Wednesday, June 5, 1996

Galveston officials say they're ready for a hurricane

By Associated Press

GALVESTON (AP) - Authorities are working to reassure residents of this coastal island that they're ready for a hurricane despite a recent report that found the city's emergency preparedness lacking.

Philip M. Lipnick, a former assistant emergency management coordinator in Galveston who has formed his own consulting firm, was commissioned last month to assess the city's preparedness for a disaster.

Last week he gave Galveston city manager H.B. Ewert a report that included a long list of criticisms. Among problems Lipnick found were that the city staff "has no emergency management training," is unorganized, and does not coordinate with outside agencies.

Lipnick's report also found that an emergency management plan developed in 1988 meets state and federal requirements but has never been implemented by city officials, and some city departments "are not familiar with their roles in the plan."

A list of recommendations include immediate training for city staffers and a full-scale emergency drill within six months. Lipnick also suggested that his company be hired to help the city improve its procedures.

Galveston Mayor Henry Freudenburg, who also serves as emergency management director, said the city is ready to handle a hurricane despite the findings.

"I'm very confident that we're ready," the mayor said. "I think we always have been prepared ... (but) we're going to make sure everyone is up to speed."

Lipnick blamed former Galveston city manager Doug Matthews, who was fired in December, for communications problems that he found.

"He was the liaison between city staff and the mayor, but he was the only one who knew what was going on," Lipnick told The Galveston Daily News. "He kept it so nobody talked."

Matthews, however, called Lipnick a "former disgruntled employee" and questioned his qualifications to conduct the study at all.

"I am very proud of the emergency program developed for the citizens of Galveston," Matthews said. "Through hard work and team work, we accomplished our mission."

Lipnick refused to discuss his report Tuesday, referring calls to the mayor. Neither Freudenburg nor Ewert immediately returned telephone calls from The Associated Press.

Freudenburg, set to preside over his first emergency management meeting today, said Monday that he has initiated several improvements in the city's planning.

A full-scale disaster drill is planned for later this summer, and a pair of city officials have been named as deputy emergency management coordinators, he said.

Among Lipnick's criticisms was that the city's evacuation plan has never been distributed to key agencies. A plan to evacuate elderly and handicapped people to the mainland "is operationally questionable at best," he said.

Lipnick recommended that Freudenburg implement the existing emergency management plan immediately, test emergency center generators within 15 days, and develop a better evacuation plan within a month.