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REMC starts subregional facilitated discussions; staff propose advisory subcommittee to act on findings
Summary
REMC staff and partners completed initial subregional facilitated discussions and identified gaps — undocumented partnerships, seasonal/tourist populations, documentation and communications shortfalls — and proposed forming an advisory subcommittee to convert findings into regional priorities.
REMC staff reported that the first subregional facilitated discussion was held in late June for the Northeast subregion and that an after-action summary of capabilities and initial findings was circulated afterward.
Maggie, a REMC staff member who organized the sessions, told the committee the region will add a third discussion module to give towns more structured time to collaborate on coordinated disaster response strategies. “We now have a third module that we've added where the towns are going to have more of a chance to collaborate with each other,” Maggie said.
Eric (Department of Health emergency preparedness) outlined a plan to form a small advisory subcommittee within the REMC to synthesize tabletop/facilitated-discussion results, integrated preparedness plans, and community needs assessments into regional priorities. Eric said the subcommittee would meet roughly monthly early on and then less frequently, and that representatives from each subregion should serve on it.
Meeting participants described recurring themes from the facilitated discussion: strong but informal local partnerships with businesses and community organizations, lack of written agreements or documentation to preserve continuity, challenges communicating with seasonal or tourist populations, inconsistent documentation templates for damage and public-assistance reimbursement, and continued vulnerability of communications during power outages. The group discussed promoting ham-radio capacity; Eric and others said the state is integrating much of the former RACES ham-operator program into the Medical Reserve Corps to preserve that capability.
Staff announced the next subregional session for the northwest group is scheduled for Oct. 15 in Castleton at the former village school (current rec center) from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m.; confirmed towns for that session include Benson, Fairhaven, Hubbardton, Castleton and West Haven. Maggie and Eric asked for volunteers from each subregion to participate in the proposed advisory group and said they will follow up by polling EMDs to gauge interest and availability.
No formal vote to create the advisory subcommittee occurred at the REMC meeting; staff said the idea is at the planning stage and will be returned to the agenda. Staff and committee members requested minimal extra work for town representatives, estimating roughly 15–16 hours across a year for the advisory group’s participation.
