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Resilience?

This is a follow up to my previous letter regarding the Muncy Resiliency Plan. This is the plan I briefly outlined wherein the State of Pennsylvania, in conjunction with the Lycoming County Planning and Community Developments office, are planning on developing a center to educate about methods of mitigation. This would enable a municipality to become more resilient in the face of natural hazards (think the most common, flooding). In that previous letter I stated that some borough council members were against the plan. However, in speaking with them recently, I discovered that they were not aware of the details of the plan and subsequently were asking to be educated. So what is the definition of resilience? According to Webster’s the definition of resilience is “the ability to recover from or adjust to misfortune or change.” That is the ultimate goal of this plan – to enable the Muncy area to spring back after a catastrophic event, i.e. flooding, which obviously is the most common hazardous event for our area and to teach other leaders the steps necessary to do the same for their municipalities. The Muncy area would be utilized as a model for other municipalities, in similar situations, to view what could be done to enable their communities to become more resilient. Not only does this cause our area to be noticed, it also means funds would be poured into the Muncy area for mitigation to properties in harm’s way. Along with that, officials coming to the center to learn about resiliency, would in all likelihood spend money in the local area; dining, lodging, shopping, etc. A public meeting has been scheduled to educate members of the public, of what this plan, once brought to fruition, would mean for the community. The meeting, “Muncy, PA: A Workshop for Resiliency” has been scheduled for Thursday from 6 to 8 p.m. at Ward L. Myers Elementary School, 125 New St., Muncy. Everyone in the community is invited and encouraged to attend. The Lycoming County Planning and Community Development office with the PA Department of Community and Economic Development will be conducting the meeting to educate everyone on the resiliency plan. To those in the greater Muncy area, this should be exciting, hope filled news. When a community has 40 percent of its properties in a flood zone, in addition to other stressors, (empty storefronts, potential for a hazardous incinerator coming into town, lowering property values, aging infrastructure, etc.) it does not bode well for the future of that community. This plan has the potential to bring resources to this area to chart a path to greater resiliency. The greater Muncy area is being noticed in a good way and this project is a path to improving our community. I urge everyone to attend the meeting on November 17th with an open mind and expect to be educated.

Jeff Smead

Muncy

Submitted by Virtual Newsroom

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