Ashland County committee approves updated hazard mitigation plan; FEMA funding uncertainty noted

The Ashland County Public Property and Law Enforcement Committee voted to approve the county'wide hazard mitigation plan and will forward the item to the County Board in September.

The plan "is complete" and had already been sent to FEMA, Emergency Management staff member Christina told the committee, and a subsequent review found the county had been "grandfathered in" so a full redo was not required. The committee voted to approve the plan by voice vote; Vice Chair Jerry Anderson announced the motion carried.

The plan matters because local jurisdictions must include specific hazards in a mitigation plan to remain eligible for FEMA disaster funding, Christina said. Committee discussion noted the plan was the product of a multiagency process led by Northwest Regional Planning and that it must be updated every five years to preserve eligibility for federal disaster reimbursement.

During the emergency management report, Christina explained the process: the plan had been prepared and submitted to FEMA, which initially created uncertainty about whether the county would need to redo the work. "Turns out we were grandfathered in because it was already completed and turned in," she said. She told the committee the plan has already been adopted by local jurisdictions including Ashland City and the city the report named as Mellon City; she said townships "fall underneath" the county for this plan but she would provide paperwork if townships wanted to adopt it individually.

Christina summarized some additions made in the update, including a new mention of solar storms alongside traditional hazards such as tornadoes and high winds, and said the update required cataloguing "just about everything that could potentially ever happen throughout our county" to qualify for FEMA funding.

Committee members pressed on cost and timing. Christina said the regional planning work had been expensive and estimated the work to redo a plan could cost "close to $30,000." She also said future FEMA funding for the Emergency Management Performance Grant (EMPG) is uncertain: "FEMA is not putting any money into EMPG" at present and the administration's stated direction is to return responsibility to states, leaving the county unclear on future federal support.

Votes at a glance

- Motion to approve today's agenda: passed by voice vote (mover/second not specified in the record). - Motion to approve Public Property and Law Enforcement Committee minutes from April 28: moved by Jerry Anderson and seconded by Will Harm; passed by voice vote. - Motion to approve the Ashland County hazard mitigation plan: moved by Will Harm and seconded by Laura; passed by voice vote; the plan will be placed on the September County Board agenda. - Motion to adjourn: moved by Jerry Anderson, seconded by Will Harm; passed by voice vote.

The committee recorded that Northwest Regional Planning led the process and that adoption by FEMA affects the county's eligibility for disaster reimbursement. Christina said the county must redo the plan every five years and that the county is about a year behind schedule because of staff turnover.

Committee members set the plan's approval to be placed on the County Board agenda in September, and staff said they will circulate final paperwork to townships that may wish to adopt the plan locally.

The committee adjourned after scheduling a jail tour for its October meeting, which the sheriff's department will confirm for timing and location.