The Town of Marion has received a State grant to develop a Municipal Vulnerability Preparedness (MVP) Plan. We have contracted with the Southeastern Regional Planning and Economic Development District (SRPEDD) for support in completing a comprehensive, baseline climate change and natural hazard vulnerability assessment. The goal of the process is to develop a prioritized list of actions for dealing with priority hazards using the Community Resilience Building workshop guide developed by the Nature Conservancy.
Working together as a team, the SRPEDD representatives and a core team of seven Town Departments will gather available background information on hazards, vulnerabilities and strengths, conduct interviews with staff and volunteers, and plan two 4-hour workshops. In the workshops, the core team along with suggested stakeholders, and residents and volunteers will work to:
– Understand connections between natural hazards and local planning/mitigation efforts.
– Evaluate strengths and vulnerabilities of residents, infrastructure, and natural resources.
– Develop and prioritize resilient actions for the municipality, local organizations, institutions businesses, private citizens, neighborhoods, and community groups.
– Identify immediate opportunities to advance actions that reduce the impact of hazards and increase resilience in Marion.
An invitation letter has been sent to about 10 Town committees and personnel plus 15 local organizations and businesses requesting they provide one representative to attend the workshops. We would like to extend the workshop invitation to Marion residents who may be interested. Space is limited to 15 residents, so people interested should contact Debbie Paiva (508-748-3520, dpaiva@marionma.gov), who will maintain the list of interested residents.