Committee adopts FEMA‑approved multi‑jurisdictional hazard mitigation plan update for county annex

The committee approved adoption of the FEMA‑approved multi‑jurisdictional, multi‑hazard mitigation plan 2025 update and the Orange County annex. Emergency Services and consultant IEM Inc. led the update, which replaces the prior plan from 2018.

Staff described the county annex as the component that covers county facilities and infrastructure and said it was prepared with input from county departments including public works, parks, IT and planning. The presenters identified the county’s two most expensive mitigation projects as bank stabilization on County Route 32 (Mill Street) in the town of Cornwall and soil stabilization on County Route 74 (4 Jill Road) in Windsor; other projects listed include pump station funding gaps for Prime Line Creek, removal of a center pier at a bridge where ice jams form, and road improvements to address chronic flooding in low spots on County Route 51 and other locations. The presentation included photographs of recent local disasters cited in the update: the River Lake/Jennings Creek fire, a tornado near the Desmond Campus, and flooding in Highland Falls and along State Route 32.

A committee member asked which municipalities did not participate; staff said the Town of Palm Tree declined participation. The presenters also explained that FEMA requires inclusion of high‑hazard dams as classified by the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation and that privately owned dams (for example, Tomahawk Lake) may appear in both the owner's annex and the host municipality annex when appropriate.

The committee put the plan adoption to a vote and approved it by voice vote.