Title
Resolution to Amend the Fiscal Year 2020 Council Approved Budget and Accept and Appropriate the Fiscal Year 2019 Port Security Grant (PSGP) Awarded by the Department of Homeland Security to the City of Hampton, VA
Purpose
PURPOSE/BACKGROUND:
The Department of Homeland Security has awarded the City of Hampton Police and Fire Divisions grant funding under the FY19 PSGP in the total project amount of $1,600,000 with $1,200,000 in federal funds in support of a Mobile Command Vehicle (MCV). The grant funds will be used to procure a mobile command vehicle which will replace our current mobile command vehicle purchased in 2006. Our current mobile command vehicle’s design is not conducive for today’s environment and has inadequate space for effectively managing complex emergency incidents. Not only does it have an outdated communications system, but the vehicle has been plagued with maintenance issues over the years which decrease its dependability. The new mobile command vehicle will be a minimum 45' in length with approximately 365 sq.ft. of workspace. This vehicle will consist of two large conference areas. The forward area will consist of conference space for Incident Commanders and their staff to support continuity of government. The rear operations area will have six workstations; each with voice, video, radio, data, individual video routing capabilities, and dispatch support.
Discussion:
The City of Hampton lies on the southernmost point of the Virginia Peninsula, at the entrance to the Port of Virginia. Within the Port, five major shipping channels cross through the jurisdictional boundaries of The City of Hampton. They are Thimble Shoals, Baltimore, York, Elizabeth River, and the James River channels. Through these shipping channels, The Port of Virginia receives extensive intermodal shipping container traffic each year, with heavy emphasis coming from China and other points in Asia bound for the United States. Complementing the accessible transfer facilities in the Hampton Roads region is a vast network of transportation infrastructure acting as major arteries for destinations across the country. This includes major bridges and tunnels such as the Monitor-Merrimac Memorial Bridge Tunnel (Interstate 664), the Chesapeake Bay Bridge Tunnel (Route 13) connecting Delaware, Maryland, Pennsylvania, and New York, and the Hampton Roads Bridge Tunnel (Interstate 64) which transports nearly three million vehicles each month and more than 100,000 vehicles per day during tourist season. The City of Hampton’s Police (HPD) and Fire/Rescue Divisions (HFD) are responsible for securing and mitigating risk to 85 miles of shoreline and providing mutual-aid response to an area greater than 500 linear miles. Within the primary Area of Responsibility (AOR) are established key target areas including the world’s largest naval base, Naval Station (NS) Norfolk, historic Fort Monroe, and Langley Air Force Base. As such, an undisclosed number of U.S. and foreign-flagged naval vessels navigate the waters of Hampton annually, independent of commercial traffic. Additionally, HPD and HFD perform a pivotal role in responding to potential maritime peril incidents originating in these territorial waters and act as the first response for law enforcement and public safety services, Search and Rescue, Technical Rescue, High Value Asset Escorts, Port Security, and HAZMAT identification and mitigation as needed and/or requested. The Hampton Police Division routinely acts as a force multiplier in coastline and waterway security for Joint Base Langley-Eustis, including but not limited to activities related to Presidential and Dignitary visits, air shows, and shoreline patrols of the base. Additionally, the area is a large tourist destination, which hosts many events that take place in or around the local waterways. Events such as the annual Blackbeard Festival, Hampton Cup Regatta, and an increase in pleasure craft activities during the vacation months further increase the chances of an emergency incident.
All of these responsibilities and duties directly align with the National Preparedness Goal in terms of response and recovery. The Divisions of Fire/Rescue and Police are also active members of the Port of Virginia Maritime Emergency Response Team and have a Memorandums of Understanding (MOU) with all surrounding jurisdictions in the area and, when requested, provide mutual aid response to any of these jurisdictions. The goal of HPD and HFD is to continue to build upon and deliver core capabilities relating to regional security cooperation and risk mitigation in order to close the region’s capability gap in the areas of targeted, integrated preparedness.
The City of Hampton’s Police (HPD) and Fire/Rescue (HFD) Divisions have both maintained longstanding working relationships with the Coast Guard and the Port of Virginia. Both HPD and HFD carry the responsibility of first response to emergency incidents to include firefighting/rescue operations, emergency medical services, dive operations, and hazardous materials mitigation both on the land and waterways within our jurisdictional boundaries, and security in the AOR crossing through our jurisdictional boundaries. An operating agreement is in place with the Virginia Port Authority to provide assistance in the event of fires, hazardous materials releases, security breaches, severe weather, and other maritime incidents. This agreement commits us to provide assistance, not only to the Virginia Port Authority, but all jurisdictions from the City of Virginia Beach to as far north as the City of Richmond. Both HPD and HFD have assisted the Coast Guard and the Virginia Port Authority on numerous occasions for all types of emergencies. Many of these emergencies involve multi-jurisdictional responses and operate under a Unified Command. The Divisions have long fostered mutually beneficial relationships with other neighboring marine agencies, to include the U.S. Navy and other local regional incident response assets. As part of Hampton’s commitment to the waterways, HFD and HPD participate in the Port of Virginia Memorandum of Understanding for Interagency Maritime Assistance and is a stakeholder in the success of the regional/multi-jurisdictional Marine Incident Response Team (MIRT). HPD and HFD only seek to extend these partnerships in support of the proposed Joint Police and Fire/Rescue Maritime and Regional Mobile Command Vehicle Project.
The total funding for this grant project is $1,600,000 with $1,200,000 in federal funds and requires a cash match of $400,000. The matching funds, in part, will be provided by Fleet Services Equipment Replacement Fund, which was set aside for replacement of the current MCV, with the remaining matching funds will be requested as part of the FY 21 budget process.
Impact:
The FY19 Port Security Grant will enhance the capacity for the City of Hampton's Police and Fire Division's emergency response to incidents occurring in and around the Port of Virginia, and directly aligns with the national priority placed on Port Resilience and Recovery Capabilities. By focusing on state of the art technology and future growth in subsequent years, the project solution will serve the City of Hampton, the Port of Virginia, and Hampton Roads for decades to come. This commitment to a highly functional Mobile Command Vehicle supports the project scale required to address the ever-evolving vulnerabilities and security needs of an extensively trafficked coastal region, while ensuring the safety of the citizens and businesses of Hampton in the event of a large-scale emergency. The City of Hampton has been awarded $1,200,000 for the purchase of a MCV, with a cash match of $400,000. The matching funds, in part, will be provided by Fleet Services Equipment Replacement Fund, which was set aside for replacement of the current MCV, with the remaining matching funds expected to be provided by FY 21 Capital Improvement Projects. As an equipment replacement fund already exists for this purpose, the fiscal impact to the city is minimized.
Recommendation:
Rec
Approve.
Body
WHEREAS, the City of Hampton has been awarded the FY2019 Port Security Grant in the amount of $1,200,000 in federal funds with required cash match of $400,000 for a total project amount of $1,600,000;
WHEREAS, the grant award covers the period of 09/01/2019 to 08/31/2022; and
WHEREAS, up to $301,187 is currently available in the Fleet Services Equipment Replacement Fund to satisfy any portion of the cash match payable in Fiscal Year 2020, with the remaining balance to be requested during the Fiscal Year 2021 budget process.
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that the City Council of the City of Hampton, Virginia hereby (i) amends its Fiscal Year 2020 Council Approved Budget to accept and appropriate to the Grant Fund the FY2019 Port Security Grant in the amount of $1,200,000, and any supplemental funding, as awarded by the United States Department of Homeland Security to the Grant Fund for use in accordance with the grant agreement; and (ii) approves the transfer of up to $301,187 from the Fleet Services Equipment Replacement Fund to the Grant Fund to satisfy the City's cash match obligation.
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the City Council authorizes the City Manager, or her designee, to take the necessary steps to implement this grant award.