[0:00] All right. I'd just like to I'd just
[0:05] like to say on behalf of myself and
[0:06] Ryan and the entire Merx management team, we
[0:08] appreciate all of you for joining, this public
[0:12] meeting today as we are working through this
[0:15] hazard mitigation planning process. Your input, your feedback,
[0:21] all of that is very important for us
[0:23] to help keep our community safe and resilient.
[0:25] And so, again, appreciate it. We're here for
[0:27] you if you have any questions. Awesome. Thank
[0:32] you. Well, I'll get started. My name is
[0:35] Peyton Morris. I'm with H2O Partners. We were
[0:38] contracted by McLennan County to assist in updating
[0:41] the McLennan County hazard mitigation plan. Today, we're
[0:44] gonna go over the really high overview of
[0:46] the planning process and purpose. Overall, hazard mitigation
[0:50] plans are FEMA documents that are approved by
[0:52] FEMA, and a crucial part of that process
[0:54] is to inform the community of what we're
[0:56] doing, why we're doing it, and give you
[0:58] an opportunity to provide some feedback. So that's
[1:01] what we're going to be doing here today.
[1:02] This is the first of two public meetings.
[1:05] The second one will be held on May
[1:07] 20. Here we go. And we've already done
[1:16] some introductions. So today, we're gonna, like I
[1:20] said, go over a fairly high level overview
[1:22] of what hazard mitigation is, what a hazard
[1:25] mitigation plan, why we're doing it, why we're
[1:28] engaging the public, give an give you all
[1:30] an opportunity for questions at the end. It's
[1:33] more interactive. So if you have any questions,
[1:35] feel free to leave the questions in the
[1:37] chat. We do have some other H2O partners
[1:39] representatives monitoring that chat, so if you have
[1:41] any questions, feel free to ask as as
[1:43] we go along. So what is hazard mitigation?
[1:48] Hazard mitigation is implementing actions to help reduce
[1:51] or eliminate long term risks caused by hazards
[1:53] or disasters. So here's some picture examples. So
[1:56] for instance, there's a rain garden which slows
[1:59] down and naturally filters storm water runoff by
[2:01] utilizing native plants. There's a flood mitigation project
[2:04] of a culvert in that top right corner,
[2:07] and then more popularly known is the prescribed
[2:10] burn, which is a wildfire mitigation project. So
[2:15] what is the purpose? So diving further in,
[2:18] a main point in hazard mitigation is community
[2:20] resilience, which is the ability to bounce back
[2:22] from a hazard event. The main goal is
[2:24] to prevent or reduce loss of life and
[2:27] property. We also look at reducing economic impacts
[2:30] and disruptions from natural disasters as well as
[2:32] lessening business interruption and revenue loss and speed
[2:35] restoration of community operations and services, like I
[2:38] said, bouncing back, after that hazardous event. So
[2:46] on the screen, this is what, the hazards
[2:49] that we are profiling in the plan. So
[2:50] dam failure, drought, earthquake, expansive soils, extreme heat,
[2:55] blood, hail, lightning, thunderstorm wind, tornado, wildfire, winter
[3:00] storm, and hazardous materials. A hazard mitigation plan
[3:04] is the process of going through an evaluation
[3:06] of various hazards that can impact your community
[3:09] and identifying sound mitigation solutions that can mitigate
[3:12] the risks from those hazards. This plan is
[3:14] meant to be a tool for McLennan County
[3:16] and all of the participating jurisdictions to get
[3:18] a better understanding of their risks and where
[3:20] their biggest losses are due to disaster events
[3:24] where they have been historically. So we do
[3:27] a deep dive on all of these types
[3:28] of events, history of events, where these events
[3:31] have occurred, where they could create the most
[3:34] impacts and such, including communities and infrastructure. We
[3:39] also look at what kind of losses the
[3:40] planning area has incurred in the past due
[3:42] to these events. And using that data, we
[3:44] can determine the probability of one of these
[3:46] events happening again in any in the near
[3:50] future. So we get all of that information.
[3:53] We determine how many events and what degree
[3:55] of losses can be anticipated going forward. And
[3:58] we take that analysis and that analysis is
[4:01] what makes up this plan. And it's a
[4:03] tool that allows you to begin to identify
[4:06] your higher priority hazards and what mitigation projects
[4:08] to implement when money is available. Here is
[4:15] a brief overview of the planning process. So
[4:17] there's four phases. We break it out. And
[4:19] so phase one is organizing the planning process
[4:21] and resources. Phase two, like I said, was
[4:24] assessing those risks and capabilities. Phase three, developing
[4:27] a mitigation strategy and coming up with those
[4:29] projects. And then phase four, adoption implementation. And
[4:33] there's a further in-depth timeline at the end
[4:36] as well. But within the next few months,
[4:41] the plan will be developed, and then once
[4:43] the plan is drafted, the public will have
[4:44] two weeks to review the plan. It will
[4:46] then go on to TDEM at the state
[4:48] and then on to FEMA. Once approved, the
[4:50] jurisdictions will adopt and it will be eligible
[4:52] for five years. And on the top of
[4:58] the screen, you can see all of the
[4:59] participating jurisdictions that are in the plan. Every
[5:02] five years, mitigation plans must be updated to
[5:04] reflect the current conditions and restrategize based on
[5:07] lessons learned. These documents can be rather large
[5:10] and, over a thousand pages in length sometimes
[5:13] and undergo an intensive state and federal review
[5:16] before approval. So McLennan County has brought on
[5:19] H2O partners, that's where a consulting firm that
[5:22] specializes in hazard mitigation plans to assist in
[5:24] the plan update. This document is a community
[5:28] driven living document. We don't want it to
[5:30] be something that just goes and sits on
[5:32] a shelf. We want it to be something
[5:33] that is catered towards y'all that benefits the
[5:35] community. Your local officials are putting in significant
[5:38] work to make this an accurate comprehensive plan
[5:40] that can be integrated into community decision making.
[5:46] So here's some more mitigation goals. So like
[5:48] I said, protecting public health and safety is
[5:50] number one. Build and support local capacity and
[5:53] commitments to continuously become less vulnerable to hazards.
[5:57] Increase public understanding, support, and demand for hazard
[6:00] mitigation, protect new and existing properties, maximize the
[6:05] resources for investment in hazard mitigation, promoting sustainable
[6:08] growth through nature based mitigation solutions, and promoting
[6:11] equity and protect vulnerable populations and underserved communities
[6:15] through hazard mitigation activities. So like I said,
[6:18] your community officials are creating actions with these
[6:20] mitigation goals in mind. The point of these
[6:22] goals is to provide a broad and overarching
[6:25] statement of what we aim to achieve with
[6:27] the actions we list out in each plan.
[6:30] Every action in the plan will tie back
[6:31] to one of these goals. So identifying mitigation
[6:39] solutions. There's, like I said, many benefits to
[6:41] creating hazard mitigation plan, such as looking at
[6:44] a community and identifying mitigation solutions. We can
[6:46] take a look at previous disasters or hazardous
[6:49] events and calculate the probability of future impacts.
[6:51] And with this information, locals are better equipped
[6:54] for decision making. And they can do things
[6:56] like consideration of alternatives and then also, like,
[7:00] look at cost effectiveness and things like that.
[7:05] And lastly, grant eligibility. So once the hazard
[7:08] mitigation plan is FEMA approved, the participating jurisdictions
[7:11] can apply for several state and federal grant
[7:13] opportunities. And the next slide will go over
[7:16] some of those opportunities. But basically, it's HMGP,
[7:20] which is hazard mitigation grant program, flood mitigation
[7:23] assistance, hazard mitigation grant program post fire, which
[7:27] is FMAC, and then high hazard potential dam
[7:30] HHPD grant. So on average, every $1 spent
[7:34] on mitigation saves $6 in future losses. So
[7:38] it's important to take a closer look at
[7:41] your risks and understand them so you can
[7:42] make informed decisions when you have the money
[7:44] and resources to implement a mitigation project. So
[7:48] for example, if you have an intersection that
[7:50] floods every time there's a relatively normal rain
[7:52] event due to undersized culverts and emergency services
[7:55] need to be called to block off that
[7:57] road, repairs need to be done to the
[7:59] drainage system and roadways there repeatedly. If you
[8:02] look at the resources it's taken up to
[8:04] address that problem repeatedly, it might become apparent
[8:06] that the needs to be there needs to
[8:08] be a higher priority and have a better
[8:11] return on investment than some larger scale, expensive
[8:13] projects would. Like I said, and here's those
[8:18] grant programs and incentives. I won't read through
[8:21] everything, but HMGP, FMA, FMAP, and HHPD are
[8:25] just some of the grants funding sources. And
[8:30] again, these are the grants that are that
[8:31] you are eligible to apply for with an
[8:34] approved and adopted hazard mitigation plan. And there
[8:40] are some previously funded projects. So as you
[8:43] can see, McLennan County completed a safe room
[8:45] project in 2013. And then also city of
[8:48] Moody also did one in 2015, which some
[8:51] of you may be aware of. City of
[8:52] West, had two generator projects approved in 2020,
[8:56] and Cross Country Water Supply had a generator
[8:58] project approved in 2024. So how to contribute
[9:06] to the planning process? Y'all can take the
[9:10] survey, if you have not done so already.
[9:12] The QR code is on the public notice
[9:14] flyer, and it's also going to be at
[9:16] the end of this presentation. You can attend
[9:18] a meeting. We'll have the second and last
[9:20] one in person next week, May 20 at
[9:22] 06:30. And you can also review the draft
[9:25] plan once it becomes available provide feedback on
[9:29] that draft hazard mitigation plan. And then here
[9:35] is that detailed timeline. So we already had
[9:38] the hazard mitigation kickoff back in April. We're
[9:41] doing the first public meeting today, second public
[9:44] meeting next week. We'll submit the draft plan
[9:46] to TDEM in August, and then that public
[9:48] draft will be available for comment in September
[9:51] for two weeks. And then here is I'll
[9:56] come back to this slide as well, but
[9:57] if you have any questions, here is my
[10:00] contact info on the left and then our
[10:02] program leadership, Heather and Stevie Ann, on the
[10:04] right. And then there is that public survey
[10:09] QR code. But I will check the chat.
[10:13] Do we have any questions? Hey, Peyton. There's
[10:19] no questions that came in through the chat,
[10:21] but if anyone online does have any questions,
[10:23] feel free to unmute yourself and you can
[10:25] ask our team or OEM directly. And I
[10:31] have two more things to add. The survey
[10:33] will be open until June 20. I forgot
[10:35] to mention that. And then if you came
[10:37] in and have not signed into the chat,
[10:39] please do so. Leave your name and jurisdiction
[10:44] as well so that we can get you
[10:45] signed in on the sign in sheet. There
[10:54] will also be a recording of this presentation
[10:57] available that we will provide OEM with should
[11:00] yourselves or any other colleagues or other agencies
[11:03] that you work closely with would like to
[11:06] review this public meeting or have any questions
[11:08] again they can contact us here at H2O
[11:11] directly or our leads over at Waco McLennan
[11:14] OEM. Awesome. Well, there are no questions, I
[11:29] will go ahead and mute myself and leave
[11:31] this up. But like we said, feel free
[11:33] to reach out if you have any questions.
[11:35] Thank you.