Catskills municipal officials gather to discuss emergency response today

Above: Carl Chipman, supervisor of the town of Rochester, and Art Snyder, the director of Ulster County Emergency Management, displaying a map of Rochester Chipman used during Irene to coordinate emergency response at the disaster officials workship this morning. Photo by Julia Reischel. 

This morning, 70 municipal officials from towns and villages across the Catskills are meeting at the Fire Hall in Margaretville to discuss how to respond to devastating disasters like Tropical Storms Irene and Lee. (The meeting is being sponsored by the Catskill Watershed Corporation.) I'm here at the meeting today, so if you have any questions you'd like me to ask, comment on this post and I'll do my best to raise them.

Some of the speakers talking at the meeting today:

Art Snyder, the director of Ulster County Emergency Managment

Carol Chipman, Supervisor of the town of Rochester, which impleented a comprehensive action pmlan during the storm

Michael Sterthous, a partner at Whiteman Osterman & Hanna, an Albany law firm that specializes in municipal law

Rich Bell, the coordinator of Delaware County Emergency Services

Gene Rosa, Chief of the Margaretville Fire Department

Rob Stanley, Supervisor of the Town of Shandaken

Kory O'Hara, Supervisor of the Town of Prattsville

Todd Pascarella, Deputy Mayor of the Village of Fleischmanns

Dorothy Maffei, Volunteer Coordinator of the Town of Middletown