The ordinance replaces the city’s now-obsolete civil defense ordinance, which Police Chief Phil Schenck said was written in the 1950s or ’60s. According to city documents, the city’s municipal civil defense code did not comply with current state law, which requires cities to have an approved emergency management plan that uses the National Incident Management System (NIMS).
The emergency management ordinance that was approved this week establishes an emergency management program and emergency management plan under direction of the mayor. Othello currently has an agreement with Adams County in which the county provides emergency management direction, since it has a state-approved plan. The new ordinance allows Othello to create its own state-approved emergency management plan if it chooses to do so.
Schenck proposed the ordinance at Monday’s meeting, stating it would give the city the flexibility to either continue contracting out its emergency management services or create its own, which would have to be approved by the state.
In addition to creating the city’s new emergency management program, the new code also defines powers of the mayor in the event of an emergency or disaster in the city. The code empowers the mayor in disaster situations to proclaim the existence of an emergency (as authorized by local and state statute), make and issue rules and regulations on matters related to the protection of life and property, obtain vital supplies and equipment, and more.
Schenck said Monday there is another section of code that will be brought to the council in the near future regarding emergency power for the council and city administrator.
“The purpose for that is after that is declared, they can actually do emergency spending and stuff,” Schenck said. “For a very big disaster — we are not talking small stuff — we need to have this stuff in place.”
The ordinance repealing the old civil defense code and creating the new emergency management code was approved by a unanimous vote of the council.
The council also approved an increase to the speed limit on a portion of Broadway Avenue at Monday’s meeting. The speed limit on the north portion of Broadway was effectively increased from 25 mph to 35 mph.
The move comes several weeks after the city approved a 5-mph speed limit increase on a portion of Main Street. After the council approved the Main Street change, it requested city staff to bring forth an additional code amendment addressing the speed limit on Broadway.
Schenck told the council that staff put the traffic counter out on the portion of Broadway that was in question to measure speeds and gather data. Schenck said he supported the notion of increasing the speed limit to 35 mph because it is important to encourage drivers to use the arterials as much as possible.
“It’s very important that we increase the speeds on our arterials because when they are the same speed as our neighborhoods, people are going to continue to cut through the neighborhoods,” Schenck said. “What we are trying to do is get people out onto those arterials and out of the neighborhoods.
“As we come up with our traffic plans, we have to identify those arterials and make it beneficial for our citizens to get out there and drive on the increased speed so they get out of the neighborhoods.”
The speed limit increase was approved by a unanimous vote from the City Council.
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