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Anoka County Multi-Jurisdictional All Hazards Mitigation Plan 22 public in the appropriate Public locations for public review and comments. The plan will also be available to the public the day of the meeting at the Anoka County Government Center. During the adoption process comments on the plan will be solicited from the attendees. Any and all comments will be documented in the minutes of the meeting and provided to the Mitigation Planning Committee. 2.5 Involving the Public 2.5.1 Public Participation During Plan Construction A fundamental component of Anoka County’s community-based mitigation planning process involves public participation. Citizen involvement provides the Mitigation Committee with a greater understanding of local concerns and ensures a higher degree of mitigation success by developing community “buy-in” from those directly affected by the planning decisions of public officials. As citizens become more involved in decisions that affect their life and safety, they are more likely to gain a greater appreciation of the hazards present in their community and take personal steps to reduce the potential impact. Public awareness is a key component of an overall mitigation strategy aimed at making a home, neighborhood, school, business, or city safer from the potential effects of natural or man made hazards. Public input was sought using three methods: (1) surveys; (2) open public meetings; and (3) publicizing the availability of the draft hazard mitigation plan at government offices, and an Internet site. A Public Participation Survey was designed to capture additional information from residents of Anoka County. Surveys were provided to citizens who attended public meetings and on several communities’ web sites. County and municipal officials distributed additional copies of the survey. Please see the Public Participation Survey Results in Appendix E. The county-level public meeting were held during the Mitigation Plan Approval process to present the findings of the risk and capability assessments and to garner public input regarding unique hazard concerns and possible mitigation actions that could be included in the Hazard Mitigation Plan. Attendees were provided an informational handout on mitigation planning. The current mitigation process and progress were discussed. Anoka County Emergency Management distributed and explained the Public Participation Survey, and requested that citizens complete and return the questionnaires for committee review. The meeting was advertised through the posting of a public meeting notice at county and municipal offices. The notices though the county and city websites, Community Television, and bulletin boards have a widespread audience, which ensured that local officials, residents, businesses, academia, and other private interests in Anoka County were invited to participate in the local mitigation planning process. The draft Plan and a Review and Comments questionnaire were available on the Anoka County website at www.readyanokacounty.us during the month of May 2006. The approved 2006 Multi- Jurisdictional All Hazards Mitigation Plan and link to the community survey were added to the http://www.readyanokacounty.us website for public review and comments during the comprehensive review. The2012 draft plan was available for review at the Anoka County Community meeting. C. Does the plan indicate how the public was involved? (Was the public provided an opportunity to comment on the plan during the drafting stage and prior to the plan approval