On December 16, 2015, Police Chief Mark Mitchell, Fire
Chief Dean Floyd, and other City Department Leaders, to include Information
Technology, Public Works and Finance, met with City Manager, Billy Peppers, to
discuss the City's winter weather preparedness plan to meet the demands of
severe winter weather events.
The discussion included an After Action brief in
reference to what they had learned from previous year’s winter storms which
will greatly assist the response to any impending weather the City may face
this year. The leadership team discussed
emergency operations plans, staffing, plowing of roadways, salting, staging
areas for material, and readiness of equipment.
In addition, they also talked about incident documentation and enhanced
ways on how to keep citizens informed about the effects of the winter weather on
the community.
City Manager Billy Peppers stated, “It is easy to forget
that we are nearing winter when we are in the midst of 70 degree December days,
but being prepared for cold weather and potential ice and snow days ahead is
something our Canton team is committed to achieving. Public safety is the
top job of a City and our City is dedicated to the mission of meeting any
threat head on with a spirit of teamwork across many different departments,
getting the job done in a timely and efficient manner.”
Chief Mark Mitchell added, “We have developed a very good
unified team with all of our City departments which allows for each of us to be
on the same page in response to these types of serious events. Our collective goal is to keep our roadways
clear, be able to quickly respond and serve those in need, and to keep our
citizens updated on the quickly changing conditions that inherently come with
Georgia’s winter weather events.” 