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SALEM– City and county officials, school leaders, emergency management agencies and interested residents are invited to attend a planning meeting May 15 to discuss development of the Dent County Hazard Mitigation Plan.

The meeting will be held from 2 to 4 p.m. at the Salem City Hall Auditorium, 202 N. Washington, in Salem. This meeting is open to the public and interested citizens are encouraged to attend.

The county must have an approved hazard mitigation plan in order for Dent County schools, local governments, agencies and others to access state hazard mitigation grant funds. The plan includes an assessment of current capabilities, analysis of natural hazards and sets goals and action items to reduce the impact of natural hazards in the future.

Local school districts urged Dent County Commission to move forward with developing a plan and the county submitted a letter of commitment for matching funds to the Missouri State Emergency Management Agency in August 2016. SEMA then applied to FEMA for grant funds to cover the cost of developing the hazard mitigation plan.

Unlike emergency operations plans, a hazard mitigation plan examines how local communities can take steps to reduce vulnerability to damage from natural disasters before the disaster happens. Examples would include elevating roads that flood regularly or building tornado shelters for schools.

Meramec Regional Planning Commission (MRPC) is developing the plan in partnership with the Dent County Commission. Questions may be directed to MRPC Environmental Programs Specialist Ryan Dunwoody at rdunwoody@meramecregion.org or 573-265-2993 Ext. 110.

Formed in 1969, MRPC is a voluntary council of local governments serving Crawford, Dent, Gasconade, Maries, Osage, Phelps, Pulaski and Washington counties and their respective cities. A professional staff of 25, directed by the MRPC board, 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.