Holmes hazard mitigation plan reaches important juncture

This summer nearly 100 people from throughout the Holmes County community joined forces to explore many of the details, situations and circumstances surrounding the possible disasters that could befall the county.

The Holmes County Local Emergency Planning Committee fleshed out a game plan for a hazard mitigation plan for the county.

Holmes County Emergency Management Agency teamed up with Resource Solutions Associates, collected valuable input and created a comprehensive plan built around what the people of Holmes County deemed important when it comes to building a safer, more prepared county.

The purpose of the two recent meetings March 3 was to continue the pursuit of a viable hazard mitigation plan for Holmes County, which will not only help the county be better prepared in the face of any potential disaster, but also will serve as a tool to secure grant funding from state and federal dollars that could help pave the way to recovery.

“We are in the final stages of developing our hazard mitigation plan,” said Jason Troyer, Holmes County Emergency Management Agency director. “This is a plan we need to update every five years and is a requirement of FEMA if we want to get assistance in time of disaster.”

He said there are certain grants that are available, and creating an HMP puts Holmes County in a better position to obtain those grants.

Solutions Associates leader Sandy Hovest led the discussion in late July and returned Tuesday, March 3 to discuss the results of the information that was collected.

“The whole point of mitigation is to lessen the vulnerability and exposure to damages,” Hovest said. “That is the purpose of a mitigation plan.”

Hovest said both FEMA and the State of Ohio require all 88 counties in Ohio to have a mitigation plan.

In the collected data, those who provided input identified 11 different possible hazards, with the most relevant disaster threats from most important to least being severe storms such as tornadoes, heavy rain, wind, hail and lightning; severe winter storms; flooding; drought/extreme heat; fire and wildfire; utility outage or failure; hazardous material spills; land subsidence and erosion; invasive species; dam failure; and earthquake.

The data explored topics for each circumstance including frequency, duration, speed of onset, magnitude, business impact, human impact and property impact.

For the prior meetings, Troyer sent out a countywide invitation to residents, elected officials, village and city administrators, township trustees, health care, mental health, social agencies, and school leaders to join one of three sessions that gave a voice into developing the hazard mitigation plan.

In continuing to create a voice to the public, people can log on, view the data and provide input by contacting Troyer prior to the March 20 deadline.

“We welcome all public comments through March 20,” Troyer said. “We encourage everyone to view it and give their thoughts.”

The document can be viewed on the Holmes County EMA homepage.

Once the county is past that point, it will have to pass the mitigation plan through the Holmes County Commissioners and the five villages for approval. All townships will be under the umbrella of the county commissioners.

The five villages that must adopt the plan are Millersburg, Killbuck, Holmesville, Nashville and Glenmont.

Troyer said he hopes to move quickly once each of the needed parties adopt the plan.

“We don’t want to sit around and wait on this because it’s too important,” Troyer said. “We want to get this in front of FEMA as soon as possible, because with them being down right now, it’s put everything behind.”

As of early March, FEMA continues to navigate through significant disruption due to a partial Department of Homeland Security shutdown, resulting in restricted staff deployments and a focus on essential, active disasters only.

Adopting the HMP is critical for Holmes County as a whole and the incorporated villages because only communities that have formally adopted the HMP are eligible to apply for mitigation grant funding.

“Only communities that have formally adopted the HMP can be assured of disaster assistance,” Hovest said. “This is a continually changing item, and it is safe to assume response funding will be subject to mitigation plan status.”

Troyer said in other words, the county and its villages must enter into agreement on the HMP to qualify for funding that would be critical should the county endure a major disaster.

“This isn’t the EMA’s plan or the county’s plan; it’s our county’s plan, and we need people’s feedback to make sure our emergency and disaster plans are what people want and need,” Troyer said. “This is shaping our emergency planning for the next five years, and the public’s feedback is important."

He said while Holmes County won’t ever be able to rid itself of tornadoes, floods, and other hazards and disasters, it can prepare and educate, which is why this mitigation plan is critical.

Hovest said it also is important for public feedback because it shows state officials Holmes County has invested in its plan, and that goes a long way in earning funding should a disaster occur.