Reso 1567 05/2020RESOLUTION NO. 1567
RESOLUTION OF THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS OF THE VALLECITOS WATER
DISTRICT PROCLAIMING EXISTENCE OF A LOCAL EMERGENCY
WHEREAS, in December 2019, an outbreak of respiratory illness due to a novel
coronavirus (a disease now known as COVID-19), was first identified in Wuhan City, Hubei
Province, China, and has spread outside of China, impacting many countries, including the United
States; and
WHEREAS, the Vallecitos Water District ("District") is monitoring and implementing the
actions of San Diego County and the State of California, which have been working in close
collaboration with the national Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), with the
United States Department of Health & Human Services, and with local health departments since
December 2019 to monitor and plan for the potential spread of COVID-l9 to the United States;
and
WHEREAS, on January 23, 2020, the CDC activated its Emergency Response System to
provide ongoing support for the response to COVID-19 across the country; and
WHEREAS, on January 24, 2020, the California Department of Public Health activated
its Medical and Health Coordination Center and on March 2, 2020, the Office of Emergency
Services activated the State Operations Center to support and guide state and local actions to
preserve public health; and
WHEREAS, on February 14, 2020, the County of San Diego proclaimed a local
emergency and the San Diego County Health Officer declared a local health emergency regarding
COVID-19; and
WHEREAS, on March 4, 2020, the Governor of the State of California issued a
Proclamation of Emergency, declaring an emergency based on the spread of COVID-19 and
increasing instances in California;
WHEREAS, on March 10, 2020, the District activated it Emergency Operations and
Business Continuity Plans, setting forth actions taken for COVID-19 preparedness and response;
and
WHEREAS, on March 11, 2020, the World Health Organization declared COVID-19 to
be a pandemic; and
WHEREAS, on March 18, 2020, the President of the United States of America declared a
national emergency to address COV1D-19 and on March 22, 2020, the President approved Major
Disaster Declaration FEMA -4482 -DR -CA (DR -4482) for the COVID-19 Pandemic; and
lution No. 1567 Paue 2
WHEREAS, under Government Code section 8634, the District, as a political subdivision,
is authorized to promulgate orders and regulations necessary to provide for the protection of life
and property; and
WHEREAS, the District Board of Directors has the authority to proclaim a local
emergency and take actions as set forth in this Resolution; and
WHEREAS, as covered under the California Emergency Services Act, the Board desires
to authorize any actions that the District may take to ensure the continuation of critical services
to protect the safety of customers and to provide for immunities that will protect the District for
actions taken; and
WHEREAS, this proclamation authorizes the undertaking of powers and invoking and
disseminating emergency orders (e.g., emergency orders, emergency spending authorities,
emergency or pre -established contracting, order necessary Personal Protective Equipment,
recovery, etc.) and regulations necessary to provide for the protection of life, property, and the
environment; and
WHEREAS, this proclamation establishes that: (1) an emergency exists; (2) the
Emergency Services Act applies; and (3) the California Master Mutual Aid Agreement and any
local agreements will be utilized to provide mutual aid if mutual aid of in -county resources is
needed to assist the District; and
oWHEREAS, this proclamation establishes that an emergency exists, and if out -of -county
assistance is needed, requests for mutual aid should follow procedures set forth by the Standardized
Emergency Management System ("SEMS") and the Governor's Office of Emergency Services
("CalOES"), including obtaining mission numbers through the County of San Diego Emergency
Management Department from CalOES for responding agencies. This is particularly important for
possible reimbursement of extraordinary expenses in the event of a proclaimed "State of
Emergency" or in the event of a presidential declaration of disaster when state or federal disaster
relief funds become available, and
WHEREAS, the District's ability to mobilize local resources, coordinate interagency
response, accelerate procurement of vital supplies, use mutual aid, and seek future reimbursement
by State and Federal governments will be critical to successfully responding to COVID-l9; and
WHEREAS, these conditions warrant and necessitate that the District proclaim the
existence of a local emergency.
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED by the Board of Directors of the Vallecitos
District as follows:
1. That the Board of Directors of the Vallecitos Water District hereby proclaims the
existence of a local emergency and directs District staff to take the necessary steps for the
protection of life, health and safety.
Resolution No. 1567 Page 3
2. That during the existence of said local emergency, the powers, functions, and duties
of the District shall be those prescribed by state law and by ordinances and resolutions of the
District Board.
3. That the District's General Manager is hereby authorized to furnish information, to
promulgate orders and regulations necessary to provide for the protection of life and property
pursuant to California Government Code section 8634, to enter into agreements and to take all
actions necessary to obtain State emergency assistance to implement preventive measures.
4. That the District's General Manager is hereby authorized to take any and all action
which may be necessary to apply for and obtain funding and reimbursement from the applicable
Federal and State agencies. Such authority includes, but is not limited to, the drafting, execution
and submission of applications and other documents. It is the intent of the District to be
reimbursed amounts which have been and will be expended with respect to the actions ratified
and authorized under this Resolution.
5. That, as determined in the District General Manager's reasonable discretion, all
departments of the District shall review and revise their department emergency and contingency
plans to address the risks COVID-19 poses to their critical functions.
6. That all District departments shall track costs for staffing, supplies, and equipment
related to COVID-19 preparation and prevention and forward that information to the District's
finance department and complete an Initial Damage Estimate (IDE) Category B, and forward that
information to the San Diego County Emergency Management Department ("EMD").
7. That, as detennined in the District General Manager's reasonable discretion, the
District's internal departments shall coordinate District planning, preparedness and response
efforts regarding COVID-19 with the San Diego County EMD.
8. If any section, subsection, clause or phrase in this Resolution is for any reason held
invalid, the validity of the remainder of this Resolution shall not be affected thereby. The Board
hereby declares that it would have passed this Resolution and each section, subsection, sentence,
clause, or phrase thereof, irrespective of the fact that one or more sections, subsections, sentences,
clauses or phrases or the application thereof be held invalid.
9. That this Resolution shall take effect immediately.
10. That the recitals set forth above are incorporated herein and made an operative part
of this Resolution.
11. That said local emergency shall be deemed to continue to exist until, the earlier of,
its termination is proclaimed by the Board of Directors or both the Federal Declaration of National
Emergency is terminated by the President and the Local Emergency is terminated by the County
of San Diego Board of Supervisors.
Resolution No. 1567 Page 4
12. That a copy of this Resolution be forwarded to the Director of California
Governor's Office of Emergency Services requesting that the Director find it acceptable in
accordance with State law; that the Governor waive regulations that may hinder response and
recovery efforts; that recovery assistance be made available under the California Disaster
Assistance Act; and that the State expedite access to State and Federal resources and any other
appropriate federal disaster relief programs.
PASSED, APPROVED, AND ADOPTED, by the Board of Directors of the Vallecitos Water
District, on this 6"' day of May, 2020.
Said Resolution was adopted, on a roll call, by the following vote:
AYES: ELITHARP, HERNANDEZ, MARTIN, SANNELLA, EVANS
NOES:
ABSTAIN:
ABSENT:
I hereby certify that the foregoing is a true and correct copy of Resolution No. 1567 adopted by
the Board of Directors of Vallecitos Water District at its meeting held on May 6, 2020.
G
Betty V. Evans, President
Board of Directors
ATTEST: Vallecitos Water District
Glenn Pruim, Secretary
Board of Directors
Vallecitos Water District
U