06-10-19 Council Minutes - Laserfiche WebLink

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REGULAR MEETING June 10, 2019 Ms. DeRose replied, We have our Diversity and Inclusion Officer, Ms. Christina Brooks, and she has notified the Council that we would like the Council to continue its current appropriation. This being the time heretofore set for the Public Hearing on the above bill, proponents and opponents were given an opportunity to be heard. Samuel Brown, 222 East Navarre Street, South Bend, IN, stated, I'm a Human Rights Officer for the City of South Bend. I appreciate your blessing on passing this. I think in time you'll see this is a good agreement. We will be willing to work in the County for a long time and finally we are getting the pieces put together. I hope this is going to be a partnership that lasts a long time. We just have to put the work in and prove that we are worthy of it. Thank you. Councilmember Gavin Ferlic made a motion to adopt Bill No. 19-41. Councilmember Karen White seconded this motion which carried by a roll call of eight (8) ayes. 19-42 A RESOLUTION OF THE COMMON COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF SOUTH BEND, INDIANA, ADOPTING THE ST. JOSEPH COUNTY MULTI- HAZARD MITIGATION PLAN Councilmember Jo M. Broden,chair of the Health and Public Safety Committee,reported that they met this afternoon and send this bill forward with a favorable recommendation. Eric Horvath, Director of Public Works for the City of South Bend with offices located on the 13th floor of the County-City Building, South Bend, IN,served as the presenter to this bill. Mr. Horvath stated, In front of you today is a resolution we are asking the Council to approve, adopting the Multi-Hazard Mitigation Plan for St. Joseph County. This plan is a guide for the assessment of hazards, vulnerabilities and risks. What it does is it is a County-wide plan that aids local jurisdictions in reviewing these hazards and having mitigation plans to help with them. It has a number of different areas, basically aimed at preventing, protecting against, responding to, and recovering from disasters. There are a number of strategies here that allow for potential mitigation of impacts to these natural hazards. This plan was developed in 2008/2010. It was adopted by the Council in 2010 but it requires continued updates and review. So, this plan was updated and reviewed in 2017, it was adopted by the St. Joseph County Council in 2018. It has been approved by the Indiana Department of Homeland Security and FEMA. You had asked about the public meetings, there was a public meeting at the draft forum. They took those comments, reviewed them and incorporated them into the plan. Then after it was approved by the Department of Homeland Security and FEMA, there was a follow-up public hearing for additional comments. There were two (2) public meetings that happened as part of the plan update. Mr. Horvath continued, I think I mentioned it,but I'll note there is a list of other agencies that have been contacted. You also have meeting sign-in sheets there in the background. I apologize for not having the County here,but it is important for us to adopt this plan. If we don't adopt it, we won't be eligible for certain disaster mitigation funds and grants that are available. As part of our continuing cooperation with St. Joseph County, I'm requesting the Council approves this plan. I'd be happy to answer any questions. This being the time heretofore set for the Public Hearing on the above bill, proponents and opponents were given an opportunity to be heard. There were none. Councilmember Jo M. Broden stated, I just wanted to highlight a couple points that were made in Committee. I think it's important we get some follow-up on the storm readiness and the emergency exercises in terms of when they are scheduled and that type of thing. Then the community,looking at the emergency exercises and the public readiness component of this plan. I would like the Council to receive an update from our County counterparts. Then I think we asked if there were any significant changes reflected in this updated version. I believe we also asked about any dollars that are being allocated, currently, for mitigation. I don't think I mentioned that at the Committee level. Just a follow up, I don't need a reply,just at a later date would be appreciated. My concern is that, you know, we've had significant events and I would like Council to be aware of what the overall plan is. That is important. I also want to make sure it's responsive. It's good to update these 6