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Rutland-region emergency committee elects new chair and advances regional recovery planning
Summary
At a recent meeting, the Rutland Regional Emergency Management Committee appointed Mike Jones as chair and Jan Sedrakis as vice chair, named Pete Mantello and Tom Johnson to regional representative roles, and discussed forming a Rutland Regional Disaster Cooperative to coordinate long-term recovery and preparedness after July flooding.
The Rutland Regional Emergency Management Committee (REMC) approved its agenda and minutes and moved to several organizational appointments before turning to regional recovery planning. Members voted to appoint Mike Jones as chair and Jan Sedrakis as vice chair and approved Pete Mantello as the Thyra SPR representative and Tom Johnson as the integrated preparedness and planning workshop representative.
Maggie, who circulated the agenda and led the meeting, outlined ongoing state-level conversations prompted by the July 23 flooding about standing up longer-term recovery structures. She said the Central Region already uses a regional recovery officer and that the state recovery officer, Doug Farnham, would be the umbrella for any regional network. "We are lifting the Rutland Regional Disaster Cooperative off the ground," Maggie said, describing the RRDC as a potential central repository for resources, communication and education to help towns respond and recover.
Maggie told members the RRDC is intended to be tied to the Rutland Regional Planning Commission's sphere rather than combining dissimilar counties, and that the immediate work will include one-on-one outreach to towns to build buy-in. She identified gaps the RRDC and REMC would aim to address, including planning for transient populations, support for people with access and functional needs, and local capacity for navigating public assistance and grant processes such as HMGP.
Eric Bolver, emergency preparedness specialist for the Department of Health in Rutland, proposed small sector-based roundtables (animal welfare, faith-based organizations, schools, economic development groups, transportation, etc.) to surface what agencies can offer and then convene a larger meeting with municipalities to align support. "We're looking to do regional disaster management," Eric said, arguing the approach would let towns focus on response while other sectors coordinate support roles.
Members discussed keeping town involvement light to avoid overburdening volunteer municipal staff and suggested holding a larger combined session on a single day so municipalities could participate without extra meetings. Maggie said the REMC would schedule training and workshops as capacity allows, including re-presenting an earlier inclement weather workshop in person and reviewing the vulnerable populations protocol.
Votes at a glance - Agenda approval: Motion approved by voice vote (ayes recorded). - Minutes approval (09/18/2024): Motion approved by voice vote (ayes recorded). - Chair appointment: Motion to appoint Mike Jones as chair — motion made, seconded and approved by voice vote. - Vice chair appointment: Motion to appoint Jan Sedrakis as vice chair — motion made, seconded and approved by voice vote. - Thyra SPR representative: Motion to appoint Pete Mantello — motion made, seconded and approved by voice vote. - Integrated preparedness and planning workshop representative: Motion to appoint Tom Johnson — motion made, seconded and approved by voice vote. - Adjournment: Motion approved by voice vote.
The committee set its next meeting for March 19, 2025 (third Wednesday in March). The meeting concluded with members exchanging holiday well-wishes.
