If you were reading the Saturday, February 21, 2009, Coeur d’Alene Press and made it to page C4, you may have seen the headline “Public meetings slated for hazard mitigation.” If the headline stimulated you to read on, then you already know some — but not all — of the following information. Regardless, this is information you should have.
Many Kootenai County residents are only vaguely aware that the County has an Office of Emergency Management. One of that office’s duties is to maintain, coordinate, and exercise the county’s emergency response plan. To that end, the Office of Emergency Management will be going out into the county to get public input for the plan. Here is the meeting schedule:
- Monday, February 23 – Worley Senior Center, 5 p.m.
- Tuesday, February 24, Coeur d’Alene library, 6 p.m.
- Wednesday, February 25, Spirit Lake library, 5 p.m.
- Thursday, February 26, Harrison City Hall, 6 p.m.
- Monday, March 2, Post Falls library, 6 p.m.
- Tuesday, March 3, Bayview community center, 6 p.m.
- Wednesday, March 4, Canyon elementary school, Cataldo, 5 p.m.
Whether you attend any of the meetings or not, you should at least look at the OEM brochure linked above.
You should also look at the brochure for the Local Emergency Planning Committee. This committee is a requirement imposed by the Emergency Planning and Community Right-to-Know Act (EPCRA). As noted in the link to the EPCRA:
The Emergency Planning and Community Right-to-Know Act (EPCRA) emergency planning requirements are designed to help communities prepare for and respond to emergencies involving hazardous substances. Every community in the United States must be part of a comprehensive plan.
The next Kootenai County Local Emergency Planning Committee meeting is scheduled for February 25, 2009, in the basement of the Idaho Department of Transportation Building, 600 W. Prairie Avenue, Coeur d’Alene. The meeting begins at 8 a.m. Here is the agenda. The meetings are open to the public.
Community participation is important. First, it informs us about the County’s overall response plans. Being better informed helps us respond appropriately if an emergency involves us. Second, it informs the community about potential hazards in the community. Timely, accurate information leads to better preparation and a safer community.
I would very much like to hear from anyone who received the information about these meetings from sources other than the Press and this website. How and to whom did the county’s Office of Emergency Management reach out to inform the public about the meetings and encourage them to attend? Clearly the meeting locations in the respective communities needed to be reserved in advance, so there would have been time to put information on the county’s , the city’s, and the library’s websites. I saw none on them when I just checked. How did the county publicize these meetings?
Comment by Bill — February 22, 2009 @ 8:53 am
That is a very pertinent question, Bill. The Idaho Open Meeting Law requires advance notice of meetings. In this case these meetings are classified as “special meetings” and require a 24 hour notice to be posted with the agenda at the building location or offices of the agency calling the meeting. Additionally the law requires that media be notified. Mere knowledge of a meeting by rumor or news articles is not recognized as notice under the law.
Comment by Gary Ingram — February 23, 2009 @ 9:51 am
Gary,
I didn’t really bring it up to question if the county was obeying the Open Meeting Law.
My impression is that these are meetings intended to inform the public about the county’s emergency plans and ask the public for input. I raised the questions simply because it didn’t look like the county had used all available means to reach the public and publicize the meetings.
Comment by Bill — February 23, 2009 @ 12:13 pm
Yeah, like I said. It’s the only valid means to reach the public. Twould be nice if once in my lifetime some governing agency would go beyond the call of duty.
Comment by Gary Ingram — February 23, 2009 @ 9:43 pm
Since we have a house on Cave Bay (out of Worley), Lisa and I went to last night’s meeting at the Worley Community Center. Other than presenters Kevin Clement and Bob Pittsley from Kootenai County OEM, we were the only two people there. The presentation was very well done, and unlike officials in Coeur d’Alene city government, the county OEM is genuinely interested in getting input from the public. I hope more people will attend these meetings. This series is the first in another series of meetings to inform and involve the public in the county’s hazard mitigation planning and emergency preparedness. The County Commissioners and the County’s Director of the Office of Emergency Management (Sandy Von Behren) deserve a lot of credit for the work they’ve done and continue to do.
Comment by Bill — February 24, 2009 @ 7:23 am