SPECIAL MEETING
MINUTES
Wednesday, September 28, 2011 at 2:00 p.m.
CRERPA Offices
Saybrook Junction Marketplace
455 Boston Post Road
I. CALL TO ORDER
The meeting was called to order at 2:05 PM.
II. ROLL CALL
Present: Janice Esty, Planning Commission; Bob Missel, Planning Commission; John Talbott, Zoning Commission
Absent: Cathy Flanagan, Planning Commission; Jerry Brophy, Conservation Commission.
Staff: Torrance Downes, Senior Planner, CRERPA; Christine Nelson, Town Planner, Old Saybrook; Michael Spera, Police Chief, Old Saybrook.
Guest: Adam Whelchel, Director of Conservation Programs, The Nature Conservancy.
Ms. Nelson reminded the Committee that it needs to elect a chairperson, make contact with the organizations that have not yet sent representatives, and approve minutes of previous meetings.
III. INVENTORY
By way of welcoming the guests at the meeting, Ms. Nelson and Mr. Downes gave an overview of the status of the process to update the Plan. She noted that this is a meeting of a committee under the Planning Commission with representatives from various boards to update the Natural Hazard Mitigation Plan (NHMP). The goal is to have the plan done by mid-January 2012.
A. Orient to Plan Elements
Ms. Nelson introduced Chief Spera and related previous conversations they had had about how this Plan fits into the cycle of procedures a town has for dealing with a disaster (prepare, respond, recover, mitigate). The Chief described a Federal initiative of a number of years ago whereby communities made efforts to become more than “secure”, to become “resistant”. He explained that, therefore, his role as Emergency Management Coordinator includes administering mitigation on a broader scale of “security” than simply mitigating for natural hazards). He asked the Committee if there was not an opportunity to collaborate outside the FEMA/DEEP format for the Plan to make one mitigation plan for the Town that both emergency and land use agencies then consult regularly. Mr. Downes stated that his agency’s role falls within their funding under a grant but that there was room under the Town’s annual subscription to work outside the FEMA format; he said he would check with DEEP to gauge
their reaction to this concept.
Ms. Nelson asked the Committee members if they would like to continue to audit the status of the current Plan’s implementation (Appendix II) as orientation to the Plan, which is taking more time than was originally intended, or review it on their own. The Committee stated that it appreciated the opportunity to discuss it with staff since they were not involved in the original drafting. Ms. Nelson suggested that that Ms. Costa might return for this purpose since she has been involved in implementing its programs and standards through her regular duties.
B. Interview Officials, Volunteers, Community
DISCUSSION WITH POLICE CHIEF MICHAEL SPERA
Chief Spera described the process by which the Town’s current mitigation plan is reviewed annually by the State Department of Public Safety (soon to become the Department of Emergency Services and Public Protection), and how it’s details were valuable in qualifying for recovery funding that went beyond replacement to actually mitigate for future disasters/events. He gave many examples, many of which are also in the current Natural Hazard Mitigation Plan, but that plan is not considered as regularly and perhaps not as detailed as it could be for more immediate implementation. Ms. Nelson described for the Committee that the initial edition of the Natural Hazard Mitigation Plan was done on a regional basis, but then had to be broken down town-by-town. Ms. Esty stated that it is a good place
from which to treat the process as creating “living document”. Mr. Downes said that either way it could only get better.
C. Catalog Facilities, Resources and Assets
The Committee acknowledged the Chief’s list of critical facilities as of interest to review for its mitigation analysis. There was discussion of certain demographic groups and their needs for special accommodation, including people with pets. There was discussion about ensuring access to non-critical facilities based on observations of people’s needs following a disaster event: coffee, pharmacy, etc.
IV. MITIGATION ANALYSIS
Adam Whelchel of The Nature Conservancy described the Coastal Resilience tool and discussed some of its benefits related to considering sea level rise in planning a “resilient” community. The Committee is interested in scheduling a demonstration when all the members can attend.
V. PLAN DRAFTING
Ms. Nelson asked the Chief if the Committee could review the mitigation plan he administers to understand better the broader range of disasters/events.
The Committee stated that they are interested in looking the Plan product that Guilford recently put together for natural hazard mitigation.
VI. IMPLEMENTATION
Mr. Whelchel suggested that the Committee identify in its final product some action items of high priority for both emergency management and land use to serve as examples of hazard mitigation.
VII. ADJOURNMENT
The meeting was adjourned at 3:45 PM.
Respectfully submitted,
Susan Graham
Administrative Clerk
| 
