Federal emergency management money will help make Carson City disaster resistant

Carson City formally qualified Tuesday for $300,000 in federal funding to launch projects to better prepare the city for disasters.

In a signing ceremony Tuesday on the Capitol steps, Carson City became the first state capital to join the Project Impact program launched in 1997 by the Federal Emergency Management Agency. Las Vegas, Reno and Sparks are the other Nevada cities among the 200 disaster-prone communities across the country that are Project Impact communities.

Project Impact encourages public-private partnerships to assess potential disaster problems and find ways to prevent or limit damage before disasters occur.

"This partnership sits down and looks at the hazards and decides on projects to help build a disaster resistant Carson City," said Kevin Clark, the western regional Project Impact coordinator for FEMA. "Project Impact has a goal of reducing economic and personal loss in a community caused by future disasters."

Carson City's Emergency Management Advisory Committee has established four priority areas to deal with the most likely disasters expected in the region: wildland fire, earthquakes and flooding.

"You think of the old Boy Scout motto: Be Prepared," Mayor Ray Masayko said. "Government is starting to think like business. It's easier to maintain it than to pick up the pieces and fix it."

The advisory committee suggested splitting the $300,000 as follows:

- $115,000 will go to updating the city's storm drainage master plan and also establishing a utility to charge residents for the construction of an extensive storm drainage system.

Floods in 1986 and 1997 reminded the community that Carson City is vulnerable to flooding from the canyons on the west side. Storm drainage became a top priority for City Hall following the New Year's Flood of 1997.

The Project Impact money will supplement the $90,000 that the Carson City Board of Supervisors has committed to storm drainage.

- The Carson City School District will get $90,000 for community education templates (brochures) and to assemble emergency kits for all 400 classrooms. The templates will be given to all students, student parents and school district employees in September.

"They will let the community know what we will do if there is a disaster," said Mike Mitchell, the school district's operations director.

- Public education will get $30,000 to be focused on preparing senior citizens and people with special needs for disasters as well as helping the business community help itself.

- The emergency committee also decided to give $15,000 for portable fencing to create disaster animal shelters.

The remaining $50,000 will be allocated to administration and marketing.

Carson City has a long history of disaster preparation. The Emergency Management Advisory Committee - composed of city department heads whose operations touch on disaster preparedness - has met quarterly for 10 years, City Manager John Berkich said.

"Project Impact is an accumulation of a lot of preparation over the years," Berkich said.

Signatories to Carson City's Project Impact memo of understanding:

- Kevin Clark, Western Region Project Impact coordinator for the Federal Emergency Management Agency

- Mayor Ray Masayko

- City Manager John Berkich

- Representatives from Gov. Kenny Guinn's office, the American Red Cross, the Small Business Administration, the state Emergency Management Division, Sierra Pacific Power, Nevada Bell, Builders Association of Western Nevada, Carson Access Television and the Nevada Appeal

- Superintendent Jim Perry of the Carson City School District

- Larry Osborne, Carson City Area Chamber of Commerce

- Isabel Young, Carson City Human Society

- Janice McIntosh, Carson City Senior Center

- Steve Mihelic, Carson City Fire Department

- Tom Hoffert, Carson City Utilities Department

- Mahmood Azad, Carson City Development Services

- Walt Sullivan, Carson City Community Development Department

- Steve Kastens, Carson City Parks and Recreation Department