La Marque to Host Community Planning For Hazards Workshop

La Marque to host Community Planning for Hazards workshop
The Texas Citizen Planner initiative will present the Community Planning for Hazards: Training
for Local Officials workshop June 4-5 in La Marque.
The workshop will be from 9 a.m.-4 p.m. on June 4 and from 9 a.m.-1 p.m. June 5 at the Texas
A&M AgriLife Extension Service office for Galveston County, 4102-B Main St. in Carbide
Park.
Registration is open for this program, which is designed to help local elected officials and
municipal staff learn about the connections between good planning, hazard mitigation and
environmental stewardship through first-person perspectives and case study examples from
Texas.
Cost is $79 and includes presentation materials and lunch. Space is limited, and group rates are
available.
To register, go to https://citizenplanner.tamu.edu/registration/.
“Texas Citizen Planner is an innovative program for community leaders to learn about
integrating hazard mitigation approaches with local planning practices,” said Steven Mikulencak,
Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service program specialist with the Texas Community
Watershed Partners. “The art of good planning is about injecting long-term considerations into
near-term actions.”
Mikulencak said communities that integrate hazard mitigation principles and factor long-term
risks into their existing plans stand to make their communities more resilient and less prone to
disasters.
“These courses will give municipal or elected and appointed officials and staff members the
knowledge to shape community development for the better,” he said. “The courses are designed
specifically for municipal officials, but registration is also open to the general public.”
On June 4, attendees will hear first-person perspectives about strategic approaches other Texas
communities have used to link risk management with their ongoing community planning and
vision. Speakers and presentations on that day will include:
 Mike Babin, education/oversight specialist, Windstorm Inspection Program, Texas
Department of Insurance.
 Matt Festa, professor of law, South Texas College of Law Houston.
 David Jackson, state hazard mitigation officer, Mitigation Section administrator, Texas
Division of Emergency Management, Texas Department of Public Safety.
 Dr. Earthea Nance, associate professor, Department of Urban Planning and
Environmental Policy, Texas Southern University.
 Texas General Land Office mitigation funding discussion, lunch presentation.
On June 5, participants will collaborate over a live table-top interface and use local mapping data
to plan hypothetical growth scenarios. Real-time feedback will allow participants to see the
consequences of their planning decisions.
“The planning support tool, Community Health and Resource Management, or CHARM,
encourages collaborative problem solving and no GIS experience is needed,” Mikulencak said.
“Attending the CHARM portion of the workshop is necessary in order to receive a certificate of
completion.”
This project is funded in part by a Texas Coastal Management Program Grant approved by the
Texas Land Commissioner pursuant to a National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
Award.