Rutland RPC planner Maggie O'Brien previews Wells hazard mitigation plan; two‑week public review opens

Maggie O'Brien, emergency management planner with the Rutland Regional Planning Commission, presented the second half of Wells’ Local Hazard Mitigation Plan and opened a two‑week public review. She said the draft will be posted on a project landing page tomorrow and a physical copy will be available at the town office; “Starting tomorrow…we will have a copy of the draft for everyone to review,” O'Brien said.

O'Brien summarized the plan’s goal to increase resilience by prioritizing mitigation investments for people, homes, cultural resources, ecosystems and critical lifelines such as transportation, energy and communications. She described the plan's tables (Table 5 and Table 6) that rank candidate actions by life‑safety and property benefits, feasibility and co‑benefits, and that assign lead parties, typical time frames and potential funding sources. O'Brien noted the town has participated in the National Flood Insurance Program since 1985 and that “upon this plan being submitted to Vermont Emergency Management for initial review, that will bump your rate back up to 12.5%,” restoring an ERAF match benefit that had fallen to 7.5% because the previous plan expired.

The plan includes an annual maintenance recommendation to pair reviews with the local emergency management plan and to use public engagement (flyers, email blasts and surveys) to keep mitigation actions current. O'Brien also highlighted recent local accomplishments documented in the update, including an estimated 12.36 miles of municipal road improvements since 2017 and a streambank stabilization project on East Wells Road completed this past winter.

Next steps: O'Brien asked the Select Board to collect public comments over the two‑week period and, if changes are editorial, to vote at a future meeting to submit the draft to Vermont Emergency Management (BEM) for initial review and then pursue formal local adoption and FEMA final approval. She provided a contact email ([email protected]) and the draft landing page URL (tinyurl.com/wells-lhmp2six).