this project. As previously mentioned, this Board consists of representatives from the respective neighborhoods, who currently sit on the Council of Neighborhoods, as well as a representative from the Arkansas Department of Forestry and the Fire Department. This Board was established in the spring and is currently awaiting receipt of the report from Dynamac. BUDGET IMPACT This item requires no matching funds. The only financial impact to the Fire Department involves a Department Staff Member's participation in a monthly Firewise Board meeting. We plan on having one of our Chief Officers participate as the Department's representative. • • RESOLUTION NO. A RESOLUTION AUTHORIZING THE FAYETTEVILLE FIRE DEPARTMENT TO APPLY FOR AND ACCEPT A UNITED STATES FOREST SERVICE FIREWISE GRANT IN THE AMOUNT OF $56,000.00 TO CONDUCT A WILDLAND INTERFACE FIRE SAFETY ASSESSMENT. BE IT RESOLVED BY THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF FAYETTEVILLE, ARKANSAS: Section 1. That the City Council of the City of Fayetteville, Arkansas hereby authorizes the Fayetteville Fire Department to apply for and accept a United States Forest Service Firewise Grant in the amount of $56; 0 0019:0 to conduct a wildland interface fire safety assessment. PASSED and APPROVED this 21st day of September.,:2 A re APPROU' DARN GOODY, Mayor By. City @1=rk Elizabeth Mann :RE: 2004 Community Assessment Grants _ Page 1 , 4 • From: "Hurt, Kelly" <khurt@dynamac.com> To: "Terry Lawson" <tlawson@ci.fayetteville.ar.us> Date: 8/16/04 2:59PM Subject: RE: 2004 Community Assessment Grants • Terry, I've been working to have everything set up and ready on our end. From a practical standpoint, there is really nothing to be done until you get your check. At that time, we'll send you a contract to review and sign (if it meets your approval). Then, we'll get to work. Thanks, Kelly —Original Message— From: Terry Lawson [mailto:tlawson@ci.fayetteville.ar.us) Sent: Mon 8/16/2004 12:22 PM To: Hurt, Kelly Cc: Subject: RE: 2004 Community Assessment Grants Kelly, Thanks for the update . Is there anything else that we need to do at this time ? Thanks, Terry Terry Lawson, Battalion Chief Fayetteville Fire Department Office of Community Education 303 W. Center Fayetteville, Ar 72701 Office 479-718-7630 Fax 479-718-7631 E-mail tlawson@ci.fayetteville.ar.us »> "Hurt, Kelly" <khurt@dynamac.com> 08/10/04 03:17PM »> To all: I believe that I have spoken to everyone except Terry Lawson. However, I am ready and willing to talk to any of you at any time. My contact info is listed below my name. Just let me know what you need or if you have any questions. Also we are finalizing a draft contract for you all to review. My hope is that we can have it ready and sent to you by the time that you get your money. We are going to have to really hustle to get this work done by December 31 so I hope to get all of the contractual paperwork out of the way as soon as possible so that we can get on with the real work at hand. I am really looking forward to working with all of you in such a beautiful part of the world during a beautiful time of year (all the trees remind me of my Mississippi home). _Elizabeth Mann - RE: 2004 Community Assessment Grants Page 2 Village • Thanks again, Kelly Hurt Ph D Program Manager Dynamac Corporation 3601 Oakridge Boulevard Ada, OK 74820 Telephone: (580) 436-5740 Fax: (580) 436-6496 khurt@dynamac.com • Original Message -- From: David Samuel[mailto:David.Samuel@arkansas.gov] Sent: Tuesday, August 10, 2004 10:55 AM To: jimvtc@hotmail.com; cht©bellavistapoa.com; ttawson@ci.fayetteville.ar.us; City of Cherokee Cc: Don McBride; Hurt, Kelly Subject: 2004 Community Assessment Grants The Arkansas Forestry Commission has approved 2004 Mitigation Grants for the following communities: - Bella Vista Village (through Benton County) - City of Cherokee Village - City of Eureka Springs - City of Fayetteville Since these are several of the larger WUI communities in Arkansas, we recognize that your Fire Departments would take over a year if not more to complete individual home risk assessments. We have reviewed the Dynamac Corp. projects in Tennessee last year and were impressed. Dynamac will be working with you in establishing community FireWise Boards, holding a Town Meeting, completing an assessment for the Community and working with you in developing a FireWise Plan. Dynamac will work you through the Firewise Community/USA process so that your communities can be certified by December 31 2004. We have processed the applications for everyone but Bella Vista Village and expect that one by the end of the week. Our Finance Chief has requested the funding for these grants from the U. S. Forest Service and expects notification any day now. He will be mailing you checks for you to contract with Dynamac Corporation. I believe Kelly Hurt with Dynamac has contacted all of you now and he will be preparing a short contract (similar to one used in the Tennessee projects) for completing these projects by December 31, 2004. Please disregard the July 1 -September 30 project dates on the application form. Those dates were a target period for getting the grants approved. Looking forward to working with each of you in making these Arkansas "Ozark" communites "FireWise"! Please give me a call if you have any questions. David David J Samuel, CF, RF FireWise Coordinator ", Elizabeth Mann -Fwd: FW: Technical Specs for Contracts with Dynamac Corporation . Page 1,. • • • From: Terry Lawson To: Mann, Elizabeth Date: 8/29/04 7:36PM Subject: Fwd: FW: Technical Specs for Contracts with Dynamac Corporation Terry Lawson, Battalion Chief Fayetteville Fire Department Office of Community Education 303 W. Center Fayetteville, Ar 72701 Office 479-718-7630 Fax 479-718-7631 E-mail tlawson@ci.fayetteville.ar.us »> "David Samuel" <David.Samuel@arkansas.gov> 08/12/04 11:44AM »> Greetings from the cool climate of Little Rock... Attached is a copy of the project proposal received from Dynamac Corporation which should basically be what is included in your contracts. This may be more detailed than your contract but this what the AFC and Dynamac agreed upon when the estimates were determined for these three communities. The same specs should apply to the contract with Cherokee Village with the estimate being $40,000. Sorry on the delay with the checks but understand the funds should arrive any day now. Any questions, please give me a call at 501-296-1872. Have a great day, David Original Message— From: Barker, Jerry jmailto:ibarkert dvnamac.comj Sent Friday, May 21, 2004 7:15 PM To: David Samuel Subject: Technical and cost Proposal David Attached is our technical and cost proposal for conducting the fire hazard assessments for the three communities that we discussed. Please review and contact me if you have questions. Jerry Barker Dynamac Corporation 303-996-8535 X AGENDA REQUEST CONTRACT REVIEW GRANT REVIEW STAFF 1 EW FORM - FINANCIAL OBLIGATION For the Fayetteville City Council Meeting of: September 21, 2004 FROM: Chief Chris Bosch Name Fire Fire Division Department ACTION REQUIRED: The Fire Dept requests the opportunity to apply for and accept a 2004 Mitigation Grant from the U.S.Forestry Service in the amount of $56,000. Fayetteville is one of four communities in the state identified by the Arkansas Forestry Commission as eligible to receive this grant. The grant targets wild land/urban interface communities and provides these communities with financial resources to do risk assessments and develop a Firewise Plan. There is no financial obligation to the City for this project. Dynamac Corporation is the project manager for this program and will perform all the necessary work associated with this grant. COST TO CITY: $0.00 $ - Services and Charges Cost of this request 1010.3020.5314.00 Account Number Category/Project Budget Program Category / Project Name $ - Firewise-Urban Interface Project Funds Used to Date Program / Project Category Name Project Number Remaining Balance BUDGET REVIEW: Ai/k Budgeted Budget Manager g-»,oy Date Item Fund Name Budget Adjustment Attached CONTRACT/GRANT/LEASE REVIEW: 814.30 Accounting Manager Date CaVieti City Att rney Date bitiu ektog Internal Auditor Date -P ULEe 6 is Ioi Purchasing Manager Date STAFF RECOMMENDATION: Division Head Department Director ervices Dir. Date Date Received (/ / CrOss 9 -Z -Dy �Da to r� in Mayor's Office Reference: Previous Ord/Res#: Orig. Orig. Contract Date: Contract Number: New Item: 02451 Date f1# Yes No FAYETTEVILLE THE CITY OF FAYETTEVILLE, ARKANSAS City Clerk Division DEPARTMENTAL CORRESPONDENCE • 113 West Mountain Fayetteville, AR 72701 Telephone: (479) 575-8323 To: Chris Bosch Fire Department From: Clarice Buffalohead-Pearman City Clerk Division Date• September 27, 2004 Re: Resolution No. 143-04 The City Council passed a resolution, September 21, 2004, authorizing the fire department staff to apply and accept a grant from United States Forest Service Firewise Grant. I have attached a copy of the resolution. The resolution will be recorded in the city clerk's office and microfilmed. If anything else is needed please let the clerk's office know. /cbp attachments cc: Nancy Smith, Internal Auditor