New Ross County Disaster Mitigation Plan Update Seeks Input

Article Presented By Rathkamp Financial…

(Ross County) – Ross County has recently begun to update our County’s Hazard Mitigation Plan. This update is required by FEMA every five years to remain eligible for hazard mitigation project funding. Municipalities, police and fire departments, schools, businesses, and the public may receive funding for any mitigation strategy found in the approved and adopted plan update. Community input is critical to this plan’s success (and the FEMA approval process). As such, we are asking for your participation in the planning process at the following two sets of meetings.

These meetings will be offered in multiple formats that allow stakeholders and the public to participate however they are available and comfortable. These meeting formats will include live in-person meetings, online meetings, and paper and digital surveys. If you are unable to attend, please let us know and we will work with you to obtain participation in other formats.

Prior to Meeting #1, there will be two action items for your completion:

1. Review the attached items, which describe the goal of the hazard mitigation planning process, who is involved in updating the plan, why the plan needs to be updated, and an overview of the planning process and schedule.

2. Reserve the dates for the first and second round of meetings:

a. Meeting 1 – To be held on January 24, 2025, at Ross County Service Center

i. 1:00 P.M. at 475 Western Ave., Chillicothe, Ohio 45601 (Stakeholders)

ii. 5:00 P.M. at 475 Western Ave., Chillicothe, Ohio 45601 (Public)

b. Meeting 2 – To be held on July 15, 2024, at JVS Building at Ross County Fairgrounds

i. 1:00 P.M. at 475 Western Ave., Chillicothe, Ohio 45601 (Stakeholders)

ii. 5:00 P.M. at 475 Western Ave., Chillicothe, Ohio 45601 (Public)

3. Complete the Goals & Hazard Priority Survey prior to Meeting #1 – we will send a link to this ahead of the meeting.

“Many of you may wonder why you have been asked to participate in this process. Updating the Hazard Mitigation Plan every five years allows us to identify opportunities to lessen the potential impacts from disasters and allows us to evaluate projects that have been completed during the past five-year cycle.”

“All possible projects are identified by YOU, our community leaders. Once our plan has gone through the FEMA approval process and has been adopted locally, we can apply for grant funding that could potentially cover 75% of the costs associated with those projects.”

Reference Material Links

1. Plan Overview (link) https://burtonplanning.com/wp content/uploads/2024/05/RossHMP_PlanOverview_2024_05.pdf

2. 2020 Plan (link) https://burtonplanning.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/Ross-County-Mitigation-Plan-2020.pdf

3. Ross HMP website (link) https://burtonplanning.com/ross-hmp/

If you would like to designate another person to participate in the plan update process on your behalf, please provide their name and contact information to Mark Thompson, EMA Director of Ross County Emergency Management Agency 475 Western Avenue, Suite A Chillicothe, Ohio 45601. Phone (740) 773-1700 or email: @rossema@rosscountyohio.gov