SAUGUS — The town’s new proposed Hazard Mitigation Plan includes improvements to drainage systems throughout town to minimize flood risks, among other projects.
In the Thursday night meeting of the Planning Board, Martin Pillsbury, environmental director for the Metropolitan Area Planning Council (MAPC), presented the draft of the plan, an updated version of which is required every five years for Saugus to be eligible for grants from the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA).
“This is not an emergency response plan,” Pillsbury said. “By looking at what you can do before a disaster strikes, you can make the town less vulnerable.”
The plan was written by the MAPC as well as multiple departments in town. The team identified 96 critical facilities in town, which include disaster response sites, like the police and fire departments; sites requiring assistance, such as elderly housing; and infrastructure sites like dams. The plan also lists 24 local flood-risk areas and five brush-fire risk areas.
The plan focuses on natural hazards, such as extreme heat, drought, extreme precipitation and earthquakes, although, Pillsbury noted, the latter is not a big problem in the area.
According to the plan, drainage improvements are needed on Route 1, in East Saugus, along Lynnhurst Street and in several other small areas identified by the Drainage Master Plan. Other suggested projects include adopting a stormwater utility mechanism; providing additional manpower resources for storm preparation and response; acquiring vacant, flood-prone parcels of land; and installing generators at Town Hall and the Senior Center.
While the town is not required to complete all of the projects outlined in the plan (not all of the recommendations laid out in the 2015 plan have been completed), Pillsbury explained that the goal is to keep the town thinking about how it can be more resilient.
“Nothing in this plan is etched in stone. Don’t take it too literally,” he said. “It’s not as if FEMA is holding the town to a mandate to do what’s there. It’s giving them the opportunity to think through the best steps they can take.”
Once the plan is complete, it will be submitted to the Massachusetts Emergency Management Agency and then FEMA for approval before being adopted by the town manager.
The Planning Board invites residents to make any comments or ask questions about the plan by June 17 by emailing [email protected].
