2018-08-01 Justification for Meals Provided to Workers and Volunteers - Lava Disaster

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MTV..h, ��' ,' Wil Okabe Managing Director Harry Kim •j i\-- %IC,.%ll:. Mayor mss' Barbara J.Kossow ....{..: ¢�of N•a�• Deputy Managing Director County of Hawaii Office of the Mayor 25 Aupuni Street,Suite 2603 • Hilo,Hawaii 96720 • (808)961-8211 • Fax(808)961-6553 KONA: 74-5044 Ane Keohokalole Hwy,Bldg C • Kailua-Kona,Hawaii 96740 (808)323-4444 • Fax(808)323-4440 August 1, 2018 4t%A To: 2018 Lava Event Files ` From: Harry Kim, Mayor -- Subject: Justification for Meals Provided to Workers and Volunteers This memo serves to document the reasons that I instructed various County Departments to provide meals and various other means of sustenance, including but not limited to bottled water and refreshments,to both workers and volunteers during the course of this natural disaster. During the 2018 Lava Event disaster, workers and volunteers were and are still dealing with a very stressful, demanding and sometimes turbulent situation, in which decisions made impact hundreds of lives and their homes and personal property. Life altering decisions impacting entire communities are often being made in a matter of minutes and the efforts of several hundred individuals assigned to this disaster are having to be coordinated each day. Because of the highly volatile nature of the situation, logistical arrangements such as obtaining one's own meals prior to arriving for a meeting or a shift, are not the top priority and as a former Civil Defense Administrator myself, I recognize the toll that this situation is taking on the mental and physical health of all those involved. In order to enable the workers and volunteers to focus on what the County needs them to do and to be able to endure the long road ahead, I have instructed that meals and other similar items be purchased and provided. County of Hawaii is an Equal Opportunity Provider and Employer