Font ResizeFor a Las Cruces Fire Department weather memorandum, click here.
For a City financial impact of weather closures, click here.
For a Las Cruces Utilities Department weather response memorandum, click here.
For a Winter storm summary, click here.
LAS CRUCES -- In an evaluation of how city government weathered the worst winter storm in more than 40 years, which struck the region almost three weeks ago, there was a tone of relief that Las Cruces wasn't as severely affected as other nearby communities, but there were problems and several lessons.
"Much appreciation and thanks goes to the numerous city
That's where the "but" came in.
"Despite the superior level of careful system design, management and operations, we were not completely without adverse impacts," Garza added. "It's always a good management practice to do a post-incident assessment to identify areas of success and areas of weakness so that adjustments can be made to prepare for future similar situations."
Las Cruces police and fire departments were able to respond during the storm, despite a noticeable increase in calls.
"We experienced an increase of more than 2.5 times our normal call volume during the storm," Fire Chief Travis Brown said.
The Fire Department responded to 449 incidents from Feb. 1 through Feb. 4, an average of 112 calls a day, compared to the average of 42 calls a day. The fire department incurred 93.5 hours of overtime costs.
Brown said some of the lessons learned included the need for earlier notification of overtime need, using regularly scheduled personnel to provide additional units for response purposes, potential use of fire stations as areas of refuge for residents, and the need for improved coordination between city departments related to water-line breaks.
"Overall, I am extremely pleased with our response to this event and am very proud of our personnel for the exceptional service they provided," Brown said. "We will make necessary adjustments based on items that have been identified as improvement opportunities in order to be more prepared for this type of situation in the future."
The department did have a problem with snow chains that had been sitting in storage
"LCPD's existing stock of snow chains did not fit the new Dodge Chargers, requiring an emergency purchase of new chains at an expense of $879.69," said Deputy Chief Chris Miller, in a memorandum to Garza.
Calls for service to the Police Department dropped 13.5 percent from the week before the storm, but crash reports jumped 41.5 percent, from 38 to 65, and weather-related calls for service were up 25 percent, from 128 to 171.
Paying the bills
The city's Finance Department was able to avoid missing a payment of payroll taxes to the Internal Revenue Service -- and incurring penalties of more than $8,200 -- when a Finance Department employee was able to go to City Hall and submit the payment, even though city government was essentially shut down.
According to a report from the Utilities Department, 70 percent of the city's gas utility employees were active during the three days of bad weather. The demand for natural gas from residents easily doubled during that period.
Plumbing problems were experienced at six city wells, but unlike other communities in southern New Mexico and far west Texas, no water restrictions had to be implemented for residents.
From Feb. 2 through Feb. 4, city water utility personnel had to respond to 1,356 trouble calls.
Altogether, $29,750 in staff overtime costs were incurred by the city's Utilities Department during the winter storm.
Some of the lessons learned by the Utilities Department included the identification of some weak areas in the gas system, the need for additional phone lines to handle similar emergencies, the need to establish a dispatch e-mail and text messaging system; and the need for insulation and heating upgrades at some well sites.
More lessons
Numerous other lessons were learned, according to reports from other city departments. The city's Information Technology Department said there is a need to create a communications plan to link city staff members and the public.
To communicate with staff, it was suggested that a technology-based solution is needed that will enable city administration to contact each city employee via automated calls. Also, a city telephone number could be dedicated to allow employees to call and receive prerecorded status messages.
To enhance communications with residents, IT Department representatives suggested that the city's Public Information Office be provided with remote access to the city's Internet site to improve the frequency of status updates. A prerecorded telephone number could also be made available to the public to call for updates.
Another lesson learned by the city's Public Services Department is that senior nutrition staff should be considered essential service employees, who are needed to ensure the city's Meals on Wheels program continues uninterrupted.
Also, the city street systems section of the Public Works Department has suggested the city store additional amounts of salt that could become readily available for slick roads. Improvements to equipment are needed to provide quicker and better response to icy roads.
Installing and maintaining backup battery systems for traffic signals should be considered. And, as an interim measure, it was suggested the city develop an emergency plan with local contractors to assist with the placement of temporary signs in the event of future regional electrical outages.
Steve Ramirez can be reached at (575) 541-5452.
The quiet after the storm
•Las Cruces city government offices did not operate for three days, from Feb. 2 through Feb. 4, because of severe winter weather conditions.
•Gas delivery was temporarily interrupted for some city customers.
•Approximately 200 customers experienced gas outages and had to be reactivated.
•The city received 628 trouble calls during the three days.
•Plumbing problems were reported at six city wells, but water conservation measures didn't have to be implemented.
•The city's wastewater treatment plant operated on a portable generator for 72 hours to reduce the electricity load on El Paso Electric Co.
•Residential solid waste services were not available for two of the three days.
•Commercial solid waste service was not available on Feb. 2, and only high volume areas were collected on Feb. 3.
•About 2,500 utilities payments were received by the city during the three days, and will require 25 to 30 hours of overtime to catch up in processing the payments.
•An estimated 495 police reports were received during the three-day period that could not be transcribed. Also, the public was not able to get paper report copies.
•Accident and crash reports were almost double the typical rate.
•Traffic signals were out throughout the city due to rolling blackouts.
•Fuel services for city vehicles were limited and had to be shut off due to freeze ups at city government gas pumps.
•Dispatch for non-emergency calls was jammed.
•Water line breaks, and leaks, were reported at several city facilities.
•City fleet service workers had challenges in providing chains for the Las Cruces Police Department.
Source: City Manager Robert Garza
