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Kenmore council presses for clearer city emergency-management roles while praising NEMCO volunteers
Summary
After a consultant review, Kenmore council members directed staff to explore repurposing its North Shore Emergency Management Coalition support and to strengthen paid-staff readiness while saying they want to preserve volunteer capacity that community speakers credited with rapid, practical disaster response.
Kenmore — After a consultant review and a heavy turn-out from North Shore Emergency Management Coalition (NEMCO) volunteers on July 28, the Kenmore City Council directed staff to pursue options to “repurpose” the coalition’s organizational arrangements while preserving its volunteer capacity and to return with plans to strengthen city staff emergency-management readiness.
The consultant, Jody Ferguson of Ferguson Consulting, told council she had evaluated the city’s emergency-management program against industry standards and focused on whether paid city staff had the administrative documentation and capacity to work alongside volunteers in a major incident. “This analysis was not focused on the NEMCO volunteers,” she said. “Frankly, this group is a model for how this work is done.”
Why it matters: Council members said they value NEMCO’s training, equipment and community reach, but several said the city also needs documented continuity-of-operations plans, clearer lines of authority and at least part-time paid staff time to reduce risk if an individual staffer is unavailable. A majority of council members told staff to return with options for changing the existing interlocal arrangement and staffing models, including part‑time or shared emergency-manager positions assigned to city departments.
What happened at the meeting: About two dozen NEMCO volunteers and community supporters spoke in public comment, describing recent training, drone mapping of damage, a mobile operations vehicle with multiple radio bands and outreach in schools and businesses. Speakers included Anne Udalloy and Tracy Furutani from Lake Forest Park, Ron Henson and Bambi Riley (AGC Biologics). They urged Kenmore to continue membership and shared operations through NEMCO rather than solo city programs.
Ferguson’s report — commissioned after the council approved a one‑year extension of the NEMCO interlocal agreement — identified program strengths and gaps. Strengths cited included a robust volunteer core, documented volunteer programs (CERT, ARES, drone teams), a comprehensive emergency plan and regional relationships. Gaps centered on administrative documentation for paid staff: continuity-of-operations plans for departments, clearer deliverables in interlocal agreements, routine training schedules for city employees and documented recovery procedures.
Ferguson said the city would be best served by “hiring at least a part‑time emergency manager or splitting the time of a shared emergency manager and placing…responsibility and accountability on the Kenmore side in the public works department.” She noted public works already has an operational mindset and access to resources used in emergencies.
Council direction and next steps: Council members praised volunteers and said they want both — continued volunteer engagement and stronger paid-staff readiness. City staff summarized council sentiment as a request to examine options for repurposing NEMCO’s governance and for adding or reallocating emergency-management staff hours; staff said they would return with options and costs, likely to feed into budget discussions.
No formal ordinance or funding change was adopted that night. Council members repeatedly asked staff to return with comparative information about neighboring jurisdictions, grant eligibility, and concrete staffing and deliverable options for a 3–5 year strategic plan that would define responsibilities among cities, the fire authority and volunteer organizations.
Voices from the meeting: Supporters who addressed council included long‑time volunteers who described rapid on‑scene assessments (drones within minutes of storm damage), training programs used by businesses and schools, and efforts to use the coalition as a “force multiplier” for first responders. Ferguson repeatedly emphasized that volunteers were a major program strength and that the city’s near‑term priority was to buy down risk by strengthening paid‑staff documentation and continuity plans.
What remains uncertain: The council’s direction was to explore options, not to adopt a specific governance change. Staff and consultants will return with proposals showing how to balance a regional volunteer coalition, the city’s legal and funding responsibilities, and potential part‑time staffing within Kenmore’s departments.
