Community Preparedness Team Strategic Plan: Difference between revisions

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| style="width: 20%" |'''Evaluate, and move the BEECN District Coordinator program out of its pilot phase.'''

The purpose of a District Coordinator is, for each resource in their District, solve simple maintenance fixes, request inventory refills, coordinate BEECN radio tests, and provide leadership. The program only began in the Fall of 2025 with District 2 and 4, and it is too soon to say if a District Coordinator can help pull up scores. But if the program is successful in the pilot Districts, PBEM will expand it to Districts 1 and 3.

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|'''Recruit 40 more Amateur Radio Operators (AROs) and assign them to fire stations.'''

Success recruiting more AROs will require dedicated attention from PBEM staff and the help of Multnomah County’s amateur radio community.

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|'''Re-start regular BEECN training.'''

PBEM can mitigate the staff capacity issue by recording the training on video and making the video available to prospective BEECN volunteers. The video content would be complemented by optional virtual Q&A sessions with prospective volunteers after they complete the video training.

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|'''Develop a training module on how to run a District-level BEECN test.'''

PBEM no longer has the staff capacity to conduct regular radio tests for the BEECN program. Volunteers could fulfill that role if trained, with some PBEM support. The training could be done through an SOP published to WikiNET.

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|'''Retire old BEECN cache boxes and site 100% of all BEECN radios in the field.'''

'''''“Make the radio portable…NET is the team, BEECN is the team member”'''''

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|'''In all strategic goals and objectives, prioritize District 1.'''

'''''Maybe this is a CPT goal for the whole strategic plan?'''''

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| style="width: 20%" |'''Decide on criteria for prioritizing CBOs as prospective BEECN nodal points.'''

|With limited resources, COAD and BEECN managers at PBEM will need to decide which COAD partners would most effectively serve as BEECN nodal points. Prospective criteria might include what communities are served by a COAD partner, their physical location and proximity to their nearest BEECN cache, security, and availability of CBO staff/volunteers to train on and operate BEECN equipment.

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|'''Establish a COAD Comms workgroup.'''

|Inside Portland's COAD, establish a workgroup of CBOs that will serve as BEECNs. The purpose will be to coordinate training, processes/policies, resources, and communications.

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|'''Obtain resources to purchase BEECN radios.'''  

|Assemble a budget and find funding (e.g. City funds, grant resources, etc) to purchase BEECN radios and accessory equipment for CBOs.

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| style="width: 20%" |'''Work with Portland Fire & Rescue on a comprehensive BEECN communications plan.'''

|Though the chain of BEECN communications from BEECN cache to fire station to EOC is well understood, there is little clarity around what the EOC can or will do with radio traffic from BEECNs. Portland Fire & Rescue could have an important part to play in this plan, since possibly some of the radio traffic (e.g. life safety traffic) should be relayed only to the fire station level and not to the EOC.

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|'''Merge the BEECN and NET programs.'''

This objective requires more discussion over how NETs and BEECNs share responsibility, and how a BEECN crew decides what NET to associate with (as well as what to do if no NET is active near them). Nonetheless, combining NETs and BEECNs into unified teams will strengthen both programs.

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|'''Purchase and install more permanent BEECN cache boxes as resources permit.'''

They are cost prohibitive, however. Manufacturing and installing one costs approximately $20,000. However, as grant and other resources permit, PBEM should consider installing more of these in District 1.

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|'''Fully resource and integrate the District 4 UHF repeater.'''

|Because of District 4’s hilly and wooded geography, PBEM possesses a UHF repeater and it is a key part of the resilience of District 4 BEECN resources. However, some parts of it need updating (particularly the battery) and institutional knowledge on how to set it up and operate it is improving but still lacking. This objective proposes that the appropriate equipment be purchased (which should cost less than $2,000) and a WikiNET article be written that addresses processes and procedures for standing up the repeater in an emergency.

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|'''Re-evaluate use of BEECN sites as check-in points for Portland employees.'''

Tactically, this question is probably best evaluated with the Emergency Management Steering Committee (EMSC). If the EMSC would like BEECNs used for employee check ins, PBEM would take the lead on proposing specific policies/processes/procedures.

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|'''Require BEECN Coordinators to complete a BEECN Response Framework.'''

|A BEECN Response Framework is a brief operations plan that helps a cohort of BEECN volunteers plan their response in the event of an earthquake, and is kept on record for EOC responders so they know when to expect a BEECN resource to come online after an earthquake. More information at: [[Operations at BEECN Sites#Deployment Planning: the BEECN Response Framework|https://volunteerpdx.net/index.php/Operations_at_BEECN_Sites#Deployment_Planning:_the_BEECN_Response_Framework]]Under this objective, every BEECN Coordinator would complete the plan annually and District Coordinators would be responsible for evaluating them.

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=== Community Organizations Active in Disaster (COAD) ===

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