Rutland Select Board adopts updated local emergency plan; members discuss cooling, warming shelters

The Rutland Town Select Board voted unanimously July 15 to adopt an updated Local Emergency Management Plan and authorize municipal signatories. Marty Wasserman, the town emergency management director, presented the plan and the required municipal adoption form for signatures. The board approved the certification and authorized designated officials to sign the form to attest that the municipality adopted the plan at a public meeting. The vote was unanimous, recorded as "motion carries 4-0." Wasserman told the board the state revises the required form every year and that the town’s filing must match the current version. He said he is working to align the town plan with the local school’s emergency procedures so local and school response plans are coordinated "not that I want to tell them what to do, but just so it’s coordinated." He also raised the prospect of identifying locations and staffing for warming and cooling shelters after receiving two recent calls asking about a cooling station. Wasserman said in the town’s emergency-shelter practice there is not capacity to accept residents’ pets, stating, "there won't be pets allowed." Board members asked for additional follow-up on where a shelter would be located and how it would be staffed; Wasserman said he will return with more details at a future meeting. The adoption form will be retained with municipal records and the certified signers will be recorded per standard practice. The vote to adopt the plan and authorize signatures was taken during the regular Select Board meeting; the item was on the published agenda. The board did not make any binding decisions about establishing specific shelter locations at this meeting; direction was limited to staff follow-up to explore options and coordination with the school system.