2022 KAMM Regional Training Presentations

KAMM Regional Training Webinars Overview

Thank you for joining us during March for our Regional Training in all four KAMM Regions. We had a great attendance and awesome speakers.  

A big thanks to our speakers!

We are excited to provide a recap of our in-person training in all four KAMM Regions in March!

 

 

Topics and Presentations Recap

Follow the presentation titles to link to the presentation slides. You can also link to the agenda from each training.

Region I, March 30, 2022

Hopkinsville Public Works Complex

Region I had a terrific turnout for its Regional Training that was held March 30, 2022 in Hopkinsville at the Public Works Complex.  The agenda was packed with sessions related to the severe weather we experienced closing out 2021.  Of course, it was only fitting that we were also set to have dangerous weather that afternoon and we shuffled the agenda around a bit and added a weather call from the National Weather Service to our agenda for the day.  Matt Powell, Environmental Manager for City of Bowling Green, delivered an in-depth perspective on the topic of coordinating Waste Management in the aftermath of a disaster and long-term recovery.  The sessions with Dr. Josh Durkee, Director WKU White Squirrel Weather and Megan Schargorodski, WKU, KY Mesonet focused on operationalizing weather and emergency management services for incident management and response at WKU and utilizing the Mesonet in the Emergency Management Cycle.  We had a session on an innovative new project that began in eastern Kentucky to help increase weather awareness among the Amish and other “off-the-grid” communities in rural areas from Jane Wix at NOAA and Bath County emergency manager, Jason York.  Following a loss of power at the facility, KAMM’s own Brittany Duvall presented for Esther White on how to develop successful HMGP Grants in a post disaster environment.  Frank Wallace from the City of Madisonville highlighted the challenges of building codes and rebuilding in the aftermath of the December 2021 tornado that hit Hopkins County.  We closed out the day with Mary Lamm from the National Weather Service and an overview of the deadly long track tornado that ravaged the Commonwealth in December 2021.

Link to KAMM Region I March 30 Agenda

Presentations – 

 

 

 

Region II, March 23, 2022

KIPDA, Louisville

Over 30 KAMM members met for the 2022 Region II training in Louisville on March 23.  Held at the Kentuckiana Planning and Regional Development Agency (KIPDA) office, the training had a distinct weather focus – covering flooding, tornados, and weather-related decision support services to emergency management.

Mike Kochasic, Warning Coordination Meteorologist (WCM) with the NWS office in Louisville, kicked off the training with a review of the unusual winter-season tornado outbreaks of December 2021 and January 2022 in Kentucky.  Alex Van Pelt then turned the topic toward flooding, explaining the new pricing methodology of Risk Rating 2.0 in the National Flood Insurance Program. 

After lunch, Bath County EM Jason York and NWS Jackson WCM Jane Marie Wix described the new multi-agency WARN program.  The Weather Awareness for a Rural Nation effort began in response to a tragic Bath County loss of life as an Amish family attempted to cross a low-water crossing during high water.  Realizing the need for improved weather warning and training for “off the grid” communities, the project began as a joint effort of Bath County EMA, the NWS, KYEM, and the University of Kentucky Cooperative Extension Service.  

The day was completed with two presentations from Western Kentucky University. Megan Shargarodski spoke on the benefits of using Kentucky Mesonet data in the Emergency Management funding cycle, and Dr. Josh Durkee illustrated how WKU meteorology students are gaining real-world emergency management support skills on- and off-campus via the student-staffed White Squirrel Weather service.  

Link to KAMM Region II March 23 Agenda

Presentations – 

 

 

 

Region III, March 16, 2022

Sanitation District No. 1 of Northern Kentucky (SD1), Fort Wright

Summary of Region III Training

The 2022 KAMM Region III Training was held in-person at the Northern Kentucky Sanitation District No. 1 (SD1) on March 16, 2022.  Attendees from across Region III participated in important discussions regarding hazard mitigation in Kentucky.  The morning session was kicked off with introductions by Mario Sebastiani, the KAMM Region III Representative, and included presentations from KY EMA’s Esther White on Developing Successful Hazard Mitigation Assistance Grant Applications and from SD1’s Matt Wooten on Stream Integrity, Restoration, and Mitigation Banking in Northern Kentucky.  Lunch was then followed with a field trip around SD1’s Service Park guided by SD1’s Craig Frye where training attendees were immersed within the on-site best management practices for controlling stormwater runoff to learn why stormwater management matters.  The afternoon session was then concluded with powerful and informative presentations from the National Weather Service’s Jane Marie Wix and Bath County’s Jason York on Weather Awareness for a Rural Nation and the Banklick Creek Watershed Council’s Nicole Clement’s presentation on Floodplain and Wetland Restoration Along the Banklick Creek.

Link to KAMM Region III March 16 Agenda

Presentations –

 

 

 

Tour of SD1 –Craig Frye

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Region IV, March 9, 2022

March 9, 2022

Natural Bridge State Park, 2135 Natural Bridge Rd, Slade, KY 40376

Link to KAMM Region IV March 9 Agenda

Summary of RIV Training

Attendees from across Region IV joined us for our first in-person training in two years at Natural Bridge State Park in Slade, Kentucky. Our morning session introduced and explored nature-based solutions and how they align with hazard mitigation goals. A panel of practitioners, including Laurel Matula (ER Assist), Case Davis (Beaver Creek Hydrology, LLC), Becca Trueman (Oldham County Fiscal Court), and Amanda Gumbert (University of Kentucky Cooperative Extension), delved into a deep discussion with attendees about the benefits of nature-based practices, associated challenges, and future ideas. We then engaged in a stakeholder mapping activity to better understand our roles and how we can work together to build stakeholder capacity towards mitigation natural hazards and ensuring clean water.

In our afternoon session, we heard from Alex VanPelt, Division of Water’s State NFIP Coordinator, and his comprehensive review of Insurance Risk Rating 2.0: Equity in Action. Alex walked us through what is new with the program and what has not changed. Esther White with University of Kentucky’s State Hazard Mitigation team led us through an in-depth presentation on writing successful FEMA hazard mitigation assistance grants.

Presentations –

Link to the Stakeholder Map developed during the meeting – KAMM R4 2022 Stakeholder Map

 

 

 

Certificates of Attendance

Certificates of Attendance were provided to KAMM members after each training. We sought CEC preapproval for CFMs with ASFPM and AICP Credit Maintenance (CM) with KAPA.

 

 

 

 

 

Mitigation Matters!  

Have questions, contact us at help@kymitigation.org.

Don’t forget to join the KAMM group on Twitter, LinkedIn and Facebook.

KAMM is a non-profit 501 (c) (3)