SR 05-23-2017 3E
Ci ty Council
Report
City Council Meeting : May 23, 2017
Agenda Item: 3.E
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To: Mayor and City Council
From: Jacqueline Seabrooks, Police Chief , Police Department
Bill Walker, Fire Chief, Fire Department
Subject: Acceptance of 2016 Urban Area Security Initiative (UASI) Grant Funds
Recommended Action
Staff recommends that the C ity Council:
1. Authorize the City Manager to accept a grant awarded in the amount of $749,289
from the 2016 Urban Area Security Initiative (UASI) for homeland security
projects, and to accept all grant renewals.
2. Authorize the City Manager to execut e all necessary documents to accept the
grant and all grant renewals.
3. Authorize budget changes as outlined in the Financial Impacts & Budget Actions
section of this report.
Executive Summary
In 2016, $749,289 was awarded to the City of Santa Monica Po lice and Fire Departments
as a part of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS), Federal Emergency
Management Agency's (FEMA) Urban Area Security Initiative (UASI) grant. Staff
recommends that Council authorize acceptance the 2016 UASI grant funds an d execution
of a subrecipient agreement with the City of Los Angeles for a performance period of
September 1, 2016 to May 31, 2019 . The City of Los Angeles administers the UASI grant
on behalf of the Los Angeles -Long Beach Urban Area , which includes Santa Monica . The
grant will fund several Police and Fire projects. Santa Monica Police and Fire requested
funds to purchase equipment and training that support the core public safety missions of
Santa Monica, as well as support regional homeland security goals. The following are the
four major regional homeland security focus areas of the UASI grant program, known as
Investment Justifications (IJ):
1. Strengthen interoperable and communications capabilities ;
2. Strengthen information sharing, collaboration capabiliti es , and law enforcement
investigations ;
3. Protection of critical infrastructure and key resources ;
4. Catastrophic incident planning response and recovery .
Specifically, t he Police Department was awarded funding in the amount of $31,920 for a
b omb d etection ca nine and related training and $389,580 to upgrade the security camera
system on the Third Street Promenade . These projects support the Police Department’s
mission to safeguard the community by bolstering protection of critical infrastructure in
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Santa Monic a . Regionally, both projects will support implementation of IJ 3, protection of
critical infrastructure and key resources.
The Fire Department was awarded funding totaling $327,789. The Fire Department
would use the funds in the amount of $46,140 for Ch emical, Biological, Radiological,
Nuclear and Explosives (CBRNE) Training and Equipment, $91,709 for Tactical
Emergency Medical Services (TEMS) Training and Equipment, $12,000 for regional
mobile exercises (MOBEX), $116,580 for Hazardous Materials Training and Equipment,
$36,360 for Urban Search and Rescue Training and Equipment, and $25,000 for
consumables (l umber, drill bits, chisel bits, blades, rotary saw blades, anchors, nails
and bolts) for the regional satellite training site. These projects will su pport
implementation of IJ 3 and IJ 4.
Background
The UASI program focus is on enhancing regional preparedness and capabilities in
major metropolitan areas. The UASI 2016 program will fund projects in 29 high -threat,
high density areas selected by DHS. The UASI grant program was created to support
large, "core" cities and those other cities with contiguous borders to the core city. The
City of Los Angeles is the Los Angeles region's core city for the UASI grant and
allocates funds to the City of Santa Mo nica. A regional working group and approval
authority , made up of UASI stakeholders from throughout the Los Angeles -Long Beach
Urban Area, are the governance bodies that determine which regional projects to submit
to DHS for grant funding.
The UASI progra m directly supports the national priority of expanding regional
collaboration within the N ational P reparedness Goal, which defines what it means for
th e whole community to be prepared for all types of disasters and emergencies. The
UASI grant is intended to assist participating jurisdiction s in developing integrated
regional systems for prevention, protection, response, and recovery from natural or
man -made disasters.
The UASI grant program is 100% federally funded from the Department of Homeland
Security and managed through the State of California's Office of Emergency Services.
The City of Santa Monica has received over $7.5 million in UASI funding since 200 3 .
These funds have been used to purchase necessary interoperable communication and
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infrastructur e equipment, supplies, and training in direct support of overall regional
goals to promote effective information gathering, sharing, and response to threats
and/or acts of terrorism.
Discussion
Procurement for projects funded by the UASI grant will foll ow Santa Monica’s policies
regarding competitive procurement processes.
Police Department Projects
The Police Department would use $31,920 of UASI 2016 grant funding to purchase a
bomb detection canine and related training and $389,580 to upgrade the secu rity
camera system at Third Street Promenade . Today’s climate of heightened probability of
terrorist activity of both domestic and foreign origin, coupled with Santa Monica’s
international appeal as a destination city and our numerous large -scale events,
h ighlights the necessity of acquiring these additional mitig ation resource s which would
help meet the Police Department’s mission to safeguard the community.
The canine project would be primarily funded by the UASI grant with the exception of
the construct ion of the kennel at the officer’s place of residence and the officer’s uniform
(the uniform for a canine officer is different from the standard patrol uniform). These are
not allowable expenses under the UASI grant. The cost of those two items is estimate d
at $7,500 and will be absorbed by the Police Department’s existing operating budget .
The bomb detection canine would be a highly trained detection dog assigned to a law
enforcement handler. Current officers will have the opportunity to apply, through a
s tandardized selection process, for the canine handler position. The team would
conduct searches of buildings, parking structures, office areas, vehicles, and suspicious
packages for various explosive materials near not only critical City infrastructure suc h
as City Hall, 3 rd Street Promenade, the Pier, the airport, and water and communication
hubs, but also during high -profile events including LA Marathon, GLOW, concerts at the
Pier, dignitary visits, and large -scale gatherings associated with Hollywood awa rd
events throughout the year. This project will enhance the Santa Monica Police
Department's current canine program , which consists of three canine teams, by
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expanding its d etection and r esponse capabilities with the addition of one explosive
detection t eam comprised of one officer and one canine . The canine and related
training will be funded by the grant . Maintaining explosive detection capabilities at
critical infrastructure has been an ongoing UASI project for the region's law enforcement
throughout the life of the UASI program. The City’s new Expo infrastructure, as well as
all the aforementioned locations, would benefit from an explosive detection team not
only during particular event s , but also year -round as the canine team would perform
random swe eps. Federal security experts have determined that s uch sweeps have been
proven to be a highly visible deterrent to prevent terrorist activity. The canine would be
expected to impact security in Santa Monica for the next 7 -10 years.
The Police Department would use $389,580 to upgrade the Third Street security
camera system. Ongoing maintenance costs related to the system will be absorbed
within the Police Department’s operating budget. The funding would replace a system
installed more than 10 years ago wi th newer technology. On a daily basis, the Third
Street Promenade is one of the busiest pedestrian -focused areas in the region. It is an
extremely popular destination to visitors from all over the world. The upgraded camera
system would serve as a key too l to protect this internationally known and vital asset.
The information gathered by the security cameras could provide the information
necessary to prevent or respond to a terrorist incident on Third Street in Santa Monica ;
the system would also e nhanc e t errorist prevention capabilities in Santa Monica . The
updated camera system would also be available to aid the Police Department in
investigating more commonly occurring crimes and to better manage resources
responding to large -scale events or gatherings
Fire Department Projects
The Fire Department would use $120,423 in funds to purchase chemical detection field
kits, field monitoring devices, and hazardous material response suits for the Hazardous
Materials team (HazMat). Rescue equipment for the Urban Search and Rescue
(USAR) team in the amount of $20,451 would be used to purchase small hand tools,
wildland helmets, team gear bags, and portable generators. The useful life for most of
this equipment ranges from three to eight years. Funds would also be used to purchase
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training consumables (l umber, drill bits, chisel bits, blades, rotary saw blades, anchors,
nails and bolts) for regional trainings hosted at the Santa Monica training facility. An
additional $12,000 would be used by the USAR or HazMat te am to participate in a
regional mobile response exercise with other jurisdictions’ response teams. The Fire
Department would also use funds for specialized training for both the USAR and
HazMat team members.
Financial Impacts and Budget Actions
Award o f a $749,289 grant from the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, Federal
Emergency Management Agency requires the following FY 2016 -17 budget changes:
1. E stablish revenue budgets at account 20304.4 0679B in the amount of $421,500
and account 20312.40679 B in the amount of $327,789
Appropriate the following expenditures to reflect receipt of the 2016 UASI grant:
$421,500 at account 20304.55539B and $327,789 at account 20312.55539B .
Prepared By: Nicole Bustamante, Senior Administrative Analyst
Approved
For warded to Council