Projects and activities to prevent injuries and fatalities while maintaining vital services for Montgomery County residents will be the main topic of discussion at the Montgomery County Hazard Mitigation Planning Committee meeting at 6:30 p.m., Wednesday, Aug. 23, in the Montgomery County Board Room, located on the second floor of the Historic Courthouse in Hillsboro.
The committee began work in October 2022 to update the County’s Natural Hazards Mitigation Plan. This plan details the past severe weather events that have impacted the county and identifies mitigation projects and activities that can be taken before a severe weather event occurs to protect residents and critical services and infrastructure.
“There has been at least $77.8 million in verified property and crop damages, four fatalities and 22 injuries caused by severe weather events in the county,” according to Kevin Schott, Montgomery County Emergency Management Agency (EMA) director. “Obtaining FEMA’s approval of our updated plan will make all of the participants eligible to receive federal grant money for mitigation projects and activities.”
Projects identified by committee members at this meeting will become part of the Montgomery County Natural Hazards Mitigation Plan. While the committee has provided input on portions of the plan, the entire plan will be presented for public review and comment before it is submitted to the state and federal government for approval.
“A public forum will be conducted this winter for interested persons to review the plan update and ask questions of committee members. A two-week public comment period will be held following the public forum to accommodate interested persons who are unable to attend. We want to make sure that anybody who is interested has an opportunity to review and comment on the draft plan update,” added Schott.
Interested persons can submit questions and comments to the committee members or directly to the Montgomery County EMA Office.
