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The Franklin City Council voted unanimously on Monday, Feb. 24, and the Southampton County Board of Supervisors voted unanimously on Tuesday, Feb. 25, to confirm a Declaration of Local Emergency (DLE) for their respective localities due to the severe weather and threat that accompanied Winter Storm Kingston.

Franklin City Manager Rosylen Oglesby noted in her written report for the Feb. 24 council meeting that the Hampton Roads region was placed under a Winter Storm Warning due to the approach of the winter storm. She stated that the area was expected to receive significant snow, extremely low temperatures and minor-to-locally-moderate river flooding.

“Winter Storm Kingston’s predictions indicated the possibility of six-plus inches of snow, wind gusts exceeding 30 miles per hour and sustained temperatures below 32 degrees over the next 72 hours, which could lead to hazardous conditions, including flooding and downed trees/power lines,” she wrote. “Franklin was within the expected (snowfall) area of four- to six-plus inches, with some areas falling within eight to 10 inches.”

She stated that due to the then-impending hazardous conditions, she, acting as the director of emergency services, issued a Declaration of Local Emergency.

“This was declared to allow us to be able to recoup any funds,” she said during the Feb. 24 meeting. “If the governor releases money out, then we can say that we had a declaration and we can recoup all the expenses that we had forward. So this happened before you had your next council meeting, so this is for you to declare it or approve it posthaste so we can have it in case the governor releases funds.”

She worded the financial impact as follows in her written report: “The declaration allows the city (to) apply for funding made available by the state and federal government to defray any expenses expended making the city safe.”

In her written report she noted that according to the city’s Emergency Operations Plan, the City Council “declares an emergency to exist whenever the threat or actual occurrence of a disaster is, or threatens to be, of sufficient severity and magnitude to require significant expenditures and a coordinated response in order to prevent or alleviate damage, loss, hardship or suffering.”

The National Weather Service’s Wakefield office released a snowfall analysis based on regional observations made from 7 a.m. Wednesday, Feb. 19, to 7 a.m. Thursday, Feb. 20, and it showed that the city of Franklin received anywhere from four to eight inches of snow.

Oglesby noted in her report that the DLE expired on Friday, Feb. 21, at noon.

The City Council voted 7-0 to adopt a resolution confirming the DLE.

At the Feb. 25 Southampton County Board of Supervisors’ meeting, County Administrator Brian S. Thrower spoke to supervisors about a DLE for Southampton.

“As you’re aware, we had a snowstorm last week in our area and one of the biggest I remember probably since I was a kid,” he said. “We had five, six, seven inches here, and a lot more in Virginia Beach and over that way.

“So I did issue a Declaration of Local Emergency, just as a precautionary measure, as all the other Hampton Roads localities did,” he added.

In his written staff report, he indicated that he made this issuance as director of emergency management.

“By state code, the governing body just has to confirm that we did have a local emergency by the attached resolution,” he said. “I believe the county has done this previously in years past, and it’s required by state code.”

The board’s unanimous decision promptly followed.

In the staff report, Thrower stated, “I would also like to thank all of the first responders, as well as county staff who served our locality during the snowstorm.”