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HomeMy WebLinkAboutReg 2020-04-06 Item 6B - Handout to be Distributed at Meeting - Coronavirus (COVID-19) Response ReportCoronavirus Response Update April 6, 2020 Emergencv Operations Center On March 9, 2020 the Mayor Proclaimed a State of Emergency due to the coronavirus outbreak and the Emergency Operations Center (EOC) was activated. On March 16, 2020 the City Council confirmed the State of Emergency and the EOC was fully operational at the Tukwila Community Center to account for social distancing among staff. All sections are fully staffed, with Chief Bruce Linton and Parks and Recreation Director Rick Still serving as alternating Incident Commanders. The EOC undertook a number of planning efforts, including sourcing emergency supplies, identifying quarantine opportunities for staff if needed and providing communications to the Tukwila community and City staff. As of March 23, 2020, the EOC went largely "virtual," with most staff performing their EOC duties via telework. The EOC remains activated and ensconced in the regional, state and federal response efforts Essential Services and Citv Operations City staff that can are teleworking. Changes have been made to shifts, when possible, to ensure more opportunities for staff social distancing. City facilities are largely closed to the public, though City staff remain available to perform essential services. The Governor's Stay Home, Stay Healthy order has provided additional guidelines on what services can move forward. For instance, the Permit Counter is open to all permits currently in the pipeline but is not taking permits for new projects. Inspections are only being performed for projects deemed essential under the Governor's order. Temporary, part-time staff have been furloughed and some staff have been redeployed to basic services, such as Parks and Recreation staff working on senior meal distribution and EOC operations. Staff are focused on essential functions and some activities not deemed essential — i.e. over the counter animal licenses — are not being performed at this time. Public Works crews continue to provide essential services such as maintaining water, sewer, surface water, and traffic systems. These crews are utilizing safe practices such as changing shifts and operating one person per vehicle. Financial Stability On March 31, 2020 the City released a memo detailing the initial analysis of deferred and lost revenues associated with the coronavirus pandemic. In short, staff foresees a $6.1 million loss of revenue through May. March A ,H May Ju re Totais Lot 1.105,D30 2000,000 1.5E .000 1.650. 6,305000 Delayed 600,000 &39—coo 429,300 377,700 1,869,900 Totals t 000 2669,900 1,979,300 2,027,700 8,174,c900 March t. 498,000 Mahe - Ap I 4167,900 Marc h- Nlay 6,147,200 6iarch - June 8,174,900 Immediate changes that have already been implemented include the following, which anticipated to save $4 million: Hiring freeze for all currently vacant positions (annual savings) $1,600,000 All travel cancelled, no non -essential training (unspent balance) $140,000 Furlough all part-time, temporary extra labor (excluding unemployment) $150,000 No overtime unless authorized by Mayor $910,000 No transfers to capital project funds $1,200,000 Total immediate savings $4,000,000 Staff is currently working to identify additional savings to achieve the remaining $2.1($6.1 M revenue loss - $4M anticipated savings) million gap through May. Departmental and internal service funds budgets are being scrubbed to identify additional savings. Discussions with the City's labor partners have commenced to identify if there are other opportunities to achieve savings and the Administration will also initiate discussions with the Council regarding the proper use of the City's Contingency Fund. The revenue impacts analysis is ongoing, and staff is reaching out to other agencies and economists in the region to get a better idea of a general consensus on the medium- and long-term impacts to the economy. It is expected that this analysis and effort will be iterative and ongoing for the foreseeable weeks and months. Police Staffing and Calls for Service Police staffing remains normal. Police calls for service have reduced in March of 2020, compared to March of 2019: Average calls for Service in the month of March: 2020 — 75 2019 — 90 This represents a drop from 3.7 calls per hour to 3.1 per hour. In the second half of March, after the Governor's Stay Home, Stay Healthy order was issued there were less calls for service, with some days going below 75 calls per day. It is reasonable to assume that there will be fewer average calls for service in April as the order has been extended to early May. Domestic violence calls for service in March were at the same rate as in February and January of this year; there is no increase in domestic violence reports. While the calls for service have reduced in number, Tukwila officers have significantly increased their visibility on the streets in the Central Business District and along the TIB corridor to ensure that closed business remain safe from break-ins. There is a trending resurgence of the racers in the south county region. There are significant large gatherings in the valley, in and among the industrial areas and they are expected to flow towards the Tukwila industrial areas as they are pushed out of the other cities. To combat displacement challenges, Tukwila, Auburn, Federal Way, Kent, Port of Seattle, Renton and Des Moines Chiefs are planning weekend emphasis patrols in response to these large social gatherings associated with the racing culture. Tukwila police officers remain busy. Fire Staffing and Calls for Service Fire staffing remains normal. One firefighter is on light duty. Fire calls for service have reduced in March of 2020, compared to March of 2019. Total calls for service in March: 2020— 457 2019 — 509 Both EMS and fire calls have reduced proportionally at about the same amount. Firefighters are on heightened personal protective equipment (PPE) protocols and have changed some procedures to protect firefighter health, such as asking patients that can to come outside, sending in only one firefighter inside a residence on an aid call, etc. All of these changes are to increase social distancing, lessen the number of firefighters potentially exposed to the virus and protect the general public. Human Services Human Services has seen an uptick in requests for assistance in March. Below are the requests for rent and utility assistance. Requests for help with rent is up 99% over last year and utilities 90%. March 2019 2020 Rent 73 144 Utility 43 78 Human Services staff has also experienced an unprecedent amount of calls over the past few weeks from people either seeking immediate assistance or planning for future loss of revenues. New sources of funding are coming online that may benefit some Tukwila families. The United Way of King County has raised approximately $5 million for rental assistance, which will begin rolling out next week. Additional HUD funding may also provide some relief, as well as the direct stimulus checks that will begin to be distributed in early April. It is important to note that many of these stimulus programs are only available to legal residents. Human Services expects there will be significant calls for utility and rental assistance in the coming weeks and months as incomes continue to be lost due to the pandemic. As of April 3, 2020 the City has exhausted its funds for April rental and utility assistance. Meeting our Community's Basic Needs Food Security City staff are in communication with a variety of partners that serve our community. The Tukwila Pantry, which usually serves 60 — 80 households a day is reporting they are now serving between 350 — 370 households per day. Donations have been coming in, but the Pantry is being forced to moderate the amount per family. The Pantry is seeking additional funding as well as seeking donations from the community. Stillwaters, which runs the Snack Pack Program in the Tukwila School District, served 191 students in the week of March 31. While Stillwaters received two recent large donations, they are having to purchase much of the food they distribute. They are applying for grants and seeking other fundraising opportunities. Staff continue to work with these partners, the Tukwila Children's Foundations and others on food security for Tukwila residents. Seniors In late March, Parks and Recreation staff began a five -week program, distributing frozen meals to Tukwila's senior community. Geared towards residents age 60+, outreach efforts have been made to places of worship, senior living, and homebound residents. Staff calls residents on Monday and Tuesday, to set up a Wednesday meal delivery. City staff are given health checks upon arrival and required to wear masks and gloves for all meal disbursements. During delivery, staff is required to carry hand sanitizer throughout the program. To ensure inclusive outreach needs are met, City staff has partnered with Food Innovation Network to provide Halal and culturally appropriate meals upon request. Community liaisons for organizations such as Global to Local, ReWA, the Tukwila School District and human service providers are contacted for continuing outreach. It is expected that, as word gets out, there will be an increase in meal requests. This meal program is capable of delivering seven meals a week to 102 Tukwila residents, and currently has a surplus of meals. The City contracted with Airline Catering for five weeks at 720 meals a week (20 cases). The charge is $3.15 per meal, which is $2,268 per week and $11,340 for five weeks. Funds being used to support this program have been provided by the City's Parks and Recreation Department, King County Veterans, Seniors and Human Services Levy. Students Tukwila Parks and Recreation staff assisted the Tukwila School District in standing up its meal program for Tukwila students. Staff assisted by helping to deliver meals during the first week of the program, accompanying bus drivers and handing out food at bus stops. Since that first week, the District is now able to staff that program on its own. Additionally, staff from the Technology and Innovation Services (TIS) department has been working closely with the school district to help ensure all kids in Tukwila can take advantage of remote learning. TIS staff are distributing 300 MIFI hots spots — personal WIFI devices — for families to use during the school closure. TIS is also providing tech support to ensure these families have connectivity. These devices have also been made available to Impact Public School's Tukwila residents. Houses of Worship Once the governor ordered a cap on large groups, City staff immediately began outreach to the various houses of worship in the City. Compliance was very high and this initial outreach allowed for additional information to surface and partnerships developed. For instance, the houses of worship have been strong partners in identifying isolated seniors that may need meals delivered. Business Outreach Considerable staff time has gone into business outreach throughout this unfolding pandemic. While initially the effort was focused around education to slow the transmission of the virus, as it has shifted with the Governor's Stay Home, Stay Healthy order, Economic Development staff are focused on providing resources to affected businesses and monitoring compliance with the order. To date there have been multiple communications with the business community and a comprehensive website for businesses and employees has been developed at TukwilaWa.gov/COVID. Economic Development has also begun planning for business recovery. Public Safetv Plan Construction Pro The Public Safety Plan construction projects — two fire stations and the Justice Center — are deemed essential projects under the Governor's order and can continue to move forward. However, there has been some challenges as some subcontractors have decided to close during the duration of the order and some trades cannot be performed within the social distancing guidelines. The project teams are currently analyzing the financial costs associated with keeping the job sites running under inefficient conditions or whether it would make sense to temporarily halt construction and wait until the Governor's order has been lifted and the full complement of trades can be on site and working efficiently. The project teams expect to complete this analysis in the next week or so and make a determination in the best interest of the City. Compliance with the Governor's Order Most non -essential businesses are closed. Economic Development is reaching out to those that are not to better understand their designation of "essential." The City has not noticed a significant number of unauthorized gatherings in the community; our partners are working hard to ensure compliance throughout the community. Such gatherings should NOT be reported to 911.