The Stearns County All-Hazard Mitigation Plan meetings scheduled for Tuesday evening, February 28, 2012 in Melrose and Wednesday, March 29, 2012 at the Stearns County Service Center have been cancelled due to a severe winter storm predicted by the National Weather Service for Central MN.
As noted below, the meetings have been rescheduled as follows:
Melrose City Center
Tuesday - March 6
6:00-9:00 p.m.
Stearns County Service Center
Wednesday - March 7
2:00-5:00 p.m.
6:00-9:00 p.m.
Stearns County needs input from its citizens. The Emergency Management Department is updating its Stearns County All-Hazard Mitigation Plan, and a crucial piece of this plan is public input.
The Hazard Mitigation Plan identifies a community’s disaster vulnerabilities, and then proposes ways to reduce or eliminate those threats. Examples could be constructing tornado shelters for manufactured home communities, planting shrubs along county roads that provide snow/wind breaks, or burying power lines underground. This mitigation planning process involves getting input from across the county and integrating that feedback into an all-encompassing study of disaster prevention in Stearns County. The plan helps communities prioritize projects, and helps these projects, and disaster recovery efforts, receive federal assistance dollars.
Emergency Management needs residents to take part in the discussion about hazards in their community, hazards that could potentially be a threat to their community or the entire county. Residents are encouraged to participate in one of five public meetings that will be held at the end of this month or to go online and complete a survey by March 1, 2012. Find the survey here. Public meetings will be:
February 27 3:00 – 6:00 p.m.
Paynesville City Council Chambers
March 1 3:00 – 6:00 p.m.
Cold Spring Municipal Meeting Room
March 6 6:00 – 9:00 p.m. (rescheduled)
Melrose City Hall
March 7 2:00 – 5:00 p.m. (rescheduled)
Stearns County Service Center
March 7 6:00 – 9:00 p.m. (rescheduled)
Stearns County Service Center
This is an opportunity for individuals to have a voice in the process. Feedback is vital for this plan to become an effective and useful tool for making Stearns County a safer place. Contact Stearns County Emergency Management with any questions at 320-259-3940.