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Manchester Emergency Committee Planning For All Contingencies
First Public Meeting Of Committee To Be Held In January
By Keith Hagarty
Residents will soon have a chance to get a firsthand look at what the township would do should an emergency crisis occur in Manchester when the first official open public meeting of the township's local emergency management planning committee is held on January 18.
As an initiative from the federal, state and county governments, each municipality can develop a local emergency management planning committee, and, as part of the inititive, will have to open their quarterly meetings to the general public. Manchester's eight-member committee consists of residents representing some of the emergency squads in the community, as well as various citizens, such as those from the town's inner-village emergency management group.
Mayor Michael Fressola is on board with the committee, along with representatives from the township fire districts and other emergency service units. Councilman Craig Wallis is excited about the possibilities that lie ahead with the collective experience and resources the township has in its inventory.
"They do a great job with emergency managements," he said.
One of the topics discussed at an initial meeting of the fire district representatives included the amount of brush and other vegetation located to closely to residential structures that could potentially pose a fire hazard.
"We've always done it with our emergency services," said Manchester Safety Coordinator Arthur Abline, who also serves as the township emergency management coordinator. "But now with the response to Hurricane Katrina last year, the government is mandating that we open our meetings to the public and get the public's input into the procedures."
While Manchester has not experienced major disasters similar to the devastation caused by last year's hurricanes that ravaged the United State's Gulf coast, Abline knows it's better to be safe than sorry, because a small disaster can get very serious very quickly without proper planning.
"Forest fires, tornadoes, hurricanes, floods-we've experienced several of those over the years-storms, ice storms, I mean the list is endless of what could go on here," he said. "We're making sure everything is covered and all the 'I's' are dotted and all the 'T's' are crossed."
Every four years, the town updates its emergency operations plan, which cover the step-by-step procedures for the town's contingency plans in case of an emergency, including every aspect of relief, such as sheltering, radiological, damage assessment, communications, and more.
In other business, the council plans to open its doors to leaders of tomorrow when the town and Manchester High School will hold a Local Government Day in March.
Councilman Joseph Wennberg is looking forward to seeing the members of the high school's student government having the chance to intermingle with township officials and observe the process of local government.
"I am pleased to announce that the council president has asked me to get the ball rolling, so to speak," said Wennberg. "They'll spend the day here learning about local government, and it sounds like it's going to be a very nice day. I'm very enthusiastic about it."
Wennberg would like to see increased contact between the municipal officials and the school administration in preparation for the day, and beyond.
"It's going to be a real successful kickoff for what I hope will be a day every year where the students can participate with us here," he said.
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