Creating a blueprint to mitigate disasters: Town must put together a plan for County and FEMA

Just a few days after the Reporter’s Community Forum on Shelter Island vulnerabilities  and how to counteract them), the Town Board discussed the same subject at its work session on Tuesday, Dec. 9.

Police Chief Jim Read, who is also the Emergency Management Coordinator for the Town, outlined for Board members an updated “Hazard Mitigation Plan.” This is a document that must be reviewed by Suffolk County and approved in order that the town can apply to receive grant funds from FEMA. The federal agency will then look at Shelter Island’s updated plan to make a decision if the Town has met its criteria. 

Hazard mitigation plans are a pre-disaster planning process focused on reducing or eliminating long-term risk to life, property, and essential services. It identifies local hazards, vulnerabilities, critical facilities, community lifelines, and mitigation projects.  

It’s the duty of Shelter Island to review the status of previous mitigation actions and identify critical infrastructure on the Island. The Town must also identify recurring problems, which for the Island includes, among others, stormwater flooding, erosion and infrastructure. It then must state mitigation goals and prioritize future projects.

The next step is to set up a working group to accomplish the goals of the plan to be submitted. The working group developing the plan will include the chief and another representative from the Police Department; the supervisor; the Highway Department superintendent; the Town engineer; the  Town grant writer; and public information officer, which the town doesn’t have in an official capacity. Town Supervisor Amber Brach-Williams said she takes on that role, but it will be discussed with Board members to perhaps designate another Town official.  

Chief Read told the Board that other departments and organizations, such as Senior Services, the school, Emergency Medical services, and Fire Department will be engaged as needed for specific inputs.

The next step will include, as the chief said, during his presentation:

• Affirmation of the working group structure.

• Support for department participation and timely information-sharing.

• Commitment to allocating staff time as needed throughout the process.

WALKING THE FLOOR AT THE HIGHWAY DEPARTMENT

Highway Superintendent Ken Lewis Jr. came before the Board with a request for financing a new “walking floor trailer.” This is a vehicle that is used to transport construction debris off the Island. Using a Town-owned and operated trailer is much less expensive that hiring a company to dispose of the debris, Mr. Lewis said. 

The current trailer has been through multiple repairs and the latest breakdown will have it out of commission for a month. To repair it this time would be “a major undertaking, to put it mildly,” Mr. Lewis said. Getting a new trailer “is a priority,” he added. “We use this a great deal and it saves us a lot of money.”  

The asking price is $144,000, and that was a quote from a company that the Town received in May, and the company has not raised it, Mr. Lewis said. 

He asked the Board for approval to be able to start the process of acquiring a new walking floor trailer.