AGENDA #5a
MEMORANDUM
TO: Mayor and Town Council
FROM: W. Calvin Horton, Town Manager
SUBJECT: Report on the Annual Review of Town Hazard Mitigation Plan
DATE: January 9, 2006
The purpose of this report is to provide an annual review of the Town’s Hazard Mitigation Plan, as prescribed in the plan.
BACKGROUND AND DISCUSSION
In November 2004, the Town Council adopted the Town of Chapel Hill Hazard Mitigation Plan 2004 in response to requirements of the Federal Disaster Mitigation Act of 2000. Adoption of the Plan by the Town Council was necessary in order to maintain local eligibility for Federal and State hazard mitigation funds. A copy of the plan is available for review in the Town Engineering Department.
Key components of the Town’s Hazard Mitigation Plan include:
· Identification and analysis of potential hazards
· Assessment of the Town’s vulnerability to different types of hazards
· Assessment of the Town’s capabilities to manage and mitigate hazards
· Development of Town hazard mitigation policies and strategies
· Regular review, updating and maintenance of the plan
As part of plan maintenance, the Engineering Department is coordinating this first annual review in consultation with the other Town departments. In order to update the hazard history and plan-related activities during the past year, the Engineering Department requested the following information from all Town Departments.
1. Provide a description of any events (e.g., severe storms, etc.) that occurred during the period December 1, 2004 to November 30, 2005. (type, date(s), severity, description of any known damages or injuries, etc.)
2. During this period, did your department adopt or revise any policies or procedures related to hazard response, planning, or mitigation? (Please refer to Table 3.2 of the Plan that identifies specific strategies for High Index Hazards.)
3. During this period, did your department undertake any activities or initiatives related to hazard response, planning, or mitigation?
4. Does your department have new or proposed policies or procedures relating to hazard response, planning, or mitigation that will be implemented during the upcoming year?
5. Has your department received any grants applicable to hazard response, planning, or mitigation during the past year?
LOCAL HAZARD HISTORY (December 1, 2004 through November 30, 2005)
Based on input from all Town departments, the following hazard events were recorded during the past year based on the Plan criteria:
|
HAZARD CATEGORY |
DATE |
EVENT |
DAMAGES/INJURIES |
|
Weather |
1/19/05 |
snow (approximately 1 inch) |
Minor property damage throughout Town, including multiple traffic accidents. Regionally, temporary traffic-flow gridlock occurred on major transportation routes. |
|
Weather |
1/22/05 |
ice |
Minor property damage throughout Town, including multiple traffic accidents. |
|
Weather |
7/28/05 |
thunderstorm |
Minor damage to Parks and Recreation construction site. |
The following planned events with “hazard potential” were successfully managed by the Town during the past year without significant problems: NCAA Championship celebration (4/4/05); Apple Chill Festival (4/17/05); FestiFall (10/2/05); and Halloween celebration (10/31/05).
PAST HAZARD MITIGATION PLAN ACTIVITY AND DEVELOPMENT
1. Several new elements relating to flooding were identified during the past year for inclusion in the Plan. Action on these new Plan elements has been deferred pending Town receipt of final, revised floodplain maps. New action items identified for inclusion in the plan are:
· Final review and acceptance of new floodplain maps
· Identification and prioritization of repetitive flood loss structures
· Participation in the National Flood Insurance Program Community Rating System
The preliminary flood maps were received in May 2005. Postcards were mailed to approximately 900 property owners advising them that their properties were potentially impacted by the preliminary maps. The Town submitted its map review comments to the North Carolina Division of Emergency Management and Federal Emergency Management Agency in August 2005. We anticipate that we will receive the final revised Chapel Hill floodplain maps within the next 30 to 60 days.
2. In August 2005, the Town was awarded a $2.3M Hazard Mitigation Grant from the Federal Emergency Management Agency and the North Carolina Division of Emergency Management. This grant is for the acquisition and demolition of up to three buildings at Camelot Village. These buildings are considered to be “repetitive loss structures” and they are all located in the floodplain of Bolin Creek. The Town has begun the process of acquiring these structures in accordance with the grant stipulations, and we anticipate beginning the formal appraisal process in March 2006.
3. A revision to the Town’s Emergency Operations Plan was completed during this period. This revision establishes the National Incident Management System (NIMS) as the system the Town will use to manage major incidents and disasters. The National Incident Management System standardizes incident management processes, protocols, and procedures for use by all responders. This revision makes the Town’s plan compliant with the Homeland Security Presidential Directive Mandates.
4. Development planning was initiated during the past year for a local Emergency Communications Plan. A team of public information officers and staff from local government, UNC, and other agencies are meeting to develop a comprehensive, consistent and dependable communications network and plan to be implemented in the event of a disaster or other major event that could affect public safety. This plan would identify means and measures to ensure that event information is effectively and promptly communicated to all affected agencies, organizations, and individuals.
FUTURE HAZARD MITIGATION PLAN ACTIVITY AND DEVELOPMENT
The Town Fire Department will lead a comprehensive review and update of the Town’s Emergency Operations Plan scheduled to begin in the spring of 2006. As part of that review and update process, we expect that the Town’s Hazard Mitigation Plan and Emergency Communications Plan will become elements of a seamless, comprehensive, community-wide Emergency Operations/Disaster Response Plan. Updates of all elements included in this comprehensive Town plan would occur on a regular basis.
CONCLUSION
The Town successfully managed three identified hazard events and several potentially hazardous events during the calendar year 2005.
Town staff continues working on means and measures intended to reduce hazard potential and/or to mitigate the adverse effects of hazards encountered by the Town.
We will continue to review and improve the Town of Chapel Hill Hazard Mitigation Plan as part of a comprehensive, community-wide Emergency Operations/Disaster Response Plan.