Progress on Community Preparedness

On July 12th, I met with members of the community (along with the clerks and community development departments) to discuss community preparedness methods for the San Lucas pilot project. I felt there was a lot of discussion, and we came out of it with some new ideas. Some of which include:

• Striking partnerships with neighboring governments for emergency alert, such as Pima County
• Make sure all radios are synced to the same emergency channel
• Encourage people to sign up for Notify Me, an emergency alert phone system
• Take advantage of social media to reach people about education opportunities
• It is important for master plan communities to come complete with a meeting area, such as a club house, that will serve as a safe house.
• Education is a huge priority before an emergency occurs
• Homeowners Associations, fellowships, phone trees, community events, and the Chamber of Commerce are all useful means for passing information
• Create 72-hour emergency bags for families in need
• Concert in the Park events are a great opportunity for outreach
• The Chamber of Commerce can use their business network to pass information and collect resources
• Hold a safety fair in the neighborhood park
• Outreach for kids in schools
• Establish a location for emergency-management Town of Marana employees' families, so they can continue to work during an emergency without fearing for their well being.
• Marana Unified School District is currently obtaining a mass notification system, which the Town can utilize.

The next step now is to discuss these findings with the overall San Lucas pilot program. I really enjoyed hearing the input of our community members. It is always important to talk to others, because they may think of something that you won't simply because of their different experiences.