Planning commission begins process of revising disaster plan

Drew Weisberg, community development planner for Pioneer Trails Regional Planning Commission, gave a presentation about Saline County's hazard mitigation plan Friday afternoon, Dec. 18, at Marshall Public Library.

It is time for the county's old plan, which was authored in 2004, to be revised.

Such plans must be updated every five years, as mandated in the Disaster Mitigation Act of 2000, Weisberg said.

During the revision process, information must be collected on the county's development and risk trends in the past five years -- in the 2004 document, the main risks outlined were flooding, severe winter weather and severe thunderstorms and tornadoes.

Then, planners will develop the hazard mitigation plan, which provides strategies for dealing with natural disasters.

This is useful, Weisberg said, because "recovery is pretty expensive."

And, having a plan in place before disaster strikes helps county officials to be better prepared for potential problems.

Weisberg said it is also important for the public to be involved in the hazard mitigation plan revision process.

For some information, he and other planners rely on data from groups such as Federal Emergency Management Agency, National Climactic Data Center and U.S. Geological Survey, among others.

But it is necessary to get the perspective and insight of the people actually living in the area, too.

"This is their plan, after all," Weisberg said. "I can only do so much from my computer."

City and county officials, area emergency responders and police and fire departments should all provide their input.

Hospitals, school districts, electric co-operatives and institutions of higher learning have also been invited to participate in the process, Weisberg said.

One important reason to be a part of the hazard mitigation plan revision is that many grants and relief funds, particularly those from FEMA, are tied to involvement.

"You're going to miss the boat on money if you don't participate," Weisberg said.

Right now, RPC is still in the beginning processes of the revision.

There will be another public meeting in January, and by the beginning of February, Weisberg said, he hopes to have the first draft completed to present to all communities in Saline County. The document must be finished and then adopted by all governing bodies in the county by May 31.

Contact Sydney Stonner at marshallbusiness@socket.net

On the Web:

Pioneer Trails Regional Planning Commission
http://trailsrpc.org/images/hazmitstuff/...