The City and County websites have had flood victim information since the flood. They have posted information in the newspaper. Information has been on many official Facebook pages. However, there was still concern that some folks were not getting the much-needed information.
To make sure every flood victim had a chance to get their questions answered, a meeting was planned on Thursday,August 21st. Members of the San Saba County Long Term Recovery Group called everyone on the list from TDEM and HCCAA. In addition to phone calls, notices were put on the doors of the homes. Every effort was made to notify the flood victims about the meeting.
In the call, here is what the citizens were told, “I am calling for the San Saba County Long Term Recovery Group. We are inviting all those affected by the flood to join us for a meeting on Thursday, August 21.
“The Long Term Recovery Group has invited county and city officials to attend this meeting to provide an update on what happens next as you recover from this natural disaster. The officials will be available for questions and concerns that you may have.
“Please join us on Thursday, August 21, at 6:30 p.m. at St. Mary’s Parish Life Center.”
Out of the 100 people expected, approximately 90 were in attendance.
There were several public officials invited to the meeting; each gave an update and made comments on their areas of jurisdiction.
Judge Fauley started the meeting and covered most of the details governing the National Flood Plain regulations. There were many questions during the Judge’s presentation, so some of the other topics were covered. The others followed with an update on their respective areas.
Other speakers included: San Saba County Emergency Manager Marsha Hardy (she is also the Flood Plain Administrator); Trish Turner, Chief Appraiser-Central Appraisal District of San Saba County; Mayor Ken Jordan; City Manager Scott Edmonson; and a FEMA representative.
The meeting lasted about an hour and a half followed by several people staying and having one-on-one discussion with county and city officials and Long-Term Recovery Group members.
I asked City Manager Scott Edmonson and County Judge Jody Fauley for information and their thoughts on the meeting.
From City Manager Scott Edmonson:
This meeting was organized by the San Saba County Long Term Recovery Group (LTRG)Communication Committee. The intent was to create an informal space for those affected by the floods to hear from the officials and volunteers who are trying to help the community recover from this natural disaster. It was the decision of the LTRG to hold an invitation-only gathering, without media, to facilitate a question-and-answer session that was relative to the concerns of those affected by the floods. There was no attempt to keep information a secret. Everything that was discussed has been posted on the websites and Facebook pages of the Judge, the City, HCCAA and the new pages of San Saba Strong Long Term Recovery Group (SSLTRG). As the LTRGCommunication Committee gets further into the recovery process, it was apparent that not everyone has access to electronic communications, therefore, this gathering was scheduled to offer another opportunity for those affected by the floods to receive information.
For anyone wishing to get information on the recovery process, you may go to the official website and Facebook page: San Saba Strong Long Term Recovery Group or contact county and city officials to get the correct facts. All the officials presenting at the meeting have an open-door policy. Contact them if you have any questions or concerns. Don’t let the rumor mill be your source of information.
County Judge Jody Fauley posted the following on his Facebook page on August 25th:
Good Morning San Saba. Let's take a moment and discuss the meeting from Thursday, August 21, and address an alarming rumor. I will start off by saying, if you have questions or concerns, go to the source. Making up rumors or assuming someone with no first hand knowledge has the facts leads to discourse, distrust and halts progress.
RUMOR: Donated funds for those damaged by the flood have been given to non-profits and not to those damaged in the flood: BLATANTLY AND COMPLETELY FALSE. Anybody spreading such a lie should be ashamed.
Three non-profits (HCCAA, Ministerial Alliance and First Baptist Church of San Saba) responded immediately at the start of the flood and created designated donation accounts for flood victims so people could donate to a trusted 501(c)(3) organization. Those funds will be used only for flood victims. We, your elected officials and other community members, are attempting to locate more funds (like those raised at concerts for flood victims) to add to those accounts so that there will be enough funds to truly help our neighbors in the rebuilding process.
Regarding the meeting on August 21: San Saba Strong - Long-term Recovery Group hosted a meeting for individuals who had property damaged in the flood. This was not an open to the public meeting, but a meeting specifically designed to provide information, and answer questions, for those directly damaged in the flood. San Saba Strong invited myself, Marsha Hardy (flood plain administrator), Mayor Ken Jordan and City Manager Scott Edmonson to speak and answer questions. TDEM and FEMAhad representatives there as well for questions.
There was no prior media request to attend the meeting. The host did request an out of town newsperson who had placed a camera at the front door to leave out of concern that some members of the public would not attend due to the camera. While some prior communication would have resolved the issue, the host wanted all attendees to feel welcome and free to ask questions without fear of cameras. Interviews with that same media outlet have been scheduled during this week.
The meeting, in my opinion, was a great success as a lot of confusion and questions were addressed. The community asked direct and legitimate questions. While we are all frustrated that this process has not moved faster, I felt most community members left understanding the process better than before. It was requested by the community to have another meeting once the home evaluations are received. All invited speakers agreed that would be a great way to continue to communicate directly to the ones harmed by the flood.
If you were damaged by the flood and did not get contacted for the meeting, please contact HCCAA [www.sansabastrong.com or (325) 372-5167] and make sure they have your information for the next meeting.
If you were damaged by the flood and the Substantial Damage Evaluation team did not come to your home, please contact Marsha Hardy with your name and information so that it can be arranged.
Summary Of Meeting: (Very Brief)
San Saba County and the City of San Saba are required to comply with the National Flood Insurance Program by FEMA.As such, no repairs from flood damage can occur in a home located in the 100 year flood plain without a flood application permit approval by the Flood Plain Administrator. Only 25 applications had been received at the time of the meeting. Applications (as well as information on the National Flood Insurance Program and Process) were available for all attendees.
Before the Flood Plain Administrator can legally approve a flood plain application permit, a Substantial Damage Evaluation must be received by the Flood Plain Administrator. This has been the biggest part of the delay. It took weeks, and many hours, of meetings and phone calls to obtain access to a Substantial Damage Evaluation Team. That Team took a day off from doing evaluations in Kerr County on Sunday, August 17, and came to San Saba. The Team believed they evaluated all damaged homes that day (the evaluation is done purely on the exterior and did not require anyone to be present to perform). Thanks to the meeting, we are aware of at least 2 homes that did not get evaluated. If you believe your home was not evaluated, please contact Marsha Hardy.
Once evaluations were completed, the results were to be ready within 2 - 3 days. To date, we have not received the reports from the Substantial Damage Evaluation Team. The team worked a 12 hour day in San Saba on Sunday and were immediately back doing evaluations in Kerr County on Monday. We are in constant request with the Team to present San Saba with our results so the Flood Plain Administrator can begin responding to applications. The substantial damage evaluation of cost of damage repair versus the value of the home has been discussed many times in prior messages so please reference those messages if you have questions as well.
Next Step:
As soon as the Flood Plain Administrator receives and processes the Evaluation reports, homeowners will be notified of their status.
1) An Evaluation that the cost to repair is less than 50% of the home value, the Flood Plain Administrator can approve the application.
2) An evaluation that the cost to repair is more than 50% of the home value, the Flood Plain Administrator can only approve the application once the homeowner shows they are rebuilding in compliance with the Base Flood Elevation requirements of the National Flood Insurance Program by FEMA.
Once the Flood Plain Application is approved:
• A home inside the city limits: the homeowner can then contact the City of San Saba for their building permits.
• A home outside the city limits, the homeowner can begin repairs in accordance with their application.
Needs:
Many of our damaged homeowners may fall in the over 50% scenario. That means the cost of rebuilding will be high. They need all of our help. While all of us are happy to get out and physically help, many homeowners will not be able to afford the materials and qualified persons to help them rebuild. While we are all appreciative of the donations to date, much more is needed to assist our families. If any of you have contacts with the groups that have handled any of these large fundraisers, please reach out to them on behalf of our neighbors.
Sorry for the long post, lots of information. As I have stated numerous times, I am very proud to be from San Saba. Our Community has stepped up to take care of our neighbors and, while we are all frustrated with the delay of working with the federal guidelines, we are all ready to stand by our neighbors throughout the rebuilding process. We are San Saba and we are San Saba Strong.