Benton County developing hazard mitigation plan
Benton County will begin the process of developing a Multi-jurisdictional Hazard Mitigation Plan with a kick-off meeting at 7 p.m., August 5 at the US Bank Community Room in Vinton. The purpose of a Hazard Mitigation Plan is to identify what natural and man made disasters a community is vulnerable to and then to also identify steps that may be taken to lessen the impact of such events upon the citizens, their property and community resources. Benton County has received a grant from FEMA to develop the plan. Having a Hazard Mitigation Plan in place is one of the necessary elements for receiving federal hazard mitigation project funds. Benton County has contracted with Emergency Management Consultant Steve Meyer to develop the plan.
The August 5 meeting will be the first meeting of the planning process. At the meeting emergency management consultants Steve Meyer and Robyn Reese will overview the hazard mitigation planning process and past hazard events that have impacted Benton County. The committee will then determine potential hazards the county is vulnerable to and begin the process of determining mitigation activities to address those hazards.
A multi-jurisdictional hazard mitigation plan takes all incorporated communities and the unincorporated areas of a county into consideration and also any previous hazard mitigation planning that has occurred in the county. In the last five years the cities of Vinton, Urbana, Shellsburg, Luzerne, Norway and Belle Plaine have completed hazard mitigation plans. The cities of Atkins, Blairstown, Keystone and Mt. Auburn currently have hazard mitigation plans in progress.
The Benton County Board of Supervisors have appointed Benton County EMA Coordinator Scott Hansen to serve as the project lead.
This is an open public meeting. All citizens and interested parties are invited to attend the meeting and provide comments relative to the plan. Developing a multi-jurisdictional hazard mitigation plan usually requires up to five public meetings.
UPDATED July 29, 2009 9:32 AM