Goshen residents are invited to provide comments on the Town of Goshen's hazard mitigation plan on Thursday, August 13 at 7:00 p.m. at the Goshen Town Hall, 40 Main Street. All members of the public are welcome to attend the event. Local businesses, residents of neighboring communities, and municipal officials of neighboring communities are also encouraged to attend and provide their feedback.

The meeting will include an overview of the hazard mitigation planning process, a summary of existing mitigation initiatives, and an outline of recommended strategies for addressing natural hazards in Goshen. Municipal officials and PVPC staff will be available to answer questions and listen to comments on the draft plan, which is posted at www.pvpc.org. A paper copy of the plan will also be available at Goshen Town Hall.

The plan is being updated by the Town with assistance from the Pioneer Valley Planning Commission and is funded by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) and the Massachusetts Emergency Management Agency (MEMA). This planning effort is being undertaken to help the Town of Goshen assess the risks faced from natural hazards, identify action steps that can be taken to prevent damage to property and loss of life, and prioritize funding for mitigation efforts. A mitigation action is any action taken to reduce or eliminate the long-term risk to human life and property from hazards.

At the same time as Goshen is updating their plan, numerous other communities in the region are also developing new or updating existing hazard mitigation plans, including Chesterfield, Williamsburg, Cummington, Huntington, and Chester.

For more information and for a complete list of hazard mitigation plan status in the Pioneer Valley, please contact PVPC's Catherine Ratté at cratte@pvpc.org or (413) 781-6045.