Emergency plan heads to state, FEMA
By Steve Herring
Published in News on June 18, 2010 1:46 PM
A brief Tuesday morning public hearing on the county's revised Multi-Jurisdictional Hazard Mitigation Plan failed to attract any attention other than a few questions and comments by county commissioners.
Commissioners approved submitting the plan to the state and to FEMA for review. Once those approvals are received, commissioners will be asked to give final approval to the plan.
The plan consists of an analysis of natural disasters, such as hurricanes, tornadoes, thunderstorms and flooding, that might affect the county -- and seeks to establish goals and strategies to aid municipalities in the county and citizens to be better-prepared for the hazards.
The plan was prepared by the county Planning Department, but includes all of the county's municipalities except for Goldsboro, which has its own plan.
All of the towns included in the plan took part in its development.
It was reviewed by the county Planning Board and the planning boards of those towns.
The town, like the county, may adopt the plan after it receives FEMA and state approval.
The county Planning Department first developed the plan following the historic flooding in the wake of Hurricane Floyd as a stipulation of participating in the federal buyout program for property located in flood plains. The plan has to be reviewed every five years.
For the most part, the revised plan did not change much.
Three new recommendations include consideration of a community-wide alert system of sirens, encouraging more public use of the Code Red warning system and the creation of a registry of people with special needs that would be made available to emergency personnel during a disaster.
Commissioner John Bell told County Planner Connie Price that Eastpointe is in the process of developing a similar registry and that it did not make sense to duplicate efforts.
Price agreed and said the two efforts possibly could be coordinated.
Commissioner Andy Anderson questioned how, and the cost involved in creating an alarm system.
Price said the plan simply suggested looking at such a system that would be similar to the old fire sirens used in rural communities. It might be possible to use those systems that are no longer utilized, he said.
In other business Tuesday, commissioners decided to meet as the Board of Adjustment at the conclusion of their July 6 meeting to consider a special use permit sought by Ricky Young , owner of Young's Auto Salvage at Dudley.
Young has petitioned the county for a special use permit to allow him to expand the business. Commissioners recently approved rezoning of the property, but a special use permit it still required.
The board established public hearings for July 6 at 9:15 a.m. on two rezoning requests. The hearing will be held in the commissioners' meeting room on the fourth floor of the county courthouse annex.
Tri-County EMC wants to rezone roughly 7.56 acres on the east side of U.S. 117 Alt. south at Dudley from Residential-Agriculture 20 to Community Shopping. The property adjoins Tri-County existing facility which already is Community Shopping
The rezoning would allow the to use the property for storage and equipment.
The second request is by B&D Management to rezone approximately 12.3 acres on the north side of Potts Road at Dudley from Residential-Agriculture 20 to Residential 10.
The request was made by in order to add four lots to an existing mobile home park.
Commissioners approved two minor subdivision plats:
* Rodolfo Trejo Garcia, final, one lot, Lindell Road, Nahunta Township
* Robert Blackburn, final, one lot, Camp Jubilee Road, Indian Springs Township.