Honorable Mayor and Members of the Hermosa Beach City Council Regular Meeting of April 28, 2020
Title
CITY MANAGER’S DIRECTOR OF EMERGENCY SERVICES’ ROLE
We want to once again thank the Hermosa Beach community for staying home and following the other critical details of the County Health Orders. We know that your compliance is saving lives. Within City leadership, we continue to meet almost daily to address the COVID-19 pandemic and to ensure we are continuing to provide essential City services.
We have had some questions recently about how we are doing all this, so we thought we would share some information. As you may know, the Mayor declared a state of emergency in Hermosa Beach on March 15 - after the President, the Governor and the Los Angeles County Public Health Officer all declared states of emergency. These declarations were done to make additional resources available, formalize emergency actions already underway across multiple national, state and local agencies and departments, and help all levels of government prepare for a broader response to COVID-19.
The Hermosa Beach City Council ratified the City’s State of Emergency request on March 16. When a state of emergency is declared, Hermosa Beach ordinances specify that the City Manager is the Director of Emergency Services. I have been acting in that role - in consultation with members of the City Council, the City’s executive team, leaders of the other South Bay cities, the Beach Cities Health District, Los Angeles County leaders and many others.
I have been meeting almost daily with the City team and speaking often with all these other levels of government, including Hermosa Council members. We have relied on the advice and guidance of trusted sources of information, including the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health, the Center for Disease Control and the Beach Cities Health District, to discuss how to protect public health and keep our City safe and running.
All of us share the same goals: to stop new infections and slow the spread of COVID-19. Each decision that we have made has been to achieve those goals, while complying with the Los Angeles County Public Health Orders.
As you may know, the Los Angeles County Public Health Orders had initially prohibited public gatherings of more than 50 people, then 10 people and finally said no gatherings, except with your household members. These orders meant we had to cancel many of our treasured community events and vibrant programs.
After one very busy weekend at the beach, when the crowds were so large that social distancing was very difficult to achieve, we announced our plans to close the beach and the Strand to protect public health. But before our closure even went into effect, a new Los Angeles County Public Health Order went into effect that closed the beach, the Strand and other beaches and beachfront public areas throughout the County.
Our beach and Strand have remained closed under that order. The County has also extended the closures until at least May 15. We are working with all the Beach Cities -- from El Segundo to Palos Verdes Estates - and with L.A. County Supervisor Janice Hahn and the L.A. County Beaches and Harbors on how and when these can reopen. We appreciate your patience as we carefully plan and implement our recovery. Please know that we are working every day to respond to this Public Health emergency and to chart the path to safely reopening the beach, our programs and facilities for your enjoyment and benefit.
A link to the City’s Coronavirus Response and Recovery Webpage is attached.