Commissioners table seven county emergency plans, request public briefing

Weston County commissioners on Oct. 7 voted to table signatures on seven updated county emergency plans and requested a public briefing on the changes before final approval.

The plans include the county emergency operations plan, emergency evacuation plan, long‑term power outage plan, family reunification plan, sheltering support plan, debris management plan and mass fatality plan. Gilbert, a county staff member who presented the documents, said most changes were minor name or annex updates.

"It's just the annual 2 year change of all the plans," Gilbert said. "The only things that really changes in that is if we have to change names basically from dispatch change to the consolidated dispatch center. I mean, there's no major changes. But if you guys want a time to I know they all run together."

Commissioners said they were not comfortable authorizing signatures without a brief explanation of what had changed and how the plans would be used. One commissioner moved to table the signatures and to schedule 15–40 minutes at the next meeting for staff to explain the updates for commissioners and the public; the motion carried.

Gilbert said the plans are available for public inspection at county offices but are not posted online because of security concerns. He told commissioners the plans must be returned to the state and that last year the county completed a similar signing in November.

The board requested a short, publicly noticed presentation on the changes at the Oct. 17 meeting and asked staff to provide paper copies for commissioners and for members of the public who request them.

No plan language was adopted at the Oct. 7 meeting; signatures were postponed to allow review and public explanation.