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2025 Hazard Mitigation Plan <br />Kittitas County, Washington <br /> <br /> <br />Appendix C: Public Engagement 305 <br />APPENDIX C. PUBLIC ENGAGEMENT <br />The mitigation planning process promotes awareness of hazard risks and continues the conversation <br />about the community’s safety and resilience. A hazard mitigation plan generates additional community <br />support when it accurately reflects the values and priorities of the community which will lead to <br />successfully implementing the mitigation actions and projects identified in this Plan. <br /> <br />Federal regulations for mitigation plan approval require that stakeholders and the general public be given <br />opportunities to be involved in the plan’s development and update process. Input from community <br />members can strengthen the content and outcomes of the hazard mitigation plan. Furthermore, the plan <br />must state continued public engagement as the Plan is carried out during its lifetime. <br /> <br />A public outreach strategy outlines what the community intends to achieve throughout the outreach <br />efforts. Additionally, it identifies who to involve in the process, and how and when to effectively engage <br />the community. Kittitas County stakeholders and the public were given a number of opportunities to be <br />involved throughout the planning process. Opportunities were provided via a public survey, in-person <br />public meetings, and public engagement activities to review the Plan draft (i.e., public comment period). <br /> <br />Survey results, public meeting documentation (i.e., agendas, sign in sheets, and photos), and public <br />comment period outreach activities are included in this section. <br /> <br />How Public Input was Incorporated into the Plan <br /> <br />Information and feedback gained through the public survey, public meetings, and public comment period <br />provided valuable data to inform, validate, and confirm the risk assessment findings and potential <br />mitigation strategies. Specifically, feedback from the public offered during the public meetings offered <br />greater insights into the public’s concerns regarding specific hazards and their impacts. The public also <br />offered specific initiatives they felt would create greater resiliency for the County and its residents. <br /> <br />Survey results helped validate the hazards included in the Plan, the hazard ranking process, and areas <br />where the County and jurisdictions could further improve outreach and education efforts. Open-ended <br />responses, specifically regarding their experience with damages from past hazards, helped to validate <br />hazard-specific impact data in Chapter 4 of this Plan. These, and related findings, helped the Core <br />Planning Team and local planning teams determine meaningful mitigation projects. <br /> <br />After the public comment period ended, nine (9) feedback forms were received from the public and <br />stakeholders. The Local Planning Team reviewed the feedback and will implement mitigation and <br />preparedness efforts moving forward, if deemed appropriate. However, in order to keep the Plan current <br />after it is approved, the County will ensure that the public continues to be involved in the Plan and how it <br />is carried out. Refer to Section C.4 of this Plan for further details on continued public engagement. <br />