Michael Kelley praises COVID response in annual address
EL CENTRO — Of all the topics Supervisor Chairman Mike Kelley touched on Thursday in his State of the County address, the COVID pandemic was at the forefront.
Kelley’s pre-recorded speech was interspersed with images from the past year, such as photos of the June 28 Niland fire.
Kelley said under the leadership of Imperial County Public Health Department Director Janette Angulo, the county has collectively worked with local, state and federal organizations to combat COVID-19 during the pandemic.
Through the collaboration between the Emergency Medical Services Agency, the Advanced Planning Unit, Epidemiology section, and Public Health Laboratory more than 2 million items of personal protective equipment were distributed across the region, he said.
More than 400 patients were treated through the alternate care site at Imperial Valley College, and partnerships were established to assist local hospitals and home healthcare providers treat those with COVID-19.
He said data was collected and reporting systems were established to provide up-to-date information to stakeholders; contact tracing and investigations were provided for more than 23,000 cases, and thousands of COVID tests were provided in-house, saving precious time and resources.
The Imperial County Public Health Department, Kelley said, has played an essential role during the pandemic on all fronts. A heavy weight has fallen on the shoulders of Angulo, and the team she is leading.
Kelley said the Area Agency on Agency, by utilizing small businesses, provided 900 seniors with meals at their homes, with an average of 46,000 meals served per week.
In addition to these services, the AAA partnered with the Public Health Department to serve as a call center and assist seniors with the COVID-19 vaccination process with thousands of calls to help vaccinate the county, Kelley said.
“With the AAA providing protection and nourishment for our seniors, our Agricultural Commissioner’s Office also did their part in providing personal protective services and equipment to our local farmworkers and agricultural industry,” he said.
In partnership with the California Departments of Food and Agriculture, Pesticide Regulation, and Emergency Services, more than 1.5 million masks, 83,000 bottles of hand sanitizers and 20,000 pairs of gloves were provided to the local farm labor workforce, he said.
“The impacts of COVID-19 were not just physical, but also mental, and our Behavioral Health Services acted quickly and efficiently to ensure that services remained opened to (more than) 12,000 patients, including 24/7 services to the highest risk populations,” Kelley said.
Despite the obstacles COVID presented, he said Behavioral Health opened and certified seven new programs at four new locations and contracted with Jackson House Crisis Residential Treatment Facility to provide more than 140 referrals.
Kelley said not only did the county address the physical and mental impacts of the pandemic, but its Workforce Development Board did everything they could to help mitigate the impacts of COVID-19.
Through their Division of Workforce and Business Services, they helped save more than 100 jobs and provided reimbursement for small businesses who purchased PPE and equipment for their employees to telecommute to protect themselves and their clients.
He said their Division of Community and Economic Development also continued in their mission to work with all agencies to develop greater economic opportunities and improve quality of life by providing rental assistance for dozens of local households and providing California Development Block Program funds to assist.
“Our Department of Social Services worked round the clock and completed a reorganization to establish divisions to promote quality of service rendered to our community,” he said. These divisions included transitional services, child and family services, aging and adult disability services, and administrative services.
In 2020, these divisions helped provide more than 90,000 residents public assistance benefits to combat poverty, malnutrition and food insecurity. They developed a strategic homeless plan to make homelessness rare, brief and non-recurring in the community, and completed more than 1,000 child abuse investigations.
In Kelley’s county address, he said, Social Services also serves as the administrative entity for the Imperial County Continuum of Care, a local committee that works to eradicate homelessness in the region.
“As the administrative entity of Continuum of Care, our Social Services Department helped to develop a strategic homeless plan and establish and deploy programs to provide direct assistance during the COVID-19 pandemic, such as a homeless assistance hotline and homeless housing protections and projects to prevent the spread of COVID-19,” he said.
With a current caseload of more than 10,000 children, the county’s Department of Child Support Services successfully navigated and strategized new and creative ways in continuing to engage with families, he said.
Working closely with the Imperial County Superior Court, Child Support Services fully and successfully transitioned to virtual court hearings for all cases on their calendars.
Child Support Services also surpassed its goal of increasing its distributed collections with a 12 percent increase from the previous year.
“I would be remiss if I didn’t include the amazing work of our first responders,” he said. “Our brave firefighters and law enforcement officers who continued to protect and serve before, throughout, and during this pandemic.”
The Sheriff’s Office conducted emergency vehicle operator course training to increase employee performance and safety standards.
“They disrupted criminal activity by identifying and dismantling criminal organizations inside and outside of our jail facility through our Jail Intelligence Team, and resumed their crime prevention efforts through various awareness campaigns and programs,” Kelley said.
In 2020, the county Fire Department began construction on Niland station, completed a multi-jurisdictional Hazard Mitigation Plan, and received more than $270,000 in Homeland Security grant funding.
Kelley said that even with the pandemic there are still large emergencies that arise and require the county’s attention. He pointed to the Niland fire, which destroyed 37 structures and left 43 families homeless.
The county’s fire crews, with the help of mutual aid from local and neighboring fire crews, were able to contain and extinguish the fire.
The county teamed up with state and local agencies and non-profits to provide direct assistance, Kelley said.
The county’s Probation Department also worked with the communities and were awarded a Youth Reinvestment Grant in January 2020 to provide guidance, mental health services and tutoring to the neediest of families, Kelley said.
He said the Public Defender’s Office rose to meet the challenges of 2020. Last year, it handled more than 2,500 cases by utilizing unprecedented electronic file conversion to enable remote operations to make information more readily available.
He said its Air Pollution Control District continued to monitor and regulate the county’s air quality to ensure clean air for all.
A major emphasis was placed on collaborating with local schools and youth.
Through various grants and funding sources, an electric bus was purchased for Calexico Unified School District, a parking lot pavement project was completed for Magnolia Elementary School, and indoor air filtration systems were installed at Dogwood Elementary, Heber School, De Anza Magnet, Booker T. Washington Elementary, Harding Elementary and Jefferson Elementary.
These efforts were in addition to the actions taken at addressing the exposed playa at the Salton Sea and the county’s binational efforts with the city of Mexicali to improve air quality, Kelley said in his address.
He said 2020 also saw its Registrar of Voters/ Elections Office successfully manage two major elections, a March primary held just before the pandemic and general election in November that saw one of the highest voter turnouts in Imperial County history.
“Due to the pandemic, the County of Imperial, like other local governments and businesses, has experienced fiscal impacts that will likely continue to affect us in the coming years,” Kelley said. “To reduce expenditures, our Board of Supervisors adopted an early retirement incentive package, which many employees took advantage of.”
In an effort to mitigate some impacts of COVID-19 on Imperial County residents and businesses, more than $4.6 million was used to help residents and businesses deal with COVID-19 related issues since the pandemic began, he said.
He said the supervisors adopted and created five programs that offered fiscal relief, including a coronavirus business relief program, electrical utility bill assistance, water utility bill assistance, restaurant business grants, and public benefit loans and grants.
The county, he said, is here to provide much-needed services for every single resident of the Valley.
“A year ago, we were entering into a period of fear and uncertainty; but with the arrival of the vaccine and the efforts to adapt our workspaces and personal lives by all in our community,” he said. “I am truly hopeful for what 2021 will bring for every resident of the community that your government serves.”