Chatham To Stick With Current Emergency Shelter Plan

CHATHAM – The town will continue to rely on a regional shelter for prolonged emergencies, while the community center will remain an emergency personal care site for short-term situations.

 The select board approved that recommendation from Fire Chief and Emergency Management Director Justin Tavano last week, rejecting a proposal to develop an alternative plan for a full-scale local emergency shelter by a 3-2 vote.

 Select board member Stuart Smith pushed for the alternate shelter plan, saying the town should be ready to take care of residents should the regional shelter plan falter, as it did two years ago. At that time, Cape Cod Regional Technical High School — Chatham’s regional shelter — was under construction and the alternative location, Nauset High School, suffered a generator failure.

 “This plan may never be implemented,” he said of having a local alternative shelter in place, “but it doesn’t hurt to have one.” The goal is not to duplicate or supersede the regional shelter scheme, he added, but to be prepared should that plan fail. “It seems like a prudent measure to simply address something that has taken place,” he said. When it comes to emergencies, redundancy is critical, he added.

 At the board’s Dec. 2 meeting, Tavano said it would be a challenge to mount a full-scale emergency shelter at the most likely location — Monomoy Regional Middle School — because it doesn’t have a full-building generator. The town would also have to purchase equipment such as cots and figure out how to staff a facility.

“There is going to be some capital costs,” acknowledged board member Cory Metters, who supported Smith’s proposal. But, he added, “there’s no harm in having an extra layer of protection.” Tavano said he has met with school officials over the possibility of using the middle school as a shelter, and talks are ongoing.

Other board members said it made no sense to duplicate Barnstable County’s regional shelter plan. Tavano said he knows of no other Cape towns that have alternative plans for long-term shelters, and board member Shareen Davis noted that for many local residents, the tech school may be closer and easier to get to than the middle school.

The town has relied on the regional emergency shelter plan for many years, said Chair Dean Nicastro, and he saw no need to deviate from it.

“I just don’t think that’s something we need to do,” he said, noting that the police department also backs the current plan. “I just think we have a good plan in place and we should listen to our public safety professionals.”

 Under the town’s current emergency management plan, which Tavano said is vetted by the Massachusetts Emergency Management Agency and reviewed yearly, if weather events are severe enough, the Barnstable County Regional Emergency Planning Committee opens several regional shelters, including Cape Tech. Such an overnight shelter requires medical and security personnel on site as well as sleeping and pet accommodations, showers and kitchen facilities, all of which must be fully accessible. The shelters are set up based on a statewide Mass Care and Shelter Coordination Plan, he said.

 In contrast, a personal care site does not provide overnight accommodations, kitchen and shower access or facilities for pets. A personal care site, also known as a warming or cooling center, provides “temporary access to a climate-controlled environment and emergency power to charge medical and communication devices,” according to a memo from Tavano to the select board. Such a facility is opened during isolated or short-term events that don’t have a “significant town-wide impact.”

 The town’s personal care site, the community center, has a full-building generator but lacks shower and kitchen facilities. The police station on George Ryder Road can also function as a temporary personal care site, but, said Police Chief Michael Anderson, “We’re not the solution, we’re a Band-Aid.” The community center has opened a few times for residents to warm up during power outages, but the inability to keep it open 24 hours a day poses a risk for some, especially the elderly, critics of the current plan have said.

 While there is no specific “plan B” to the town’s emergency management plan, it is reviewed annually and table-top exercises conducted to work through various emergency scenarios and contingencies, Tavano said. He recommended that the town rely on personal care sites for short-term emergencies and continue to participate in the regional shelter plan for prolonged emergencies.

 “The town should continue public education and information efforts to ensure residents understand the difference between a personal care site and a regional shelter,” he added.

 The board voted to back Tavano’s recommendation 4-0, with Smith abstaining.