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A committee of La Salle and Carus officials devised shelter-in-place guidelines for residents in the event of another emergency, similar to the Jan. 11 fire at Carus’ chemical plant, but concerns were raised Monday about the plan, including that there was no neighborhood representation at the final meeting.
The committee, which met twice, once with its lone Carus neighborhood participant and again without him, put together the guidelines after residents expressed at town hall meetings hosted by Carus that there was an insufficient community response plan on the day of the fire.
After reviewing the committee’s shelter-in-place guidelines, the La Salle City Council appeared to agree in consensus during Monday’s meeting to have Mayor Jeff Grove talk with Carus about having another committee meeting for all of its members to be in attendance. Along with neighborhood representative Eric Dyas, La Salle Fire Chief Jerry Janick also was not in attendance for the final meeting.
“I think that will help, especially since the neighborhood representative wasn’t there,” Grove said. “My concern is if the neighborhood resident wasn’t there, we need to have another meeting again. One reason I think why Carus had the meeting was to hear from the neighborhood.”
Alderman Jordan Crane, who sits on the committee, said he believed Carus would be fine with meeting again if there was a need.
“After I put my statement out there I was contacted,” he said. “And they said they wanted to make it clear that they are willing to have more meetings if needed.”
Grove asked Crane if he would be willing to be a part of a meeting again and Crane said “Oh. Yeah.”
Lyndsay Bliss, vice president of human resources for Carus, said in an email Monday the committee may have future discussions as needed.
“The shelter in place initiative was an important accomplishment for the committee and should be standard in all community response plans,” she said.
The objective of the plan is to provide community members with clear, actionable instructions on how to safely shelter in place during an incident, the guidelines said.
Some tips listed include; act quickly, don’t delay. Move indoors as soon as you are notified of a hazard. Get inside, seek shelter indoors in a room above ground level with the fewest windows, doors or vents if possible. Seal it off, prepare ahead, watch out for warnings and retreat further if fumes or particles enter the initial shelter, move deeper indoors and seal off the new space.
“This committee has been very productive because all parties came together looking for solutions, and we all now have a better understanding of each other’s emergency plans and perspectives,” said Rich Landtiser, vice president of Innovation, Technology and Environmental Health and Safety at Carus in a news statement. “We have met all the goals that were set, and the door is open to future meetings as needed.”
Carus Chemical’s Safety Plan by maribeth wilson on Scribd
>Jamie Hicks, a La Salle resident, spoke during public comment at Monday’s La Salle City Council meeting about his concerns about the committee, calling the shelter in place guidelines “bull crap.”
“This is not a plan,” he said. “This is not a safety plan. It’s not an evacuation plan … They’re not even telling you what you’re supposed to be listening to – what radio station. What TV station. Whose webpage to be on. Where to go.”
Hicks said the plan was telling residents to sit in a closet with no windows and a bag of chips, and wait.
Grove deferred to Crane to address Hick’s concerns and asked if Crane had a concern with the plan. Crane said he didn’t.
“You have no problems with this plan?” Hicks asked Crane.
“I am not in charge of the committee, nor did I write that,” Crane said. “That is a suggestion about what to do in case of an emergency.”
Hicks responded the community already knew how to shelter in place, suggesting residents were looking for a more comprehensive plan. During the exchange, a few city officials responded to Hicks by saying “Call Carus.” Hicks believed the city was deflecting blame, saying that was how it was able to get away with certain things.
Hick then was told his allotted five minute comment period had expired.
La Salle approved an ordinance in May restricting public comment to 5 minutes per speaker and limiting public comment 45 minutes total. The new ordinance also legislated speakers to refrain from making vulgar, insulting or inappropriate remarks toward or about any member of the public body, any employee or officer of the city or any member of the audience. Any person who poses a threat to public safety will removed from the meeting, the ordinance said.
“I’m really starting to regret putting your name out on my (expletive) to get you where you’re at,” Hicks said to Crane. “Because of the lies that have been coming out of your mouth lately. I’ll talk to you later about that.”
Crane said Hicks could call him anytime and Hicks responded with “Yeah, call Carus.” Crane said he wasn’t Carus’ spokesman. Hicks responded the issue was the city’s problem and an argument erupted.
La Salle Police Chief Mike Smudzinski told Hicks he “couldn’t have this in here” and escorted him out of the chambers.
Smudzinski said the conversation was unacceptable, disrespectful and out of line.
Grove said this was the first time an individual had been escorted out of a council meeting. Grove said Finance Director John Duncan keeps time on comments and the police chief handles any next steps necessary.
Later in the meeting, City Attorney James McPhedran reiterated the strategic plan was not a city plan but a Carus plan.
“That is correct,” Crane said. “It’s a suggestion basically of how to shelter in place … We came up with some ideas on what should be publicized and how to properly act in the event of an emergency. Between all the suggestions, this is what we came up with.”
Director of Public Relations and Community Development Brent Bader said La Salle has its own emergency response plan and it will be updated this winter.
Bliss said in an email Monday the committee discussed and scrutinized the Jan. 11 emergency response and came away with accomplishments. Citing some of them, she said the committee clarified what is within Carus’ control and responsibility during a crisis incident and what is the responsibility of the city, and other organizations, such as the Local Emergency Planning Committee. For instance, all parties are clear the LEPC is responsible for communications with the schools during an emergency, Bliss said. The committee also agreed to incorporate shelter-in-place recommendations into the existing La Salle All Hazards Plan, she said. This plan addresses methods for reaching every citizen in the case of an incident.
In other news:
Alderman Joe Jeppson said an air monitor bought by Carus LLC in July will be set up later this week at Rotary Park.
“The replacement hardware has come in,” he said. “We put it together everything works. We’re looking to get the monitor up this weekend and published.”
The monitor was donated by Carus in response to residents asking about the potential environmental impact following the company’s Jan. 11 fire at its La Salle plant. Sierra Club had advised residents to pursue an air monitor to measure for possible air pollution and Carus has said it has not had elevated rates of pollution.