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Denmark Select Board reviews Draft 3 of town Emergency Operations Plan, urges clearer notification and volunteer rosters
Summary
At a March meeting the Denmark Select Board reviewed Draft 3 of the town Emergency Operations Plan and recommended replacing vague timing terms with explicit contact methods, creating a standing volunteer/contact roster, and clarifying who notifies school and county partners during emergencies.
The Denmark Select Board spent the largest portion of its meeting reviewing Draft 3 of the Town of Denmark Emergency Operations Plan, focusing on clearer notification language, written agreements with local institutions and maintaining an updated volunteer/contact roster.
Board members said terms such as “timely” are too subjective and urged the plan to list contact methods (phone call, text, email, or in person) and to adopt “immediate notification” for key items so that staff can demonstrate they attempted contact. Members also recommended including an attachment or separate roster of town employees, fire-department personnel and residents willing to staff an Emergency Operations Center (EOC) or warming center, rather than embedding lists in the main plan text.
Several members asked staff to confirm coordination with Denmark Central School and to obtain a written agreement or at least provide the superintendent a copy of the plan if the school is listed as a potential warming or mass‑care site. The board also discussed the town’s required appointed health officer and whether that role should be filled by the fire chief or code-enforcement officer, and sought clarity on whether the EOC can be activated for pre-planning (trainings, warming/cooling centers) without a full plan activation.
On operational resources, the board asked staff to cite where Oxford County operational procedures (OCEMA) are stored (for example, a fire station copy or a public online link) and to note which entity — town PIO or Oxford County EMA — would handle media outreach. Members suggested expanding described notification channels to include the town website and social media in addition to radio and phone calls.
Board members also urged caution about embedding fixed reimbursement percentages (for example, a stated 90% FEMA reimbursement) in the plan, saying federal and state cost-sharing rules can change and the plan should instead reference applicable law or state/federal guidance.
The Select Board directed staff to incorporate the edits discussed, confirm agreements with the school, attach or maintain an updated roster of contacts and volunteers, and bring a revised draft back for further review.
