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Black Hills Council seeks county OK to update Meade County mitigation and wildfire plans
Summary
Black Hills Council of Local Governments presented its 2024 annual report and requested Meade County authorize a contract to update the county natural hazard mitigation plan and incorporate a Community Wildfire Protection Plan; the update would be a 75% grant with 25% in-kind match.
The Black Hills Council of Local Governments presented its 2024 annual report May 27 and asked Meade County to approve a contract to update the county's Natural Hazard Mitigation Plan and to incorporate a Community Wildfire Protection Plan (CWPP).
Jennifer Seitzma, executive director of the Black Hills Council, summarized the council's 2024 activities and told commissioners the council had secured outside funding and managed dozens of projects for member governments. "This report covers work activities performed by our office from January 1 through 12/31/2024," Seitzma said.
Kaylee Snyder of the council explained the mitigation-plan work: the FEMA-approved Natural Hazard Mitigation Plan must be updated every five years; the council proposes combining that update with an updated Community Wildfire Protection Plan because the existing CWPP in Meade County is more than 10 years old and ineligible for some funding. Snyder said the combined update would be funded by a 75% grant with the remaining 25% covered by in-kind contributions such as meeting participation and staff time.
Why it matters: an updated mitigation plan keeps the county eligible for federal mitigation funding and aligns wildfire planning with FEMA processes. Snyder said the combined document will be adopted by the county and participating municipalities so those jurisdictions remain eligible for relevant state and federal grants.
Next steps: commissioners asked the council to deliver a draft contract for commission consideration at the next meeting; staff and the council said the update typically takes about a year to complete and must be finalized well before November 2026, when the county's current FEMA plan expires.
