• FEMA trains city for emergency

• Meet Prairie Center’s Michael Staenberg

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FEMA trains city for emergency

By Danica Lucker
How will Brighton deal with a disaster if one hits? How can the city and county work together on recovery efforts? These are the kinds of hard questions officials will tackle at an integrated emergency management course presented by the Federal Emergency Management Agency this spring in Emmitsburg, Md.

About 75 people from the city and Adams, Jefferson and Weld counties and School District 27J will attend the weeklong course and tackle an exercise of a realistic crisis scenario. FEMA pays the bulk of the expenses for the participants, including airfare, accommodations (everyone stays on what was once a college campus, now used for FEMA training) and shuttle services to and from the airport. Brighton’s Office of Emergency Management picks up a $110-a-week, per-person meal ticket for the 36 Brighton participants.

Participants won’t know the specifics until they get there, said Rebecca Martinez, who works for the city on emergency planning. That shouldn’t matter, however, Martinez said. Both Brighton and Adams County officials work under an “all hazards” guideline – meaning that some of the same action steps and planning will be necessary no matter the catastrophe.

This is one of the things local government learned from the 9/11 terrorist attacks, she said. “It showed us that we really need to be ready for anything at any time.”

Colorado, for example, is vulnerable to paralyzing snowstorms, summer flash floods and springtime tornados, as was the tragic case May 2008 in Windsor.

Five years ago, Adams County workers attended a course on first-responders and how to deal with immediate emergencies.

The thrust of this year’s FEMA course will be recovery planning. The city and county will be looking for ways to team up, said Rick Newman with Adams County ...

Are you prepared?
The city continues to offer emergency preparedness classes through the Citizen Corps Council. The city offers an 8-hour awareness class (Be Ready) on a quarterly basis. The 32-hour Community Emergency Response Training (CERT) is offered once a year. The 90-minute Severe Weather Safety Awareness course discusses how to recognize changes in the weather. All public education classes are free of charge. Brighton Emergency Management is available to conduct presentations to groups of 10 or more.

The Brighton CERT Team is always looking for additional volunteers to get involved, get the necessary training and become an additional resource for the community.

For more information, visit the city of Brighton’s Web site at www.brightonco.gov or contact Rebecca Martinez at 303-655-2316 or rmartinez@brightonco.gov.

Meet Prairie Center’s Michael Staenberg

Team building, designing properties for long-term ownership potential and enhancing the environment – these are some of the trademarks of THF Realty President Michael Staenberg. Staenberg, who co-founded THF in 1991, was involved in Prairie Center’s original acquisition in 1999-2000. He recently took over management of the Brighton development from Jim Lewis.

“I’m excited about the ability to create a community and be part of a growing and vibrant community in Brighton,” said Staenberg, who remains in St. Louis but said he will visit Brighton weekly.

“I believe that our Prairie Center project will enhance the quality of life there and benefit the community with the trails and the outdoor spaces we are creating, along with tremendous residential and retail … ”

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