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City Council Meeting Minutes February 19, 2021 <br />emergency operations already in progress. San Marcos was one of the first <br />Cities to sign a disaster declaration and many other cities and counties across <br />the State followed suit as the severity of the disaster became clear. <br />Mr. Lumbreras stated one of the most challenging aspects of this event has <br />been its evolving nature. City Staff has adapted as new problems have arisen <br />and stepped up to take on additional tasks. First responders were initially busy <br />responding to numerous accident calls as the storm first rolled in last Friday <br />and Saturday and ice began to form. As conditions continued to worsen and <br />people began to stay home and off the roads, they took on additional tasks of <br />delivering meals to those we had helped shelter in hotels and transported <br />individuals who had been released from the local hospital but were unable to <br />drive. <br />At 1:20 Monday morning the Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT) <br />entered into Energy Emergency Alert 3 and began implementing rolling <br />outages across the State. What were supposed to be hour-long outages became <br />much longer per the direction from ERCOT. The non -emergency lines at the <br />San Marcos Police Department (SMPD) became inundated with calls from <br />people seeking information about the weather event. The City quickly set up a <br />phone bank staffed remotely by employees from various departments to take <br />some of this demand off SMPD personnel. As calls came in, Police and Fire <br />began responding to areas of particular need, such as the Stonebrook Senior <br />Community, and making welfare checks on residents throughout the City when <br />requested. <br />In response to the winter storm, Hays County set up five warming shelters <br />throughout the County with two in San Marcos. In addition, the City worked <br />with San Marcos Consolidated Independent School District to send out a few <br />of their buses to serve as mobile warming vehicles to targeted areas. Messaging <br />was directed to residents informing them of these locations if a warm place was <br />needed and also to encourage people to check in on their vulnerable neighbors <br />and provide assistance if possible. Our Public Communications staff has been <br />extremely busy sending out up-to-date information throughout the event so <br />that residents could stay informed of the rapidly changing conditions. <br />As the week continued, challenges have centered around power outages, water <br />supply issues, various shelter concerns, and water/food distribution. Until the <br />rotating outages were ceased on Thursday, it was difficult to determine if <br />outages were due to a localized issue or a rolling outage. Electric crews <br />continue to work around the clock to troubleshoot those locations without <br />City of San Marcos Page 2 <br />