WILLIAMSTOWN, Mass. — Residents have a chance to share their concerns about the town's preparedness for potential natural disasters as Williamstown updates its Hazard Mitigation Plan.

 

Emergency management consultant Jamie Caplan of Northampton is working with the town to refresh the plan, last updated in 2019, that expired this summer.

 

At Monday's Select Board meeting, her firm will be providing an update on the plan, which the town plans to submit to the state this spring. Both the Massachusetts Emergency Management Agency and Federal Emergency Management Agency review and approve such plans, which make municipalities eligible for pre-disaster mitigation funding, Caplan said recently.

 

"At the meeting on Monday with the Select Board, we will identify all of those hazards — anything possible, but only natural hazards," Caplan said. "We will discuss their list of critical facilities, buildings and infrastructure.

 

"Based on that, we do a risk analysis. When we come up with what the risks are, we come up with ways to mitigate the risks. Those projects we call mitigation actions."

 

"We" in this case includes the experts from Jamie Caplan Consulting, who are under contract with the commonwealth to work with towns and cities, alongside a committee of local stakeholders.

 

Caplan said her firm started working on the Williamstown plan this summer. The process includes gathering input from community partners.

 

"Part of updating the plan includes bringing a list of organizations together that have a stake in how to mitigate risk: public and private partners, hospitals, watershed groups, the Berkshire Regional Planning Commission, Caplan said. 

 

"We make an effort to identify groups and see if we can get representatives to attend the public meetings or sit on the Hazard Mitigation Planning Committee. The committee meets four times during the project. We had our kickoff meeting in July, and, before the plan is finished, we meet four times. The committee has its third meeting on Monday."

 

The committee's goal is to look at what natural disasters are possible, which ones are most likely and, most importantly, how the town is positioned to respond in the event of an emergency.

 

"We look at our list of natural hazards, which has to be consistent with the state's list," Caplan said. "We emphasize mitigating risks of all hazards but prioritize the highest risk hazards. Things like flooding are at the top of the list. We're also looking at invasive species. We have to consider climate change and how it impacts all hazards. We consider how climate change has made the seasons shift, the timing and intensity of winter storms. We're seeing huge fluctuations in temperature that break up the roads."

 

As part of the Hazard Mitigation Planning Committee's process, it holds two formal public input sessions, Caplan said. The first opportunity is Monday. Another session will be held in February; that may or may not be in conjunction with a Select Board meeting as the committee decides, Caplan said.

 

"We hope people will come on Monday," she said. "It will be educational, and hopefully members of the public will be able to ask questions."