The Johnson County Emergency Management Agency on Sept. 8 received commissioners' approval to hire Christopher Burke Engineering LLC to update the county's five-year hazard mitigation plan using grant funds.

EMA Director Stephanie Seasting said the county must update its hazard mitigation plan every five years and the county typically hires a contractor using grant funding to prepare the plan. Seasting said she solicited proposals, received two proposals after one vendor declined, and presented the recommendation to the Local Emergency Planning Committee, which voted to approve the selected consultant.

Seasting asked the board to approve tasks 1 through 8 of the proposal and to exclude the $10,000 alternate that some smaller counties pay to cover additional outreach to local entities for plan approval with FEMA. "The alternate is some of the smaller counties pay that because that's what the counties have to pay for them to go to all their local entities for them to approve the plan after it's approved by FEMA," Seasting said. "Which 5 years ago, I went to every city in town and did it myself, so I said no." Commissioners approved tasks one through eight and excluded the alternate.

The county will proceed with the contractor under the grant; exact contract dollar amounts were not stated during the meeting.