Cedar County Appendix Cedar County .................................................................................................................. 3 Village of Coleridge ....................................................................................................... 39 Village of Fordyce.......................................................................................................... 55 City of Hartington .......................................................................................................... 69 Village of Magnet .......................................................................................................... 89 Village of Obert ........................................................................................................... 103 Village of St. Helena .................................................................................................... 117 Village of Wynot .......................................................................................................... 133 Hartington - Newcastle Public Schools........................................................................ 147 Laurel - Concord - Coleridge Public Schools ............................................................... 159 Hartington Fire Department (includes Fordyce Fire Department) ................................ 169 Randolph Volunteer Fire District ................................................................................. 177 Cedar and Dixon Counties Hazard Mitigation Plan | 2021 1 This Page is Intentionally Blank 2 Cedar and Dixon Counties Hazard Mitigation Plan | 2021 COUNTY PROFILE CEDAR COUNTY Cedar and Dixon Counties Multi-Jurisdictional Hazard Mitigation Plan Update 2021 Cedar and Dixon Counties Hazard Mitigation Plan | 2021 3 SECTION SEVEN: CEDAR COUNTY COMMUNITY PROFILE Local Planning Team Table CRC.1: Cedar County Local Planning Team NAME TITLE JURISDICTION KEVIN GARVIN Emergency Manager Cedar County CARLA SCHMIDT County Highway Superintendent Cedar County DAVID MCGREGGOR County Board Chair Cedar County Location, Geography, and Climate Cedar County is located in northeast Nebraska and is bordered by Knox, Pierce, Wayne, and Dixon Counties in Nebraska, and Yankton and Clay Counties in South Dakota. The total area of Cedar County is 746 square miles. Major waterways within the county include the Missouri River, which forms the northern boundary of the county, Bow Creek, Beaver Creek, Logan Creek, and Pearl Creek. Climate For Cedar County, the normal high temperature for the month of July is 84.8 degrees Fahrenheit. The normal low temperature for the month of January is 10.3 degrees Fahrenheit. On average, the county gets 28.15 inches of rain and 33.3 inches of snowfall per year. The following table compares these climate indicators with those of the entire state. Climate data are helpful in determining if certain events are higher or lower than normal. For example, if the high temperatures in the month of July are running well into the 90s, then this indicates extreme heat events, which could impact vulnerable populations. Table CRC.2: Cedar County Climate Normals CEDAR COUNTY STATE OF NEBRASKA JULY NORMAL HIGH TEMP 84.8°F 88.0°F JANUARY NORMAL LOW TEMP 10.3°F 12.0°F ANNUAL NORMAL PRECIPITATION 28.15” 30.3” ANNUAL NORMAL SNOWFALL 33.3” 25.9” Source: NCEI 1981-2010 Climate Normals1, High Plains Regional Climate Center, 1981-2010 Precipitation includes all rain and melted snow and ice. Transportation Cedar County’s major transportation corridors include U.S. Highways 20 and 81, and Nebraska Highways 12, 84, 57, and 59. The Burlington Northern Santa Fe Railroad has a rail line that travels through the southern portion of the county. There is an airport located just southeast of Hartington. The planning team indicated that Highways 20, 81, 84, 57, and 898th Road are the transportation routes of top concern for the county. The highways carry the most traffic and are where the most accidents occur. These highways lead in and out of the county and are the routes in which hazardous materials are primarily transported. The planning team stated that chemicals such as diesel fuel, gasoline, ethanol, and farm fertilizers are known to be transported throughout the county. 898th Road is a gravel county road but is still considered a major artery for the county, as it is the primary road that leads to the Yankton, South Dakota area (apart from the highway). It is also used by a nearby feed yard that uses the road to get cattle trucks to their facility. There are critical 1 National Centers for Environmental Information. “1981-2010 U.S. Climate Normals.” Accessed December 2019. https://www.ncdc.noaa.gov/cdo-web/datatools. 4 Cedar and Dixon Counties Hazard Mitigation Plan | 2021 SECTION SEVEN: CEDAR COUNTY COMMUNITY PROFILE facilities located along main transportation routes in Cedar County. These include the Cedar County Courthouse in Hartington (adjacent to HWY 84), the Hartington Fire & EMS Station (adjacent to Highway 84), and the Discovery Bridge (North Highway 81). Transportation information is important to hazard mitigation plans as it suggests possible evacuation corridors in the county, as well as areas more at risk to transportation incidents. The planning team noted that there have been several transportation events that occurred within the county. A BNSF train derailment near Belden in 2018 caused traffic issues along a section of Highway 20 for over a week. Other incidents resulted in hazardous materials being released. During a severe thunderstorm in Randolph, a vehicle rolled down a hill onto Highway 20 and struck a passing semi-trailer, puncturing the diesel fuel tank which caused fuel to leak into a nearby storm drain. Another incident resulted in a chemical spill when a speeding driver drove a motor vehicle into an oncoming fertilizer truck near the junction of Highways 84 and 81. Fertilizer and diesel fuel were spilled as a result, threatening nearby wetlands and a creek. The flooding event of 2019 disrupted many critical transportation routes for multiple days, causing several bridges and roads to be impassable. County residents had to find alternate routes via county roads, further impacting the local transportation system and requiring extra maintenance. A bridge washout on Highway 121 affected residents who commute to Yankton, South Dakota for work. The bridge was impassable by car, so an extra vehicle or ATV had to be parked on the other side to complete their trip. Heavy rain and fog at the outset of the flood event resulted in a vehicle being driven into a washout approximately 15 feet deep on 564th Avenue where the bridge approach had previously been. Cedar and Dixon Counties Hazard Mitigation Plan | 2021 5 SECTION SEVEN: CEDAR COUNTY COMMUNITY PROFILE Figure CRC.1: Cedar County 6 Cedar and Dixon Counties Hazard Mitigation Plan | 2021 SECTION SEVEN: CEDAR COUNTY COMMUNITY PROFILE Demographics The following figure displays the historical population trend from 1860 to 2017. This figure indicates that the population of Cedar County has been decreasing since 1930. This is notable for hazard mitigation for several important reasons. First, communities with declining population may have a higher level of unoccupied housing that is not being up kept. Secondly, areas with declining population will be less prone to pursuing residential/commercial development in their areas, which may reduce the number of structures vulnerable to hazards in the future. Finally, decreasing populations can also represent decreasing tax revenue for the county which could make implementation of mitigation actions more fiscally challenging. Figure CRC.2: Population 1860 – 2017 18,000 16,225 16,427 16,000 15,191 15,126 13,843 14,000 12,467 12,192 12,000 13,368 10,131 10,000 11,375 8,852 9,615 8,000 7,028 8,561 Population 6,000 4,000 2,899 2,000 1,032 246 0 Year Source: U.S. Census Bureau2 The following table indicates the State of Nebraska has a higher percentage of people under the age of 5 than Cedar County. However, Cedar County has a higher percentage of residents over 64. This is relevant to hazard mitigation insofar as the very young and elderly populations may be at greater risk from certain hazards than others. For a more elaborate discussion of this vulnerability, please see Section Four: Risk Assessment. Table CRC.3: Population by Age AGE CEDAR COUNTY STATE OF NEBRASKA <5 6.5% 6.9% 5-64 72.5% 78.3% >64 21% 14.7% MEDIAN 44.1 36.3 Source: U.S. Census Bureau3 The following table indicates that median household income is slightly higher when compared to the State of Nebraska. Per capita income, median home value, and median rent are all lower than the rest of the state. These economic indicators are relevant to hazard mitigation because they 2 United States Census Bureau. “2017 American Fact Finder: S0101: Age and Sex.” [database file]. https://data.census.gov/. 3 United States Census Bureau. “2017 American Fact Finder: S0101: Age and Sex.” [database file]. https://data.census.gov/. Cedar and Dixon Counties Hazard Mitigation Plan | 2021 7 SECTION SEVEN: CEDAR COUNTY COMMUNITY PROFILE indicate the relative economic strength compared to the state as a whole. Areas with relatively low economic indicators may influence a county’s level of resiliency during hazardous events. Table CRC.4: Housing and Income CEDAR COUNTY STATE OF NEBRASKA MEDIAN HOUSEHOLD INCOME $57,208 $56,675 PER CAPITA INCOME $29,694 $29,866 MEDIAN HOME VALUE $113,600 $142,400 MEDIAN RENT $621 $773 Source: U.S. Census Bureau4,5