EAST LONGMEADOW — Pioneer Valley Planning Commission Senior Land Use and Environment Planner Mimi Kaplan presented the town’s draft 2024 hazard mitigation plan at the Town Council’s Sept. 10 meeting, fulfilling the required second public hearing of the draft plan.
Kaplan, who has been working as a consultant on the project with the town since May 2023, presented an overview of the project to the Town Council with Fire Chief Paul Morrissette before the meeting was opened up for public comment. There was no public comment or in-person public attendance to the hearing.
Hazard mitigation refers to actions used to reduce impacts from “natural hazards” to both people and property, Kaplan said, referencing the Federal Emergency Management Agency’s formal definition. Benefits for these types of actions include eligibility for FEMA funding, protection and education of residents, saving money from potential losses and increased resilience to hazards.
East Longmeadow’s hazard mitigation plan features chapters on the “planning process, community profile, hazard information and risk assessment, mitigation capability assessment, mitigation strategies, [and] plan implementation and maintenance,” Kaplan stated.
Within the plan, hazards were analyzed based on the probability of its occurrence, historical data on past occurrences and climate change data, Kaplan explained. Each risk is then ordered from the lowest to highest risk to the town, noting the impact as “limited” up to “critical.”
There are nine identified hazards for East Longmeadow in the plan. The “lowest risk” events are dam failure, drought, earthquakes, and wildfires and brushfires at level 5. At level 4, “low risk,” is tornadoes while flooding, extreme temperatures and hurricanes are at level 3’s “medium risk,” as stated in the plan. Severe snowstorms and ice storms as well as severe thunderstorms and high winds are listed as the town’s “high risk” events. There are no “highest risk” events noted in the plan.
Currently, the town has multiple ways to address hazard mitigation, including specific zoning ordinances, a culvert prioritization plan, a burn permit requirement, tree management and emergency communication, Kaplan said. Other examples of mitigation strategies are town releases on preparation for extreme weather, implementing culvert replacements and educating residents on mosquito-carried illnesses.
The town’s hazard mitigation plan was first presented to the public on Oct. 10, 2023, as noted in the plan.
For more information about the town’s 2024 hazard mitigation plan, visit the East Longmeadow website. The draft plan is available at eastlongmeadowma.gov/DocumentCenter/View/17293/EastLongmeadow-HMP-Update-2024.
Following the second hearing, the draft plan will be submitted to FEMA and the Massachusetts Emergency Management Agency for approval. The Town Council will then need to formally adopt the plan before East Longmeadow is able to apply for FEMA funding, according to Kaplan. The adopted plan will be valid for five years.
Additionally, the Hazard Mitigation Committee will be required to review the plan’s implementation once a year and the respective town departments will be responsible for supporting the plan, the plan states. The Hazard Mitigation Committee includes Morrissette, Town Manager Tom Christensen, DPW Superintendent Bruce Fenney, Public Health Director Tammy Spencer, East Longmeadow Public Schools Superintendent Gordon Smith, Community Planning and Development Director Bailey Mitchell, former Town Council member Matthew Boucher, Kaplan and GIS Analyst Michael Ray.
