Minutes

Russellville, KY

February 11, 2005

A public meeting was held in the Logan County Fiscal Courtroom on Friday, February 11, 2005. The meeting was conducted by Jack Eversole, Services Coordinator, Barren River Area Development District, and Alfonso Casana , Technical Services Director.

Those attending were provided with a sign-in card, an agenda, and other materials including worksheets for identifying hazards. The meeting was characterized as informal with questions and discussion encouraged. Mr. Eversole discussed the Stafford Act and the work of FEMA and the State Division of Emergency Management (KDEM) in organizing the planning process. He described how the BRADD Board had encouraged local governments to join in the process and how local officials had helped in forming the five Special Purpose Committees to work with State Climatologist, Dr. Stuart Foster, in determining the natural hazards prevalent in the region. He noted the assistance of Tony Keithley, Region 4 KDEM Coordinator, and the local libraries.

Alfonso Casana , Technical Services Director, reviewed the data available through the BRADD website created to support the planning effort. Dr. Foster’s 2001 study of natural hazards in the BRADD, FEMA documents, and much of the State’s Hazard Mitigation Plan, are available. The website also provides citizens with the opportunity to review data and the work done and to make comments or ask questions via the internet. For persons who do not have

Internet access, the local libraries have the data on hand and also will provide citizens with assistance in connecting to the BRADD and other related websites. The information also is available through the County Judge/Executive’s office.

Mr. Casana discussed the earthquake damage potential from the New Madrid fault. Logan County vulnerability rankings in the State plan were reviewed and discussed. Mr. Zick and Ms. Conway questioned the methodology for scoring vulnerability. It was noted that Logan County may have had more tornado and straight wind events than had been recorded.

Mr. Eversole outlined processes for identifying hazards, profiling hazard events, inventorying assets, and estimating losses. Mr. Kondracki noted that karst sinkholes and sinkhole flooding are a big problem for Logan County. Ice storms and extreme cold were noted as prevalent. Flooding problems were discussed. He said that the FEMA process was directed at assessing property risks, the BRADD Board stressed the saving of lives and reducing injuries as a mission Those attending were asked to participate in the identification of hazards affecting Logan County and the region, and the risk of damage each presented. (The consensus list is Attachment A)

Mr. Eversole distributed a list of goals proposed in other regions and discussed their applicability. The participants in the meeting agreed that the goals represented aims with which they concurred. He noted that one of the goals was to have the public much better informed on hazard pre-mitigation activities. The list was adopted by consensus.

Mr. Eversole said the discussion could be continued via the internet. The Special Purpose Committees will review the materials and comments from this and the other countywide meetings in the region. Their work will be formulated into a draft plan and brought back for another round of public discussions in the spring.

The meeting was adjourned.