MESSAGE FROM THE CITY MANAGER KEN PULSKAMP
APRIL 2007

Spring is a beautiful time of year here in Santa Clarita, with the green hills, blooming flowers and hint of warm weather to come.

I want to share with you something that has been on my mind lately and that is our level of preparedness for an emergency or natural disaster here in Santa Clarita. I was here at City Hall during the 1994 earthquake and, like many of you, I learned pretty quickly how prepared (or unprepared) my family and I actually were. Every year, the City hosts an Emergency Preparedness Expo. Since the City incorporated in 1987, there have been nine federally declared disasters, including: flooding, fire and earthquake disasters. The annual preparedness expo event is designed for families and is a great opportunity to learn how to be prepared in the event of an emergency or natural disaster.

The 2007 Emergency Prepared Expo, "Passport to Preparedness," will include: a Bicycle Safety Rodeo by State Farm Insurance (be sure to bring your bicycles); a Kid Passport Scavenger Hunt; Opportunities to win safety helmets; Santa Clarita M.A.D.D. (Mothers Against Drunk Drivers) crash car exhibit; Backyard swim safety; Free finger printing for kids; Preparedness Bingo; National Weather Service Doppler radar demonstration; First Aid demos; Motorcycle safety training; Search and rescue demos by LA County Sheriff; a visit with Smokey the Bear; a "Jaws of Life" demonstrations by LA County Fire; the "Quake Walk" with opportunities to win prizes; Emergency supplies and services; AED (Automated External Defibrillator) demonstrations; Campout cooking with the Girl Scouts-delicious samples to taste; Kids Craft Clinic with Home Depot; Hiking Safety and Awareness with the Mountain Lion Foundation; a visit with therapy dogs; City of Santa Clarita CERT demonstrations.

You should also know that our City regularly participates in county wide preparedness exercises so that city staff and emergency personnel are well prepared in the event of an emergency. Most recently, our staff has been working with the community on a plan for animal evacuations in the event of an emergency. Last fall, the City participated with the College of the Canyons and the County in a first-ever "drive through flu shot clinic," to test for preparedness in the event our community needs to be inoculated quickly. In fact, city staff has been trained in preparedness, terrorism, awareness, Emergency Management System, National Incident Management System (NIMS), Fire suppression, first aid, CPR/Automated External Defibrillator (AED), shelter operations and more.

Over the next month, I challenge you and your family to accomplish two emergency preparedness activities. It can be as simple as storing bottled water and canned goods, adding an emergency bag of necessities to your vehicle, making sure your water heater at home is secured, or learning how to shut off your home gas and water valves.

It is my intent, through these monthly emails, to give you an overview of what is happening here in the City. As always, if you would like more information, we are available via phone (661-259-CITY) or on our popular city website: www.santa-clarita.com. If you would like to receive regular email updates on a variety of topics, including jobs available, events, construction updates and more, sign up for our "E-Notify" program on our website.

Thank you for taking the time to know what is happening in our City.

Best regards,

Ken Pulskamp