The Talking Rock Town Council on an evening in February voted to adopt a five-year hazard mitigation plan required to qualify for certain FEMA and federal grant funding, and approved its January 2025 meeting minutes and financial reports.

Council members said the plan will keep the town eligible for federal mitigation grants. “They wrote this one up for us. It's amazing. The counties around us use the same plan,” Amanda said during the meeting, describing the document and its role in securing FEMA funds.

The council first moved and approved acceptance of the January 2025 meeting minutes and then voted to accept the January 2025 financial statements. Councilors also made and passed a motion to adopt the hazard mitigation plan; the plan will be posted publicly after the council’s approval.

The vote on the hazard mitigation plan followed a brief presentation. Amanda said the plan is valid for five years and emphasized its importance for federal grant eligibility. Council members present indicated the city of Nelson and the city of Jasper had already signed the same plan.

The council did not provide a roll-call vote tally in the meeting transcript for these items. All three motions were presented and the chair called for “all in favor,” after which the chair indicated the measures passed.

The council said the adopted plan and the meeting attachments will be posted on the town hall door for public inspection.