Eight counties | 36 cities | one region

ST. JAMES—Meramec Regional Planning Commission (MRPC) received a $513,770 grant from the Department of Defense (DOD) Office of Local Defense Community Cooperation to coordinate a Military Installation Resiliency Review (MIRR) with housing study and tabletop exercise for emergency first responders. Representatives from MRPC, Sustainable Ozarks Partnership (SOP) and Fort Leonard Wood and the cities of Waynesville, St. Robert and Rolla met May 7, 2024, to begin work on coordinating the MIRR. 

The MIRR is a tool for Fort Leonard Wood, the surrounding communities and partnering entities to plan for and implement actions to make military installations and the communities around them resilient to future disasters by reducing vulnerabilities and mitigating hazards, both natural and man-made. The goals for this MIRR include the following:

• Preserve and protect the public health, safety and general welfare of those living near an active military installation,
• Protect and preserve military readiness and defense capabilities while supporting continued community economic development,
• Enhance civilian and military communication and collaboration,
• Increase public awareness of military mission,
• Review the 2013 Fort Leonard Wood Joint Land Use Study, and
• Complete a Fort Leonard Wood Military Resilience Housing Study.

MRPC will coordinate hiring a consulting firm to complete the MIRR and an additional firm to complete the housing study. MRPC will also coordinate the tabletop exercise between emergency response representatives from Fort Leonard Wood, Pulaski, Phelps, Laclede and Texas counties, as well as from the cities of St. Robert, Waynesville, Rolla, Lebanon and Houston. Representatives from the Missouri State Emergency Management Agency (SEMA), Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) and Missouri National Guard will be invited to observe. 

SOP will be assisting MRPC with the project. The total cost of this project is $570,855 and will take about 18 months to complete. 

Formed in 1969, MRPC is a voluntary council of governments serving Crawford, Dent, Gasconade, Maries, Osage, Phelps, Pulaski and Washington counties and their respective cities. Mary Heywood, representing the unemployed, serves as chair of the board. A professional staff of 30 offers technical assistance and services, such as grant preparation and administration, housing assistance, transportation planning, environmental planning, ordinance codification, business loans and other services to member communities.

To keep up with the latest MRPC news and events, visit the MRPC website at www.meramecregion.org or on Facebook at www.facebook.com/meramecregion/.

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