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<br /> <br />Item 4.1. <br /> <br />MEMORANDUM <br /> <br />TO: <br /> <br />Mayor and City Council <br /> <br />DATE: <br /> <br />Pat Klaers, City Admin,!,s):.jllJ.rr}W <br />ytl1(ftV~ <br />December 20, 2004 <br /> <br />FROM: <br /> <br />SUBJECT: <br /> <br />Association of Minnesota Emergency Managers - Metro Region <br />Director ofthe Year Bruce West, City of Elk River <br /> <br />I have recently been notified that Fire Chief Bruce West has received the Association of Minnesota <br />Emergency Manager (AMEM) Metro Region Director of the Year award for 2004. There are 10 <br />counties included in the metro district. Each of the six AMEM regions has a Director of the Year <br />A ward plus AMEM has a statewide Director of the Year A ward. Attached for your information is a <br />letter from AMEM Executive Director James Halstram regarding the 2004 Metro Region Director <br />of the Year award. <br /> <br />While this award is for 2004, I believe the award is really for a "body of work" over the past ten <br />years since Bruce West has been with the City of Elk River.. The citizens of Elk River truly need city <br />government the most when a disaster hits or when an emergency happens. Elk River is now much <br />better prepared than ever before to respond to such a siruation and the credit for our improved <br />starus goes mainly to Bruce West. <br /> <br />Since Bruce joined the city and has taken on the responsibility of emergency management director, <br />all key city staff members have been trained and assigned responsibilities in order to adequately <br />address emergency siruations. Emergency response staff, department heads, and support staff from <br />most city departments have all been involved in three full-scale emergency management drills since <br />1997. (This includes the most recent drill that took place in 2004 that revolved around a high school <br />shooting siruation.) The recently completed state of the art Emergency Operations Center (EOC) in <br />the basement of the Public Safety Building was also largely undertaken at the urging of Bruce West. <br />The EOC, plus the second fu:e station, were deemed necessary in order to better facilitate our city <br />response to an emergency. <br /> <br />Bruce West receiving this award gives everyone in Elk River a chance to stop and think about how <br />far the city has come over the last ten years in terms of being better able to respond to an <br />emergency. To this end, the credit goes to Bruce West for his hard work, expertise, and <br />professionalism. Bruce West receiving this award provides us an opporrunity to say thank you and <br />acknowledge his good work for the city. <br /> <br />s: \ Council \ Pat\2004 \ bruccaward.doc <br />