Seneca County to accept state flood-mitigation equipment; board approves MOU with NYS Division of Homeland Security and Emergency Services

Seneca County accepted a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with the New York State Division of Homeland Security and Emergency Services (DHSES) to take possession of flood-mitigation equipment allocated to the county. County staff said the state is transferring possession rather than ownership and that the county will inventory the equipment and be responsible for annual checks and repairs as needed.

During new business, county staff explained DHSES provided equipment based on county flood risk and that some counties receive more equipment than others. The equipment list cited pumps, sandbagging apparatus and other flood-mitigation tools. Staff said the county would store the equipment in cold storage at the highway department and that the county is expected to maintain and repair items during their useful life; DHSES does not expect the items returned.

Supervisors asked whether towns could borrow the equipment for local incidents; staff said municipalities routinely borrow county equipment for flood response and that county ownership of a sandbagger would avoid rental costs the county previously incurred. County staff said they will perform annual checks on pumps, generators and other items to ensure readiness.

The board approved the MOU by voice vote. The meeting record shows the county recognized responsibility to inventory the equipment annually and to handle maintenance and repairs; it also directed that the equipment be available to towns for flood mitigation as is their practice.