City of Pleasanton Seeks Business Partners for LEAP Program

By Hacienda Network Staff Writer

Advance planning can make a tremendous difference when disaster strikes. Recovering from an emergency is much easier when it is already known what steps need to occur afterwards.

That's the idea behind the City of Pleasanton's new Local Emergency Action Plan, or LEAP. The program intends to identify local businesses that can provide goods or services in the event of an emergency.

"LEAP wants to partner with local businesses to ensure that our community has all the resources we need in the event of a centralized or major disaster," says Pamela Ott, director of the city's Economic Development Department.

"In essence, the city wants to know that we're prepared in the case of an emergency and we think local businesses could help us with that," she explains. "It's all about connecting businesses to the community and the city to make sure that we have all the resources we need."

The idea for the program came out of one of the city's periodic training sessions regarding the establishment of an emergency operations center. "We thought, 'Wouldn't it be great if we had a whole list of partners who were prepared to work with us in the event of a disaster?' A lot of times people want to help but they don't know how. This would give them an opportunity to participate and support their community. Any businesses which choose to participate in LEAP will become designated LEAP partners and would receive signage to display in their businesses promoting that fact.

Businesses of all types are welcome to participate, says Ott. "The idea for the program came out of a need for supplies but I can imagine there are any number of businesses that might be able to help people. For example, I think there would be a need for insurance and financial services companies. There are probably applications for most any of our businesses here in Pleasanton."

Businesses interested in either participating or learning more about the LEAP program are invited to attend seminar at Building G of Oracle's Hacienda campus from 8:30 to 10:00 am on Thursday, October 6. No reservations are necessary.

For additional information on LEAP, call the LEAP hotline at (925) 931-LEAP (5327).

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