Dozens of non-profit organizations as well as government agencies will receive surplus gowns, goggles and cleaning materials initially purchased for protection against COVID-19.
The Board of Supervisors on Tuesday authorized the county administrator to distribute the supplies after an ABC7 investigative team found that millions of dollars worth of protective equipment was left out in the cold by local government.
The county itself detailed in a statement that last fall, approximately $7 million in supplies stored at the San Mateo Event Center were left out in the open during a storm.
He noted that San Mateo County purchased such equipment early in the pandemic, when jurisdictions across the country were competing to secure the materials needed to keep the community and frontline workers safe amid uncertain circumstances.
He also pointed out that most of these supplies, which are not medical grade, were individually wrapped in plastic in boxes that, although they got wet, have not been damaged.
Thus, the Board's management at yesterday's Tuesday meeting authorized county staff to distribute to the organizations the equipment that can still be used.
"While we deeply regret the damage that occurred during last fall's rainy season, we are thankful that the vast majority of supplies still serve and can support purposes including wildfire cleanup, disaster relief and other emergency response efforts," said County Administrator Mike Callagy.
He also encouraged local community organizations in need of these supplies to submit their request.
The county reported that it is working with the nonprofit organization Wine Country Marines in the distribution of these resources to other organizations and governmental agencies, including San Mateo County entities.
It will work with other organizations that can use the materials and meet the appropriate criteria, while any damaged packaging and unusable supplies will be disposed of appropriately.
"We, and the groups we partner with, are grateful that San Mateo County is dedicated to finding new purposes for this equipment rather than destroying it or leaving it unused," said James Brown, president of Wine Country Marines, a Bay Area-based charity.
The supplies designated today as "surplus" were intended to be used by people working in medical parishioner settings early in the pandemic if hospitals were completely overwhelmed, a situation that fortunately did not occur, the county said.
He justified the situation by saying that in the months before the supplies were moved overseas, he worked with the California Office of Emergency Services (CalOES) to offer such "surplus" items at no charge to health care providers and other government agencies, including schools and other jurisdictions, but few took him up on the offer because the sizes, quantities and other considerations made them "less appropriate."
"Yes, we made a mistake. Humans make mistakes. But the important thing is that we admitted it and, fortunately, we're finding that these supplies don't have to go to waste," said County Supervisor Carole Groom.
Board Chairman Don Horsley added that the Board wants to understand, as much as residents do, how the situation occurred and identify ways to prevent future mistakes.
He also said the incident does not take away from the fact that the County, in obtaining the supplies, was motivated by a desire to keep the community safe.
"In the darkest days, when we didn't know what supplies we could get and how much we would need, the county did everything it could to buy what it could to keep us safe. In hindsight, we didn't need it and the organizations we tried to share it with didn't need it either. I'm glad to see that it can still address important needs," Horsley said.
Finally, he noted that the County maintains a separate collection of medical-grade personal protective equipment for first responders or other front-line workers, and the damage caused by this incident did not affect the County's COVID-19 response efforts.
Organizations and government agencies interested in receiving supplies should direct their inquiries to the "Supply Manager" at email: smcdonatedsupplies@smcgov.org.
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