In an effort to increase emergency preparedness in the area, Emergency Management Director for Pottawatomie County Chris Trudo presented at the County Commissioner meeting on Monday, April 6. Commission Chairman Pat Weixelman said Trudo reported on the county’s Hazardous Mitigation Plan, a Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) initiative to help minimize damages in an emergency situation.
“There are 23 different areas within the county that are involved in this plan,” Weixelman said. “Everybody’s on board for the up-coming time frame.”
Weixelman added that Trudo also reported on statistics for county fires this past month, which were relatively high due to dry and windy conditions.
“In March we had 649 fires called in,” he said. “Thirty-six of these fires got out of control. There was one week a couple weeks ago that the fire departments were called out five days in a row.”
Also on the agenda at Monday’s meeting were several items from Zoning Administrator Gregg Webster, including a new plat for Elk Creek Estates and the approval of a re-platting in Whispering Meadows Unit 3 to allow the inclusion of a connection road. Weixelman noted that Webster reported on new permits for the month, which brought good news for the county.
“We had a total of 36 permits for a total dollar value of 6.7 million,” said Weixelman. “According to Gregg, this is the largest month that he’s ever seen since he’s been up here.”
Other business items included the signing of a letter of resolution authorizing the sale of approximately $2.1 million in temporary notes for the construction of Elbo Creek Unit 4, Nelson’s Ridge Unit 3, and Whispering Meadows Unit 3. The commissioners also authorized Public Works Director Jim Jenkins to advertise for four part-time seasonal help positions within the department for road work in the county, and approved County Administrator Robert Reece to reduce letters of credit for three subdivisions in the area.
