Contact: Kenneth Billings
STARKVILLE, Miss.--The second in a series of public meetings this week will receive additional public input as Mississippi State, local and state officials work toward the university's designation as a Disaster-Resistant University.
The 3-7 p.m. come-and-go Thursday [April 16] event takes place at MSU's Franklin Center for Furniture Manufacturing and Management, located on the western edge of campus at 100 Blackjack Road.
The DRU committee met last week to discuss progress and recent developments of the hazard mitigation plan, including the launch of a new Web site, www.msstate.edu/web/dru/.
"Community feedback is an integral part of developing a workable hazard mitigation plan," said committee co-chair Jim Jones. "By coming to the public meetings and giving us feedback through the Web site, we will be better equipped to develop a comprehensive strategy that will be a benefit to the entire community."
Co-chaired by Kacey Strickland, the effort is under the auspices of the Board of Trustees, State Institutions of Higher Learning. Strickland is MSU's director of regulatory compliance; Jones, director of sustainability and campus planning.
Funding is provided through a grant to the IHL by the Mississippi Emergency Management and Federal Emergency Management agencies.
The DRU Advisory Committee serves as the overall guiding organization for the construction and maintenance of hazard mitigations. It represents various campus units, the Oktibbeha County Emergency Management Agency, City of Starkville, county and city law enforcement agencies, Oktibbeha County Hospital, and response agencies such as the Red Cross.
The hazard mitigation plan will seek to:
--Identify natural, man-made and technological hazards,
--Estimate the potential losses that MSU could incur due to these hazards, and
--Propose mitigation actions that could begin the process of reducing MSU's vulnerability.
Upon positive reviews by MEMA and FEMA, MSU will qualify for pre-disaster financial assistance to help initiate the mitigation actions described in the plan.
The ultimate goal is a safer institution at which any interruption to its educational mission during a disaster and subsequent recovery period is minimized.
The new Web site contains constantly updated information about the DRU plan, a hazards table and a community feedback form that members of the public are being encouraged to complete.