Louisville will begin discussions with Boulder and Boulder County to receive disaster management and recovery services through the Boulder Office of Disaster Management, as well as start the process of creating an Emergency Operations Plan.

Having started her position as city manager in late March, Diana Langley has met with many public safety officials and residents to understand the community’s wants and needs for emergency services and preparedness.

She said what she took away from those meetings is that Louisville needs to join the Boulder ODM. During a recent Louisville City Council meeting, the council supported city staff to begin conversations to do so, as well as start the process of creating a new emergency operations plan — although, no formal vote was taken.

While Louisville has a variety of plans and risk assessments, Langley said the city needs more resources.“When you look at the scope of services, this is more than what one person can provide for the city of Louisville,” Langley said.

The Boulder ODM provides disaster management services to unincorporated Boulder County and Boulder, through an intergovernmental agreement. Langley said the office provides a variety of preparedness, response and recovery services like ongoing risk assessments, disaster planning, recovery resources and more.

While the office currently does not have the staffing capacity to assist Louisville, Langley said that if a partnership is successful, then Louisville would need to participate in overall administrative costs for the office as well as provide one full-time equivalent employee dedicated to Louisville. She estimated the cost to be approximately $200,000 annually. The city would not get rid of its current Recovery and Resilience division if it joined the office.

“Louisville has a multitude of documents, but we don’t have a current emergency operations plan,” Langley said.

As the city manager, she said the emergency operations plan would allow her to declare an emergency, as well as define roles and responsibilities, provide a plan for continuity of government, and checklists for staff and hazard analysis. The city’s current emergency operations plan was presented to the council in 2012.

During a public comment period, many residents expressed support for joining the office, recalling the Dec. 30, 2021 Marshall Fire and the hectic evacuation. One noted that cities of Louisville’s size, with a population of approximately 20,000, often do not have the staffing to properly create a thorough disaster management and emergency preparedness plan, or sufficient resources.

Councilmember Dietrich Hoefner said it was a “no-brainer” for Louisville to consider joining the Boulder ODM, as well as hiring a consultant to create a new emergency operations plan. Councilmembers brought up concerns about the structure of the office and board and how Louisville will fit in, as well as how the city will fund its possible position within the office — but all councilmembers approved of starting the process. The cost for the emergency operations plan would be a one-time cost, not yet determined.

Councilmember Judi Kern said this plan puts the community on a path to a “much safer Louisville,” and recommends staff look at a way to ensure the permanency of Louisville’s stake in the office, to ensure the city will always have those resources.