Emergency Support Services 2021 Application Form

Community Emergency Preparedness Fund

Emergency Support Services

2021 Application Form

Please complete and return the application form by January 29, 2021. All questions are required to be answered by typing directly in this form. If you have any questions, contact cepf@ubcm.ca or (250) 387-4470.

SECTION 1: Applicant Information

* Contact person must be an authorized representative of the applicant.

SECTION 2: For Regional Projects Only

1. Identification of Partnering Applicants. For all regional projects, please list all of the partnering eligible applicants included in this application. Refer to Section 2 in the Program & Application Guide for eligibility.
2. Rationale for Regional Projects. Please provide a rationale for submitting a regional application and describe how this approach will support cost-efficiencies in the total grant request.

SECTION 3: Project Summary

3. Name of the Project: ESS Storage, Equipment and Supplies

4. Project Cost & Grant Request: Total Project Cost: $25,000.00 Total Grant Request: $25,000.00

Have you applied for or received funding for this project from other sources? If yes, please indicate the source and the amount of funding received or applied for. No

5. Project Summary. Provide a brief summary of your project in 150 words or less. This project will provide additional supplies and equipment intended to move us towards achieving group lodging and mass care needs of two growing municipalities and two First Nations communities. The addition of cots, sleeping bags and a sea container for accessible storage of Group Lodging, Reception Centre, and ESS supplies, will not only improve capacity locally but will also increase capacity for establishing and maintaining ESS operations for the region in a major emergency or disaster. Additional items such as tablets and keyboard cases will add to the teams effectiveness and efficiency for managing and coordinating all resources and evacuees.

6. Emergency Plan. Describe the extent to which the proposed project will specifically support recommendations or requirements identified in the local Emergency Plan. Our emergency plan clearly states that we will "provide clothing, shelter and other mass care services as required, to disaster victims" The proposed project will support this objective for two municipalities and First Nations communities and will address requirements included in our ESS plan. Specifically, the project will help provide much needed bedding in a mass evacuation scenario as well as in smaller localized events where large amounts of residents are displaced. The acquistion of a sea container will assist in achieving and maintaining this goal by providing storage and easy access to supplies and equipment. Because there is also a requirement in our emergency plan and ESS plan for an ESS Branch Coordinator function in our Operations Section of the EOC, a Reception Centre Manager, and a Group Lodging Coordinator at designated facilities, the tablets and keyboards will assist with coordination and management of resources from these locations.

SECTION 4: Detailed Project Information

7. Proposed Activities. What specific activities will be undertaken as part of the proposed project? Refer to Section 4 of the Program & Application Guide for eligibility.

Our proposed activitity is to improve mobility and bolster our equipment and supplies to increase capacity for mass care scenarios should a catastrophic event affecting our communities. Specifically we wish to complement and increase our current inventory by purchasing equipment and supplies that will improve efficiency and management of our team. This includes the following items:

• Sea container, 20' - required for storing ESS supplies (cots, blankets, pillows, food, water, RC and GL kits, ESS forms etc.) at Public Safety Building for easy and ready access by ESS team.
  • Pad and land prep for sea container: required for proper stable and secure placement of sea container on ground.
  • Installation of heater, lighting, and hookup to power: required to provide lighting in sea container for safe and efficient access to contents, provide heat to keep contents dry and free of mildew, and provide power for hookup of charging station, vacuum, and other appliances and equipment.
  • Shelving for container: required for proper stowage of ESS Supplies and equipment and to maximize storage space.
  • Cots: bedding required to bolster bedding supplies for evacuees in group lodging and/or for responders assisting with the evacuees.
  • Sleeping bags: same as cots.
  • Tablets: for administration and management of ESS functions both during emergencies and non emergencies. Many of the ESS forms are electronic. The addition of tablets will allow evacuees to self register which will decrease processing times at reception centres as well as assist in managing evacuee records.
  • Keyboard case, Ipad: Keyboards for easier typing, especially when administering registration and referrals and documentation for large numbers of evacuees. Will also protect tablet from damage.

8. Modernization of local ESS programs. How will the proposed activities support the modernization of the local ESS program? Will the Evacuee Registration & Assistance (ERA) Tool be implemented? Tablets and keyboards will improve the registration process by enabling registration and self registration on line by volunteers and evacuees. Tablets will provide increased ability for tracking and coordinating volunteers and evacuees. Furthermore tablets will store forms and documents, provide web access for ERA Tool and management of all other ESS administrative records, resources and events.

9. Capacity Building. Describe how the proposed project will increase emergency response capacity (i.e. having the physical resources and the skills to respond to emergencies) in your community. Both Colwood and View Royal rank amongst the fastest growing communities in the Province, therfore it is vital we continue to add to our inventory of mass care supplies and improve ESS capabilities. The items proposed in this project will increase our capacity to providing access to 50 extra beds in an event where mass care is required for a large number of displaced citizens. This will help alleviate burden on other municipalities while also increasing regional capacity for mass care. Our ability to manage evacuees and the resources required to deal with mass care is also enhanced.

10. Host Community Capacity. Describe how the proposed project will increase emergency response capacity as a host community? As a host community, the supplies included in this proposal will allow us to accommodate more evacuees. The additional 50 cots and sleeping bags will provide Group Lodging capacity for an additional 50 evacuees from outside the area.

11. Transferability. Describe the extent to which the proposed project may offer transferable resources and supplies to other local governments and/or First Nations (e.g. ESS volunteers, training resources, cots, blankets, etc.). Because ESS is a provincial program administered by local governments we have the ability to assist other communities in the Capital Region that may be impacted by an event that causes evacuation. Our ESS team along with the equipment and supplies in our proposal would be utilized to assist our neighbours in the Capital Region in a time of need. A sea container allows us the ability to store more resources that can be accessed readily by our ESS team as well as others in the region.

12. Partnerships. In addition to Question 1, if applicable, identify any partners you will collaborate with on the proposed project and specifically outline how you intend to work together. View Royal's Emergency Support Services (ESS) services are provided by volunteers from both Colwood and View Royal communities and serve not only our respective communities but also Esquimalt and Songhees Nations. Operational costs are annually shared 50/50 by both municipalities with administration from staff at View Royal supported by staff at Colwood. Because the team is a shared resource and comes with shared facilities and equipment, any expenditures for the team create cost efficiencies as the team is not paid for and supported separately (i.e. not paying for two teams). In addition, branching our ESS service out to include two First Nations further reduces costs and provides additional facility resources located on First Nation lands to our ESS team. Because of this partnership, the funding from this grant will benefit two local authorities and two First Nation communities with a combined population of approximately 30,000 people.

13. Evaluation. How will the project be evaluated? How will performance measures and/or benchmarks be used to measure outcomes? (e.g. tracking the number of training events and recruitments, external evaluators, etc.) Evaluating the program will be measured and evaluated by the amount of evacuees our ESS Team would be able to provide bedding and shelter for, as well as the expedience and accessibility in which we can provide this equipment. An increase in speed and efficiency in registering evacuees during exercises and actual events would further indicate increased performance.

14. Progress to Date. If you received funding under the 2017, 2018 or 2020 Emergency Support Services funding stream, please describe the progress you have made in increasing ESS capacity. Funding received from the 2017, 2018 and 2020 CEPF grants increased our capacity for mass care of an additional 200 evacuees for two municipalities, two First Nations communities and the Capital Region, however we still require more assets to look after these four communties should we have a major emergency or catastrophic event that displaces a large number of our residents. In addition, both Colwood and View Royal annually expend operational funds to increase to manage our teams needs and the communities needs during any size event. We will continue this practice as we move into the future as both municipalities are amongst the fastest growing in British Columbia.

15. Additional Information. Please share any other information you think may help support your submission. At this point we would like to emphasize that View Royal and Colwood's populations continue to increase, as does our First Nations communities who are developing their lands to increase density and econoimic viability. The opportunity provided by the CEPF grant is vitally important to our emergency programs for capacity building and ESS management efficiency. We appreciate your consideration of this application.

SECTION 5: Required Application Materials

Only complete applications will be considered for funding. The following separate attachments are required to be submitted as part of the application:

• Local government Council or Board resolution, Band Council resolution or Treaty First Nation resolution, indicating support for the current proposed activities and willingness to provide overall grant management.
• Detailed budget for each component identified in the application. This must clearly identify the CEPF funding request, applicant contribution, and/or other grant funding.
• For regional projects only: local government Council or Board resolution, Band Council resolution or Treaty First Nation resolution from each partnering applicant that clearly states their approval for the primary applicant to apply for, receive and manage the grant funding on their behalf.

SECTION 6: Signature

I certify that: (1) to the best of my knowledge, all information is accurate and (2) the area covered by the proposed project is within our jurisdiction (or appropriate approvals are in place).

Submit applications to: Local Government Program Services, Union of BC Municipalities E-mail: cepf@ubcm.ca Mail: 525 Government Street, Victoria, BC, V8V 0A8