City of Alexandria, Virginia
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MEMORANDUM
DATE: January 20, 2021
TO: THE HONORABLE MAYOR AND MEMBERS OF CITY COUNCIL
FROM: MARK B. JINKS, CITY MANAGER /s/
DOCKET TITLE:
TITLE
Consideration of Adopting the ResilientALX Charter.
BODY
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ISSUE: Consideration of adopting the Resilient ALX Charter.
RECOMMENDATION: That City Council receive and approve the adoption of the proposed ResilientALX Charter (Attachment 2).
BACKGROUND: The Alexandria Citizen Corps Council (“CCC”) has been vested in the safety and security of Alexandria Residents and Businesses. In an effort to better understand the issues and approaches to increasing the resilience of the city, the CCC in coordination with the Office of Emergency Management has drafted a ResilientALX Charter. A project that will take a comprehensive approach to understand areas of risk and develop a sound strategy to prepare for and mitigate against those risks.
DISCUSSION: The City of Alexandria’s FY 2017 to FY 2022 Strategic Plan highlights the importance of a Safe and Resilient Community. Alexandria’s Citizen Corps Council is designed to advise the City on how to enhance community resilience. The project will include creating a Charter, and Assessment and Report. The Charter offers an overarching vision to supplement the goal of Alexandria’s Strategic Plan in the area of creating a Safe and Resilient Community.
Charter
The CCC Charter will utilize the FEMA Lifelines <https://www.fema.gov/emergency-managers/practitioners/lifelines> to categorize data from the study. The results of which will inform the Focus Areas of the Assessment and Report. The CCC will work collaboratively with related advisory bodies to create a sound and unifying vision for the City.
Assessment and Report
Once completed and approved by City Council, the CCC will start its Assessment and Reporting
process. The Assessment, the CCC proposes that its members, with aid from a research student(s), will:
§ Analyze existing preparedness data; and
§ Solicit stakeholder input through surveys
It is anticipated that the report will identify perceived strengths and weaknesses in Alexandria’s preparedness posture, along with recommended actions.
Integration into Strategic Plan
Change begins with a data-driven, comprehensive understanding of the issues-the Assessment will bring clarity. CCC will further explore cost effective options for improving resilience, as well as grant and other funding opportunities to help the City realize its goals.
The resulting Report (ResilientALX Action Plan) will then serve as a powerful tool to inform current and future Strategic Plans-particularly for the thematic area, Safe and Resilient Community.
FISCAL IMPACT: There is no significant fiscal impact.
The CCC plans to utilize graduate students to gather and assimilate data. It is anticipated that direct cost to the City will be minimal during the course of executing the charter and developing the report. The Office of Emergency Management will utilize staff time to assist with the completion of the final document. Examples of potential staff time are:
• Assisting with research
• Assisting with interpretation of data and analysis
• Project Management/Administration
ATTACHMENTS:
1. ResilientALX Charter Executive Summary
2. ResilientALX Charter
STAFF:
Debra Collins, Deputy City Manager
Corey Smedley, Fire Chief
Ray Whatley, Acting Emergency Management Coordinator