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Overland Park committee backs Kansas Region L hazard mitigation plan; cybersecurity added as new risk
Summary
The Public Safety Committee unanimously recommended city-council adoption of the Kansas Region L Regional Hazard Mitigation Plan, a five‑year, multi‑county plan that now lists cybersecurity incidents among the region’s hazards.
The Overland Park Public Safety Committee unanimously recommended that the city council adopt the Kansas Region L Regional Hazard Mitigation Plan (the five‑year hazard mitigation plan covering Johnson, Leavenworth and Wyandotte counties).
Jared McKee, the city’s emergency management coordinator, told the committee the plan was prepared collaboratively across three counties, has been approved by county, state and federal levels, and is now being returned for local jurisdiction adoption. The plan uses an all‑hazards approach to identify and prioritize risks — from severe weather to terrorism — and assigns a risk index based on frequency, duration, warning time and relative community impact.
Jared McKee said the plan has been through the federal review process and that, once adopted locally, it preserves the conduit for local jurisdictions to request state and federal assistance under the standard damage-assessment and disaster-declaration process. He explained that federal disaster assistance requires local damage assessments and that the plan helps the city identify mitigation projects that may reduce damage or speed recovery.
The plan’s only newly added hazard, McKee said, is cybersecurity incidents. He explained the plan’s community-resilience scoring approach, which incorporates demographic and property‑value data that FEMA and the national risk index use to help prioritize mitigation strategies.
Committee action A motion to recommend the city council adopt resolution 5022, which adopts the Kansas Region L Regional Hazard Mitigation Plan, passed by unanimous voice vote. The committee’s recommendation advances the plan to the city council for final local adoption.
Background and implications McKee said the plan is reviewed every five years and that its approval at county, state and federal levels was a prerequisite to local adoption. Committee members asked clarifying questions about mitigation scope; McKee answered that mitigation can include both activities to prevent infrastructure failure and actions to reduce damage and loss after an event. The committee’s recommendation preserves the city’s ability to participate in joint damage assessment, request declarations if thresholds are met, and seek mitigation funding tied to the plan.
