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Draft hazard mitigation plan presented; two‑week comment window opened and FEMA review outlined
Summary
CMRPC and the town presented a draft hazard mitigation plan that identifies flooding hotspots, dam risks and mitigation projects; the town opened a public comment period and will submit the plan to MEMA and FEMA for review and conditional approval, enabling future grant eligibility.
The town’s emergency management director, Fire Chief Patrick Purcell, and consultants from the Central Massachusetts Regional Planning Commission (CMRPC) presented a draft update to Westborough’s hazard mitigation plan.
CMRPC staff described the planning process, funded in part by a MEMA grant, and said the updated plan maps critical facilities and locally identified hazard areas — including flood‑prone locations near Sandra Pond, Lake Chauncey and Nichols Reservoir — and recommends mitigation strategies such as drainage improvements, making a community center into a generator‑equipped shelter, coordinated water supply redundancy, and expanded language access for hazard materials.
CMRPC said the draft plan will be posted for public comment (the team proposed a two‑week comment window but indicated the period can be lengthened) and then submitted to MEMA and FEMA for conditional approval; adoption by the Select Board would occur after FEMA’s conditional approval. The plan, if approved, would make the town eligible for FEMA mitigation grants and is subject to a five‑year update cycle.
