Committees

Emergency Preparedness

Dipping our Toes in Rising Waters

The Regional Community Institute’s First Coast Vision (October, 2011) is a 50 year vision for growth and development in the seven county Northeast Florida region. First Coast Vision was requested by the Northeast Florida Regional Council (NEFRC) so that it could be considered as the regional plan is updated. One of the purposes of the non-profit Regional Community Institute is to consider policy issues and make recommendations to NEFRC. Its members are graduates of the Regional Leadership Academy and members, or former members, of the NEFRC.

One of the action items included in the vision was the need to bring together leadership and experts from the region to determine climate change impacts, and if indicated, mitigation and adaptation plans. In early 2012, NEFRC posted a request for information and positions on climate change in the region. The bulk of the responses received were related to sea level rise. In August, 2012, NEFRC asked the Regional Community Institute (RCI) to take up sea level rise in Northeast Florida as its next topic for review and policy recommendations. RCI accepted the challenge, referred the issue to its Emergency Preparedness Committee and began planning in September, 2012.

A kick-off meeting to gather and brief leadership and experts in the region, and to garner interest in membership on the committee, was held in November, 2012. The work program discussed at that meeting was based on the NEFRC challenge to decide if we are vulnerable to sea level rise, and if we are, make assumptions on level of rise and planning timeframe. These assumptions are to be used by staff and interested committee members as they work with waterfront local governments (on the coast, the river, or other water bodies) on community resiliency assessments. The results of the assessments will be shared with the committee, who will consider them as they make policy recommendations by September 2013 to the RCI Board of Directors. Approved recommendations will then be provided to the Northeast Florida Regional Council (NEFRC).