Atoka council adopts emergency operations plan that staff says will be rewritten after FEMA rule change

The Atoka City Council voted to adopt the city’s Emergency Operations Plan for the period presented to the council, with members recording unanimous yes votes.

City staff said adopting the plan now preserves the city’s eligibility for an ongoing MPG grant and buys time to rewrite the plan after a pending change in FEMA standards. Staff said FEMA is expected to change standards in July and the city would then have one year to bring the plan into compliance with the new rules.

Staff described practical problems with the copy of the plan on file: the plan had been scanned from an earlier signed copy, the scan changed pagination and font, and parts of the document will require a full rewrite. Staff said the adopted plan gives the city the five-year span that an emergency plan is typically valid for and maintains grant compliance until required updates are completed.

Council members asked about confidential attachments and the reason some material is redacted. Staff explained that the plan includes preplanned staging locations and other operational details for responses to active-shooter and similar critical incidents; those sections were designated confidential to avoid publicly disclosing staging points or tactical deployment locations.

At the meeting the council called the roll after a motion and second; recorded votes were Yes from Miss McGee, Miss Poe, Mister Turner, Mister Sheryl and Mayor Kathy, and the motion carried.

City staff said they will work to produce an editable version and a full rewrite in the window FEMA and grant rules allow.

The council did not amend the plan at the meeting and directed staff to continue work on the digital conversion and rewrite to meet forthcoming FEMA guidance.