by Kathleen Phillips

The Texas Citizen Planner program will offer three courses on planning and hazard mitigation for local elected and appointed officials, organizers said.

The classes will be held from 9 a.m. until 4 p.m. May 25, June 29 and July 13 at Houston TranStar, 6922 Katy Road, Houston.

Participants may elect to take one or more of the classes by registering at http://citizenplanner.tamu.edu/registration/.

Individual classes are $75 each, and there are discounts for taking all three classes or for groups of three people or more registering for a course.

Hazard mitigation and plan integration will be taught May 25, flooding and storm water management on June 29, and coastal hazards and preparation on July 13.

“City officials and staff members are confronted every day with decisions that will impact their communities,” said Steven Mikulencak, Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service program specialist with the Texas Coastal Watershed Program. “These courses will give them knowledge to shape community development for the better.”

Each specialty course will emphasize issues important to communities across Texas, organizers said, with information about integrating hazard mitigation approaches with local planning practices. The courses are designed specifically for municipal officials, but registration is also open to local staff, consultants and private citizens.

For more information, see http://citizenplanner.tamu.edu or contact program assistant Celina Gauthier Lowry at 281-560-3980, celina.lowry@tamu.edu, or Mikulencak at 281-218-6128, smikulencak@tamu.edu.