Monica BortoliniChris Tagert May 24, 2012

Why did we start the program? Everything was new… SStormwater Authority FFloodplain Program DDFIRM NNew CRS Community

Raise Awareness Influence Behavioral Change Help People Stay Safe!

How did we approach the project? 1Planning 2Implementation 3 Alignment with Community Rating System (CRS) THREE PHASES

Comprehensive Plan; Phased Implementation  Captured “everything” in the plan  Direct mailing, display booths, event participation, children’s activities, website improvements, Facebook page, TV, Radio, etc.  Conceptual level  Created a implementation plan that included only those items that were deemed “achievable” based on available resources  Activities were planned during “down” times for SEMSWA  All other activities were documented in a section entitled “Conceptual Ideas for Future Plan Updates;” to be added to the implementation plan at a point in the future when resources are available.

Identified key messages Risk Reduction Know Your HazardBe PreparedGet Flood InsuranceBuild ResponsiblyPreserve the Floodplain Emergency Action Preparation & Response Flash Flooding

Defined outreach approach  Defined building blocks for the outreach plan  Flash flooding and Denver Metro specific events  Limited mailings that would not overwhelm the audience  Focused on effective messages 1 st ; future CRS credit 2 nd

AudienceDistribution Stay Safe Category AuthorDocument Community SFHA Homeowners Developers Neighborhoods Dam Inundation Real Estate Agents Mortgage Lenders As Needed Spring Fall Risk Reduction Know Your Hazard UDFCD SEMSWA Official Notice – Flood Hazard Information Know your Hazard SEMSWA in XYZ Neighborhood Dam Safety Ways SEMSWA Can Help XXXXXX XXXX X XX X XXXX XXXX Be PreparedSEMSWAWays to Protect your Home or Business XX Get Flood Insurance SEMSWA NFIP Flood Insurance Filing your Flood Insurance Claim X X X Build Responsibly SEMSWA Planning and Constructing Home Improvements in the Floodplain Construction Requirements for Homes in Floodplains X X XXXX Preserve the Floodplain UDFCD Preserving the natural and beneficial values of floodplains adjacent to development projects XX Emergency Action Preparation & Response Flood Smart SEMSWA The Risk Is Real Preparing for and Responding to a Flood XXXX XXXX Flash FloodNOAATurn Around Don’t DrownXX Target Messages with Audience 8 …Future Plans for television, social media, etc.

Don’t Reinvent the Wheel Piggyback On Other Related Meetings and/or Mailings

Create an Implementation Schedule that Works for You  Leveraged flood awareness week with Earth Day  Avoided direct mailing in the spring so as to not overlap with UDFCD’s flood awareness mailer  Avoided sending flood related information in the winter as the community is not engaged at that time  Avoided planning activities in the summer as that’s a busy time at SEMSWA for budgeting 10

What PR department?  With no dedicated outreach staff, implementation was left up to the FPA  Year 1, three goals were identified  To achieve these three goals additional resources would be required 11

Obtain Resources to Help Activity with boy scouts Booth Banner Display booth materials Finding and booking event space Printing and displaying materials Obtaining giveaways Coordination with other entities Preparing and distributing material  Hired an experienced (stormwater) outreach professional

This Year’s Activities Direct Mailing: Brochures Open House Booth: Interactive Discussion Children’s Activities: Poster Contest …WITH YEAR ONE A SUCCESS, NEW ACTIVITIES WILL BE ADDED

Hired Help, What Does It Cost?  Depends on the number of activities planned for the flood season  Cyclical or continuous?  Do you plan to sustain outreach all year long or only during flood season?  How many FTEs?  For SEMSWA: ~1/3 of an FTE averaged over one year, for the first year of implementation. 14

What’s The Future Plan?  As events are repeated, each will require less time for preparation and execution  As those efficiencies are gained, new activities will be added to enhance SEMSWA’s “Stay Safe” plan 15

How does Stay Safe tie into CRS?  At the time that the plan was conceived, the revisions to the CRS were preliminary  The new criteria for Public Information is a lot more involved than previously  SEMSWA jurisdictions will not have their 5-year cycle visit for three more years  Therefore we did what we thought would be most effective for SEMSWA now and plan to revisit how it might score within the new CRS criteria after three years of implementation  We’ve set realistic expectations – a community may never have the resources necessary to fully implement the new CRS PPI 16

Stay Safe - Conclusions 17 Determine what you think will be effective in your jurisdiction Make a plan, leverage existing resources, take small, manageable steps Commit to an implementation schedule, even if you have to scale back what you would like to do each year

Monica BortoliniChris Tagert May 24, 2012