Evacuation Protocol
Last
week we had an excellent County Fair. I hope all who wanted, were able to get
out and enjoy it. The kids are the topping on the fair – sharing the product of
their hard work with the community.
It
seems every few years storms come through the fair forcing an evacuation. If
you happened to be on grounds last Friday, you experienced another. Our new
Emergency Manager, Jeff Kirkey, was on site monitoring the
weather, among other things. He made the decision to clear the fairgrounds, and
in a little over 30 minutes, we had everyone out in an orderly manner.
This
evacuation went extremely smoothly. This was Jeff’s first fair, and he is
analyzing the protocol to improve upon it. Kudos go to the Emergency Management
team on a well-executed plan. As it turns out, the storm split and did not hit
the grounds, but there was no way to predict this. In cases such as this, it is
better to err on the side of caution.
In
conversation with Jeff over the weekend, I told him he and his team did a great
job. In our discussion, it was good to hear how he is getting out and working
with the other agencies such as the Sheriff and St. Charles Police. This
highlights the culture our County is working to achieve – collaboration and cooperation.
Just
a couple other things that came up at the fair: I have written about several of
these items before, but there continues to be misunderstanding about some very
important issues at the county. Despite many approvals, clear code guidance and
available staff for questions, questions and misinformation continue to arise
on the subject. For example, it IS easier to build on less than 40 acres under
the new Ordinance than it was under the old. I encourage people to call our
Planning and Environmental Services Director, Jason Gilman, or Eric Johnson, to
get clarification on how the Zoning Ordinance affects them. There were many
other misunderstandings with it and its impact on us. We are continuing to look
at and analyzing what is working and where we want to tweak it. Is it perfect?
No, but we need to remember no document is.
Rain
in in the forecast, and hopefully it will arrive soon.
If
you have any questions or comments on the county, please contact me.
Mena Kaehler
mkaehler@co.winona.mn.us
