MANSFIELD — Severe storms and flooding remain the top two concerns in the Richland County Emergency Management Agency hazard mitigation plan.
That was the message Tuesday from county EMA Director Sarah Potes during a meeting with county commissioners.
The three-member board approved the county’s five-year mitigation plan, a requirement necessary for potential federal grant dollars.
“We don’t know what type of funding might be eligible in the future, but it’s always a good idea to keep that (hazard mitigation plan) up to date and we were able to secure one of the last grants.
“FEMA is no longer offering funding, at least at this time, for the actual plan development itself. We were able to get one of those last grants to help us secure the contractor to update the plan,” Potes said.
Though it’s a countywide plan, it takes concerns from all communities into consideration (see chart below).
The threat of severe storms ranked first or second in every community, with the exception of Shiloh, which rated it third behind severe winter storms and flooding.
“We brought in all the municipalities and several of the townships and then many of our partners in the county … Soil and Water, the engineer’s office, the health department, some of the fire departments (and) law enforcement to get their opinions on what’s the greatest hazards and threats to our county,” Potes said.
“We appreciate everyone’s partnership in helping us develop the plan. Everyone’s opinions matter,” she said.
“As we prepare for any type of potential disaster or incident, having the knowledge of the risk in our county, it’s just a great tool to help us be prepared,” Potes said.
She said this spring has been wetter than normal, including flooding issues in some communities.
“It’s been interesting, this spring season so far with the amount of rainfall that we’ve had. We recently met with some of our partners for what we are calling the Mohican Watershed Area.
“We met with Ashland County EMA, Knox County EMA, Holmes County EMA and Ohio EMA was involved, too, as well as ODNR and several other agencies.
“We had a meeting for the first responders and the focus was on campgrounds because of what happened in Texas last year due to the flash flooding. We had several meetings for that over the past couple of months,” Potes said.
“We’re going to continue to try to focus to reach out to the campgrounds and other areas that might have people coming in for tourism in the county. If people are here visiting, they may not know where the flood prone areas are or they may not know where they need to go if there is some type of weather event,” the county EMA leader said.
YFC candidate changes mind and turns down leadership offer
Commissioners expressed their disappointment that Ashley Leadingham, who they thought they had hired on May 14 to lead the Richland County Youth & Family Council, later turned down the job.
“I was in on the entire hiring process and yes, we’re disappointed to have to start all over again,” Commissioner Darrell Banks said. “We’re meeting this afternoon, a few of us, to discuss what the procedure will be moving forward.”
A Mansfield Senior graduate, Leadingham was recommended by the council’s board for the director’s position. She was to be paid $30.99 per hour in the role with a start date of June 11.
Leadingham is currently the operations and training manager at the Community Health Access Project and ultimately decided to remain in her current role.
“From my perspective, I was disappointed,” Commissioner Cliff Mears said. “I am very surprised. I thought we offered a competitive wage. Wage was the reason given for the unacceptance.”
Banks said Leadingham was aware of the salary when she met with commissioners and accepted the position.
“She knew,” Banks said.
The Richland County Youth and Family Council serves as a collaborative leader, designed to streamline community services and support for children and families.
They focus on improving outcomes for youth through initiatives such as Help Me Grow early intervention services, service coordination, and, often, providing school-focused resources, ensuring families have access to necessary protection, support, and education.
