An article with the recording link to this meeting was in our News Alerts digital newsletter on August 1st. In case you don't receive the newsletter or don't have over 13 hours to listen to the recording online of that meeting, here are highlights. You can sign up to receive our newsletter on our website www.sansabanews.com.
The Senate Committee on Disaster Preparedness and Flooding hearing took place in Kerrville, Texas, on July 31st. The recording online is approximately 13 and a half hours. That is a lot of testimony to comb through.
Counties that had been declared disaster areas from the flooding events were invited to testify to the committee.
Invited testimony from the county leaders was limited to 10 minutes each. The panels were told that the nine-member committee would also be free to ask questions during this hearing.
There were five counties represented on Judge Fauley’s panel:
• Judge Lane Carter of Tom Green County
• Judge Sheree Hardin of Mason County
• Judge Frank Trull of McColluch County
• Judge Jody Fauley of San Saba County
• Judge Brandon Corbin of Menard Senate Committee Chairman Charles Perry called Judge Fauley’s panel to the floor at five hours and 14 minutes into the 13 ½ hours of testimony.
Thirty minutes later, it was Judge's Fauley's turn.
Senate Committee Chairman Perry said that Judge Fauley taught him something. He noted that Judge Fauley had a very strategic evacuation plan, picked very clear sectors for evacuation. He said “You did a very good job that night.”
Jody Fauley then introduced himself to the entire committee and began his testimony. Here were just some highlights.
Recap of events
Judge Fauley gave a brief recap of the events and the flood levels.
July 4th, we received notice the San Saba River was on the move. He gave them a synopsis of floodwater levels and timing of the rise.
There was one passable highway in and out of our county. All major highways were under water, bridges and roads.
We did have a few hours to prepare and organized quickly. Sent out personal bodies, went door to door to hand out recommendation evacuation letters to get them out in time.
That subsided, and then a week later, as things were beginning to recover, it began to rain again. July 13th, received notice again, and had the second 70-year flood in one week.
Again, there was a lot of time to respond, and we had a quick response. Recommended and mandatory evacuations were handed out. We had numerous water rescues.
What helped in our county?
Experienced Emergency Management Coordinator. Marsha Hardy is local and has been in San Saba for years. She has done a fantastic job of being well trained and well in tuned with COG (Council of Governments) and the region around us as to resources.
We have a County Liaison Officer to TDEM,Wyatt Deans, dedicated to San Saba County and offices in the San Saba courthouse. He was born and raised in San Saba and knows the area very well. Wyatt Deans did a fantastic job.
TDEM state resources were in here in San Saba before the flood even completely hit us.
Having Marsha Hardy and Wyatt Deans was invaluable to San Saba county.
Within 15 minutes of the first alert, Judge Fauley, Marsha Hardy, and Wyatt Deans were in the Courthouse.
Within the hour, there was an Emergency Operations Center set up in the Commissioners Courtroom.
Before lunch, the evacuation center was set up, and notices were already going out to the public.
LCRA Hydromet was very reliable and made planning and preparation so much easier.
Concern expressed:
All the alarms we get are great, but we get many alerts a day. If the emergency alert system is used in that manner, it will be ignored when it is needed. It has to be only for those vast emergencies and extreme situations such as these floods.
Areas of need:
Agriculture - we are a ranching community; 90% of the river is ranches and pecan orchards. Lots of damage. No loss of life, but lots of damage. There are very few resources that are available on the agricultural side.
We’ve had many come, from many places, to help in our homes and in our community, but our Ag community has almost no one standing up to help except other ranchers in other communities.
Red Tape:
Most homes hit in San Saba County were impoverished homes. They don’t have money for flood insurance. Volunteers have come in and cleaned those homes, gutted, sprayed for mold, got them ready for rebuilding. And now, we are being told we have to wait another week for assessors to come in before we can rebuild. Their determinations could determine if you can even continue to rebuild.
Judge Fauley really went to bat for our citizens and flood victims. He told the panel that we have the materials and volunteers to rebuild those homes and get people back to their lives, but the red tape is standing in the way of helping these people.
He acknowledged to the panel that this is a federal policy and not a state policy, but he stated we really needed help. He told them that they need to realize every situation is unique, the flooding happens differently in each county, and the system has to be unique to each county to reflect that. One single piece of legislation does not fit everybody and every county.
This article is not a political ad for our Judge or other leaders. It is to let you know how your officials, elected and hired, are looking out for you. They take seriously what they were elected or hired to do. They sacrifice more than we realize. They are very alert to what is happening and what the county needs.
Be sure to thank them when you see them. And while you’re at it, pray that God will continue to give them wisdom as they lead and protect us, just like they do at the beginning of every meeting.