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CR 05-134 Relief to Long Beach Mississippi October 4, 2005 Council Report 2005-134 AUTHORIZE EXPENDITURE OF FUNDS TO HELP PROVIDE RELIEF TO LONG BEACH MISSISSIPPI Proposed Action Staff recommends that the Council approve the following motion: Move that the Hopkins Citv Council authorize the expenditure of Citv funds to assist City volunteers in providing food to emplovees and their families of Long Beach. Mississippi. Approval of this motion will allow City employees to use City vehicles and gasoline to transport food to Long Beach, Mississippi. Overview Long Beach, Mississippi is about the same size as Hopkins and suffered severe damage from the storm. The Hopkins' Police and Fire Departments organized and sent uniforms to the area in the week following the storm. In discussions with Long Beach about what else Hopkins could do, a request was made for an "afternoon off' for the employees and families so they could socialize and talk and just decompress from the work. A committee of Hopkins employees has been working to organize a picnic for the employees and families in Long Beach. A date has been set with Long Beach for October 15th. The committee expects to feed about 250 people. The committee is requesting the following assistance from the City of Hopkins: . Use of City vehicles to help transport the food, beverages, and other materials. . Gasoline to fill the City vehicles. . Agreement to pay the City employees who are driving to Mississippi for the days they would have been scheduled to work Primary Issues to Consider . Is this an appropriate use of City funds? State law allows cities to provide assistance during an emergency or disaster. SupportiUl! Information . Additional background on assistance to Long Beach (h. dA ~ ~ -/U-~ Craig Reid Police Chief Financial Impact: $ <$3,000 Related Documents (eIP, ERP, etc.): Notes: The only unbudgeted cost would be gasoline. Budgeted: Y IN Source: Council Report 2005-134 Page Two Backeround City employees have been raising money to help with the immediate needs of Long Beach employees, which were housing costs as 45% of the city employees were homeless. We have collected $1,500.00 from employees and some local citizens that heard about our effort and that money will go directly to the employees of Long Beach. The picnic requires a group of Hopkins employees to drive to Long Beach with some pre-prepared food. The group would do set up, serving and clean up on October 15th. Eight people will be needed. The group will leave on Friday morning, October 14th. It is about a 22 hour car ride. The group will arrive in Long Beach and do set up in the morning of October 15th, serve the meal, clean up then travel north to motels for the evening. The group will drive back to Hopkins on Sunday, October 16th. If a Hopkins employee is scheduled to work on any of those days he or she will be paid for normal hours but will not receive any compensation from the city for extra hours or for work on the picnic that occurs on the employee's scheduled day off or normal time off. The employee committee is seeking employees to provide home baked desserts (cakes, pies, cookies). Famous Daves will provide pulled pork and buns. SuperValu will provide hot dogs, buns and chips. The committee is organizing baked beans and coleslaw also. General Mills is donating coupons so everybody who volunteers to bake something can receive the mix free from their local grocery store. The food, soda and other necessary materials will need to be transported. The Committee has one van donated from a local dealership and will utilize two city vehicles and most likely one employee's private vehicle. Gas for vehicles will be a big expense. The Committee is actively soliciting funds to help defray expenses. The Police Department Cheer Fund has donated $250.00 and the Fire Department has donated $500.00. A number of employees and private citizens along with a neighborhood association have donated as well. Cash is still needed for miscellaneous food expenses, along with costs for gas, ice and other supplies. Donations can made to the Hopkins Crime Prevention Fund. Approximate cost to the City: . Use of City vehicles to help transport the food, beverages, and other materials - No direct cost, wear and tear on the vehicles. . Gasoline to fill the City vehicles - between $200 and $500, depending on donations. . Agreement to pay the City employees who are driving to Mississippi for the days they would have been scheduled to work - approximately $2,000 depending on who volunteers.