Thursday, the Lubbock City Council held a work session, where city leaders and officials could talk about their report of the December blizzard, and how each department responded.

According to the report, the City held a number of meetings and had preparations in place ahead of the blizzard hitting Lubbock. The Emergency Operations Center (EOC)  was activated during the storm and included representatives from a number of different city departments.

Some of their objectives during the blizzard included providing emergency services, supporting the utility companies and crews, and keep the public updated throughout the event, among other goals.

On December 27, Mayor Glen Robertson issued a disaster declaration.

“Although there are many things that we did right during this storm, I believe it’s critical that we focus on the areas that we failed,” Robertson said Thursday.

After hearing from the departments in the report, the council members had a chance to ask questions and make comments on their observations.

Many council members listed the same areas they think could be worked on: communication and expectations.

“I think the two areas that we’ve got to work on are expectations and communication. Because we’ve not had a snow like this in forever, nobody knows what to expect,” Mayor Pro Tem Jim Gerlt said.

Many departments, however, did have positive things to report. 

“Our first priority, was assisting first emergency responders, the first 48 hours of this event, you’ve heard from the fire department and police department, they were getting stuck,” Wood Franklin, the Director of Public Works, said.

There were also concerns raised over the City Manager and the Deputy City Manager not being in town during the storm.

“We should never allow both the City Manager and the Deputy City Manager to be gone at the same time,” Robertson said. “The City Manager was on vacation and out of state during the event, the Deputy City Manager did return to town on Monday after the storm hit on Sunday, but was never at the EOC.”
 
Robertson’s suggestion was that the highest ranking city administrator who is in town should be required to be at the EOC whenever it is activated. 
 
Robertson also mentioned how he thinks there may also be a need for a public safety bond election.
 
“Take it to the voters, let them know, if you want the capability, if you want the preparedness as your city to handle these type of events that typically happen every 25 to 50 years, here’s how much it’s going to cost and here’s the effect on your tax rate. I think we need to let the citizens have input. How much money are they willing to spend to be prepared for these type of events?” Robertson said.
 
The council, along with other city leaders, all thanked the hard work of the first responders, LP&L linemen, and others who had to be outside and work during the storm.