Guilford's Board of Selectmen is in the midst of appointing a permanent Hazard Mitigation Committee to oversee the town's Hazardous Mitigation Plan. The plan provides comprehensive information on the possibility of storms and natural hazards that can affect Guilford.

"The selectmen have been reminded to think of candidates to put on the committee," First Selectman Joseph Mazza said. "We have one [committee] that was put together for the mitigation plan, now we just need a standing committee to oversee it."

A committee was formed and began meeting monthly in April 2011. It was led by Harbor Management Commission Chair John Henningson and its membership included Bernard Lombardi, David North, Jennifer Alcock, Henry Graver, Joan Stettbacher, Sam Bartlett, and Yvonne Logan.

The committee solicited and reviewed proposals and selected Cheshire-based company Milone & MacBroom to prepare the plan. Milone & MacBroom has worked on several past projects with Guilford and was the consultant hired by the town to work on and help prepare the document.

The mitigation plan committee held public hearings to gather input and spent several months finalizing the detailed plan, which now needs a committee to look over it. Mazza said the committee might consist of the same members that helped form the plan, or the membership may be completely new.

The plan was developed in large part due to the fact that the Disaster Mitigation Act of 2000 requires municipalities to have a Federal Emergency Mangament Agency-approved mitigation plan in order to be eligible to receive pre- and post-disaster mitigation program grant program funds under the hazard mitigation assistance program.

"The purpose of the Pre-Disaster Mitigation Plan is to identify natural hazards of concern to Guilford, quantify the severity of the hazards, and develop potential mitigation measures," Henningson said. "Upon adoption, the plan will serve as a guide for prioritizing implementation of the measures."

Guilford's plan lists a variety of recommendations for each types of hazard. Recommendations include the continued use of certain regulations, structural upgrades to shelters, and technical assistance for owners of repetitive-loss properties.

"It also addresses, in a very comprehensive way, what things the town can do in the way of infrastructure improvements, flood control, and protecting property," Town Planner George Kral said. "It's meant to be comprehensive but geographical in terms of the types of events that might occur, so it's really kind of an exhaustive compendium of a wide variety of proposals to address those types of issues."

After hearing recommendations, Mazza said the selectmen would consider and appoint members to the committee sometime in the near future. Upcoming Board of Selectman meetings are on Tuesday, Sept. 4 at 7:30 p.m. at the Community Center and Wednesday, Sept. 19 at 8:30 a.m. at the Town Hall.

To learn more about the Guilford Hazard Mitigation Plan, visit the town's website at

www.ci.guilford.ct.us.