Over two years ago, the floods of early summer 2006 left a huge economic impact on Mohawk Valley and Montgomery County. Now, after receiving a FEMA grant and a year and a half long planning process, the Montgomery County Department of Economic Development and Planning has announced that the draft Multi-Jurisdictional Disaster Mitigation Plan has now been posted on the County Website and can reviewed by the public. Doug Greene, Senior Planner and project manager said, "We've received word that the State Emergency Management Office (SEMO) has approved the draft plan and have forwarded it on to FEMA for their review. A lot of work has gone into the plan and we're pleased that every municipality in the county will be eligible to apply for grant funding for projects that can reduce the impacts of disasters."
Once FEMA gives its final approval, the Planning Office will distribute a copy of the plan to every municipality in the County. The Disaster Mitigation Plan includes individual plans for each municipality on the risks and impacts of disasters, along with proposed projects that could be the basis for grant applications. Jonathan Raser, of Tetra Tech Inc., the County's consultant for the plan said, "Once this Plan gets approved it will need to be formally adopted by the County and all municipalities." Both Raser and the Planning Staff will work with the County Supervisors as well as Village and City Mayors to pass resolutions, which will then make the plan final.
Once the Disaster Mitigation Plan has been finalized, a procedure will be put in place to monitor, evaluate and update the plan. A County Mitigation Planning Committee, which assisted Tetra Tech in preparing the plan, will continue to meet and be responsible for documenting disaster or hazard events and evaluating the event's effects and losses, as well as submitting annual reports on how the overall plan is working. The Mitigation Planning Committee will also work with municipalities on grants applications and projects. Assistant Planner, Randy Siver, who did much of the coordination with the municipalities in getting the information needed for the individual plans is looking forward to begin working with the towns and villages to get actual projects completed, "There are a number of potential projects that came up as the plan was put together. We're hoping that all the hard work will pay off with grant funding awards that ultimately will reduce the impacts of future disasters."
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