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Danvers officials present draft hazard mitigation plan; public comment open through June 17
Summary
Fire Chief and contractor outlined an updated hazard mitigation plan that lists prioritized projects — including a senior center generator and culvert upgrades — and opens a two-week public comment period before state and FEMA review.
Danvers officials on Tuesday presented a draft update to the town's hazard mitigation plan and opened a public comment period that the committee said will run through June 17.
Chief Brian Barry, who serves as the town's emergency management director, told the Select Board that the mitigation planning committee and consultant Kaplan Consulting began work last fall and expect to submit the document to the state by the end of June. "After this evening, there will be a hard copy of the draft plan available for review by anybody in the public," Barry said, and the draft will be posted on the town website and in the clerk's office and at fire headquarters.
Jamie Kaplan of Kaplan Consulting described mitigation as work "we do on days like today" to reduce future harm from hazards such as severe storms, flooding and extreme temperatures. Kaplan said the plan updates a 2019 version and aligns with the state's December 2024 plan. She said the risk assessment chapter will be the plan's longest section and that mitigation actions will be prioritized into high, medium and low buckets.
The draft identifies specific recommended projects, Kaplan said, including adding a backup generator to the senior center, upsizing undersized culverts in neighborhoods such as Upper Valley Road, protecting the harbor master's office from flooding and measures to mitigate flooding on Frost Fish Brook. The plan also calls out high-hazard-potential dams and lists likely funding sources, including the Department of Conservation and Recreation's dam grant program.
Kaplan explained that communities must have an approved mitigation plan to be eligible for certain pre-disaster mitigation grants: "If you have a mitigation plan in place and the state reviews your plan and then FEMA reviews your plan ... the plan comes back to the town for adoption." She said approved plans remain in force for five years.
Barry and Kaplan said the committee held multiple planning meetings and that the draft will be open for public comment for two weeks; Kaplan noted that the committee will decide whether public comments require changes to the document before sending it to the state and FEMA.
The presentation included practical points for residents: the town uses Blackboard Connect for emergency notifications; the primary shelter for long-duration events is the high school and the senior center is a backup for shorter incidents; and the draft includes a range of mitigation action types — regulatory changes, infrastructure projects, natural systems protection and education. Kaplan said the plan is lengthy (a single printed copy was left with the town clerk) and urged residents to review the PDF on the fire department's emergency management web page.
The Select Board did not take an action on the plan Tuesday; the committee expects to forward the plan to the state and then FEMA, after which the board will be asked to adopt the approved document.
Residents may review the draft online or at town offices and submit comments through a Google document linked from the town's emergency management web page; the committee said it will accept comment through June 17 and then consider any changes before state submission.
