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~R~~/
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RERR COUNTY COMMISSIONERS' COURT
SPECIAL EMERGENCY SESSION
July 12, 2002
11:00 a.m.
Commissioners' Courtroom
Kerr County Courthouse
Kerrville, Texas
PRESENT:
FREDERICK L. HENNEKE, Kerr County Judge
H.A. "BUSTER" BALDWIN, Commissioner Pct. 1
WILLIAM "BILL" WILLIAMS, Commissioner Pct. 2
JONATHAN P. LETZ, Commissioner Pct. 3
LARRY GRIFFIN, Commissioner Pct. 4
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On Friday, July 12, 2002, at 11:00 a.m.,
a special emergency meeting of the Kerr County
Commissioners Court was held in the Commissioners'
Courtroom, Kerr County Courthouse, Kerrville,
Texas, and the following proceedings were had in
open court:
P R O C E E D I N G S
JUDGE HENNEKE: It's eleven o'clock
in the morning on Friday, July 12th, year 2002, and
I will call to order the Special Emergency meeting
of the Kerr County Commissioners Court. The topic
this morning is to consider and discuss the
presentation and FEMA procedure for flood relief
and also to hear a status report on the 2002 Kerr
County flood.
Before we ask Ms. Mary Ann Carlisle from
FEMA to come up and talk to us about the procedures
or whatever else we want to talk to her about and
ask her about, just a brief update on the flood, in
particular the issue of debris. I have been
wresting with BFI all week and have finally gotten
them to call me back, and they are working on --
they are working on obtaining three roll-off
dumpsters, to put one at the Comfort Little League,
one at the Center Point Lions Park, and one at the
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Hill Country Youth Exhibit Center.
I do not have prices yet; and, again, I
need the Commissioners Court to consider whether
they want to authorize me to go ahead and do that
or whether they want me to -- someone to reconvene
the meeting in order to approve that expenditure.
COMMISSIONER WILLIAMS: They can't
quote you a price?
JUDGE HENNEKE: Not yet. You know,
they're -- of course, they're scrambling to find
stuff too. I mean, they're -- but I do not have a
price, and I talked to the guy this morning again.
COMMISSIONER LETZ: It seems to me
just from when I've used them for personal, it's
about $190 per load.
Does that sound about right, Glenn?
MR. HOLEKAMP: That's pretty close,
yes.
COMMISSIONER LETZ: And that should
be a ballpark obviously. I don't think they're
going to -- you know, it maybe less, but...
JUDGE HENNEKE: You want to give me
the authority to approve not more than a thousand
dollars, I mean, which is -- if it's $200 a load,
that's five loads, and maybe that's not enough. I
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don't know how much is out there, how much people
will bring.
COMMISSIONER LETZ: Assuming that
they just dump the debris -- you know, what we're
really talking about is probably close to enough.
I mean, that's -- I mean, really one or two dumps,
I think, would be enough. Of course, if people
start bringing everything they own to dump in
there, I mean, who knows.
COMMISSIONER GRIFFIN: Probably
going to have some abuse.
COMMISSIONER LETZ: And I think
you're right. I think there will be some abuse,
but I think there will be some benefit, so we just
have to hope people are more or less honest. I
would say, yes, up to five dumps.
JUDGE HENNEKE: A thousand dollars?
COMMISSIONER LETZ: I make a motion
to authorize the County Judge to contract with BFI
up to a thousand dollars for large dumpsters.
COMMISSIONER WILLIAMS: Second.
JUDGE HENNEKE: Motion by
Commissioner Letz. Second by Commissioner Williams
that the Court authorize the County Judge to
contract with BFI for large roll-off dumpsters for
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an amount not to exceed a thousand dollars.
Any other questions or comments?
COMMISSIONER LETZ: The time period
to, you know -- I thought maybe have them for a
week only.
JUDGE HENNEKE: Okay, and, you know,
for everyone's, again, information, we're going to
put one at the Comfort Little League. We're going
to put one at the Center Point Lions Club, and
we're going to put one at the Hill Country Youth
Exhibition Center, and the purpose is for people to
be able to bring debris from the flood and deposit
them in the containers, and we're asking them to
bring only stuff that was -- that is damaged.
We're asking them not to haul large trees
and things like that. This is more in the
neighborhood of damage from a structure such as
furniture, carpet, sheetrock, stuff that's going to
create a health hazard if it's left in the pile for
a significant period of time.
COMMISSIONER WILLIAMS: Are we just
talking about seven -- a week? Is that what we're
talking about, one week?
COMMISSIONER LETZ: I think so,
because I think we need to get it off the streets
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and into the dumpster and if quick...
COMMISSIONER WILLIAMS: My question
is, a week from the time we authorize it or a week
from the time the dumpsters are put in place?
JUDGE HENNEKE: A week from the time
the dumpsters are put in place, which hopefully
will be today or tomorrow.
COMMISSIONER LETZ: Yeah.
COMMISSIONER BALDWIN: Let me ask a
question. Is there anything that BFI will not haul
to the landfill, I mean, like refrigerators, or is
there nothing like that that they won't --
COMMISSIONER LETZ: Car parts I know
they don't.
COMMISSIONER BALDWIN: Car parts.
JUDGE HENNEKE: And hazardous waste
like -- like paint.
COMMISSIONER BALDWIN: Well, that's
very wise. I like that.
Well, what if there is a pile of car
parts? Then what happens to those car parts? If
someone brings a pile of car parts and lays them
out there beside the dumpster, what do we do with
them?
COMMISSIONER LETZ: I would
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recommend -- and, again, I'm thinking people are
good people for the most part. If we could get --
even if just on a cardboard sign or something that
maintenance could put up a basic rule, This will be
here for flood debris only.
COMMISSIONER GRIFFIN: Household
flood debris.
COMMISSIONER LETZ: Yeah, household
flood debris only, and find out -- the Judge can
find out what we can't put in there. Do not put
these items in there, you know, something to that
effect, so that the public knows why that the
dumpster is there because everyone is not going to
read -- even though I'm sure that the "Daily Times"
would like everyone -- and the "Mountain Sun" would
like everyone to read the paper, there are many
people that don't.
COMMISSIONER WILLIAMS: And
qualifying it by "household" makes sense because I
already had a call this morning about some family
on -- backed up on Verde Creek wanted to know if
the County was going to pick up all the wood trash
that was left in their yard by the creek.
COMMISSIONER LETZ: The answer is
no.
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JUDGE HENNEKE: Yeah, the answer is
no.
COMMISSIONER WILLIAMS: Well, I
realize the answer is no.
COMMISSIONER BALDWIN: I still think
if people can get their stuff to a dumpster, they
can get it to the landfill too, but my only other
comment is how -- how are we going to vote when we
don't have an agenda item here?
JUDGE HENNEKE: Well, the Judge
would make the ruling that "consider and discuss
the status report on the 2002 Kerr County flood" is
broad enough to incorporate -- to encompass items
that would -- of this nature that relate to the
flood. If anyone wants to appeal that ruling of
the Court, they're welcome to, but I'm the one who
gets stuck with it one way or another.
COMMISSIONER BALDWIN: That's fine.
I just wanted to voice my concern about that.
COMMISSIONER LETZ: And I think the
other part of Mr. Baldwin's -- I mean, yeah, I
would agree that people could take it to the dump.
Basically the County is absorbing the cost to dump
these is what we're doing.
COMMISSIONER WILLIAMS: Right. It's
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economic.
COMMISSIONER LETZ: To encourage to
get the stuff off the street and out of these
residential areas, we're agreeing to incur the
costs, the -- basically the dump charge, because
clearly if they could get it to the dumpster, they
could get it to the dump, but then they'd have to
pay the dump fee, and many of the people that are
affected, certainly in eastern Kerr County, can't
afford that or wouldn't pay. So this is just a way
to try to help those people and get the debris
where it needs to be, which is in the dump.
JUDGE HENNEKE: Any other questions
your right hand. Opposed, same sign.
COMMISSIONER GRIFFIN: Reluctant.
COMMISSIONER BALDWIN: Reluctant.
JUDGE HENNEKE: The other issue I
would bring to our attention before we listen to
Mary Ann Carlisle, and if Mark has anything to
offer, Mark Beavers, is Stuart has approached me
about waiving the floodplain fees for anyone who is
-- whose property has been damaged by the flood and
needs to get a floodplain permit in order to
rebuild, which I think is entirely appropriate.
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COMMISSIONER GRIFFIN: We're talking
about the -- what -- how much is that fee normally?
THE COURT: It's a $200 fee.
MR. BEAVERS: $200, yes, sir.
COMMISSIONER GRIFFIN: So we're
talking about -- do we have a dollar value that we
can put on it or -- in other words, if somebody's
got $500 worth of damage but they decide to
rebuild, we're not waiving that fee, are we? In
other words, if it's declared uninhabitable by FEMA
or somebody --
JUDGE HENNEKE: No. The proposal is
anyone who has damage from the flood who has to get
a floodplain permit in order to rebuild, and I
think -- I think, renovation and repairs do not
require a permit. Is that correct, Stuart?
COMMISSIONER GRIFFIN: Nominal
repair would not.
JUDGE HENNEKE: Just someone who has
to qualify for construction.
MR. BARRONS: Yeah, you have to have
a permit. They said that -- from the people I
talked to at FEMA, they said that if it's just
carpet or maybe we have some trailer homes that
just got the bottom or the underside of the floor
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wet where they pulled out insulation, it's a gray
area.
FEMA can interpret their rules of
"anything in the floodplain has to have a permit,"
so they kind of left it up to me as to how many
permits we'll have to issue, but if they had more
than, I'd say, an inch to two inches in the home
and the house is in the hundred-year floodplain,
then it has to be permitted to -- before they can
go back in and rebuild.
JUDGE HENNEKE: And, again, we'd
only be talking about structures that were in the
hundred-year floodplain that were damaged, so...
COMMISSIONER BALDWIN: Well, I
agree with you, Judge. I mean, this is truly
helping somebody. This is really helping somebody.
COMMISSIONER WILLIAMS: I have
another question of Stuart, related, and you may
not be able to answer it. You may have to come
back with an answer, but we have some situations in
Center Point where flood waters took care of the
infrastructure -- the water infrastructure under
single and doublewides, took it out, which -- and
then the water was standing, and the pipes and so
forth is suspended in water, contaminated water.
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MR. BARRONS: Okay.
COMMISSIONER WILLIAMS: Any idea
that the UGRA lab might be able, after the people
get their pipes hooked back up, maybe testing that
water?
COMMISSIONER BALDWIN: Free.
COMMISSIONER WILLIAMS: Free.
MR. BARRONS: That'd be a different
division out there, but I can approach Jim with
that concern.
COMMISSIONER WILLIAMS: I'd
appreciate if you'd maybe see if you could elicit
an answer so that --
MR. BARRONS: Okay.
COMMISSIONER WILLIAMS: -- because,
you know, if the pipes are suspended in
contaminated water underneath for two or three days
and haven't been repaired for a week, once they're
rehooked up, there's got to be some contamination
in those pipes. The question is what and how do
you get rid of it.
MR. BARRONS: Okay. If they're on a
water source, I know that any water source that has
experienced flooding they have to come bring it up
to the lab. They're required to by TNRCC.
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COMMISSIONER WILLIAMS: They're
required to bring it to their lab? This would
be --
MR. BARRONS: To any lab.
COMMISSIONER WILLIAMS: Huh?
MR. BARRONS: To any lab that tests
water to check it for anything that -- any kind
of complete --
COMMISSIONER WILLIAMS: The
requirement is on the part of the homeowner or the
water source?
MR. BARRONS: On the water source.
COMMISSIONER WILLIAMS: On the water
source?
MR. BARRONS: Again, if it's a --
COMMISSIONER LETZ: Public water
system.
MR. BARRONS: -- public water
system.
COMI
this case, it is a
MR.
-- if that's -- if
their water tested
let your water run
KISSIONER WILLIAMS: Well, in
public water system.
BARRONS: Yes, sir, and that way
that's the -- if they've had
already, all you'd have to do is
in the house for a little while
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and get any of the contaminated water out of the
line, and then you'd have fresh water again.
COMMISSIONER WILLIAMS: You're sure
of that?
MR. BARRONS: Yeah, I am sure of
that, but I'm not sure if you just let the water
run, it's going to run it all out of the line
depending on where the -- you know, where the line
broke, how much mud got into it, things that like.
That may be on a case-by-case basis.
COMMISSIONER WILLIAMS: Okay. Well,
if you'd check into that, about the waiving of the
fees, if that has to be done.
COMMISSIONER LETZ: Stuart, one
question. This goes back to the rebuild fees. Is
there -- in all situations if there was a structure
that was damaged by the flood, that structure can
be rebuilt? Is that an automatic?
MR. BARRONS: No, sir.
COMMISSIONER GRIFFIN: With a
permit.
MR. BARRONS: Well, that's not even
correct either. If -- if the houses had less than
50 percent damage, which will be assessed by FEMA
and also in some instances by myself -- if they've
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had less than 50 percent damage, they can be put
back where they originally or where they are
presently built. If they've experienced more than
50 percent damage, they have to come in and -- both
of them have to get a permit. They have to come
into compliance with today's standards for
building, so you'd have to elevate or get out of
the hundred-year floodplain by whatever means
necessary.
There is another option that some of the
houses can be bought out by the County that are in
the floodplain. We don't have a lot of them in the
floodplain right now, in the hundred-year
floodplain. There's more in Center Point than
anywhere else in the county.
COMMISSIONER WILLIAMS: Right.
MR. BARRONS: And most of them --
there's a lot of homes in Center Point that have
experienced flooding, but a lot of those homes are
not in the hundred-year floodplain.
COMMISSIONER BALDWIN: Mr. --
Stuart, a couple of years ago we -- we allowed some
folks to put an OSSF system in the floodplain, but
buried it in a concrete box of some sort. I can't
remember the details. Do you have any idea what
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the status of that is? Was it damaged?
MR. BARRONS: Under the present
rules that we have now, any OSSF can be put in the
floodplain. It will have to be designed by an
engineer. There's quite a few of them that are --
well, I say quite a few. Depending on where you're
at.
COMMISSIONER BALDWIN: I remember
one.
MR. BARRONS: There's some of them
out in the floodplain.
COMMISSIONER WILLIAMS: You're
talking about -- might have been Wharton Road?
COMMISSIONER LETZ: Yeah, Wharton
Road.
COMMISSIONER BALDWIN: Uh-huh.
COMMISSIONER WILLIAMS: And water
didn't quite get up to those.
COMMISSIONER BALDWIN: Oh, okay.
COMMISSIONER WILLIAMS: Not quite.
Got dang close, but not quite.
COMMISSIONER BALDWIN: Okay.
MR. BARRONS: There's supposed to be
-- the reason the engineer has to sign off on them
is to make them flood proof. I don't know of
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anything that's flood proof after what we've seen,
so...
JUDGE HENNEKE: The issue of the
fees. Do we want to waive fees -- the floodplain
permit fee for damages that were structures?
COMMISSIONER GRIFFIN: If FEMA --
and the idea would be that if FEMA requires the
permit it would be waived for repairs or
reconstruction then --
JUDGE HENNEKE: For structures that
were damaged by the flood.
COMMISSIONER GRIFFIN: By the flood,
then we would -- if FEMA requires a permit, then we
would waive our fee for the processing of that
permit.
JUDGE HENNEKE: Is that a motion?
COMMISSIONER GRIFFIN: And I'll move
that.
COMMISSIONER LETZ: Second.
JUDGE HENNEKE: Motion by
Commissioner Griffin. Second by Commissioner Letz
that the Court waive the Kerr County fee --
floodplain permit fees for any structure that was
damaged by the 2002 -- July 2002 flood incident.
COMMISSIONER BALDWIN: And, again,
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Judge, you're ruling that that's broad enough for
us to take care of today.
JUDGE HENNEKE: (Indicated.)
COMMISSIONER BALDWIN: Okay.
JUDGE HENNEKE: And, again, for
everyone's understanding, we're not -- we do not
have the authority, and we are not waiving the
requirement that they go to the flood administrator
and get the permit? All we are waiving is the fee
for processing that permit.
Okay. Any other questions? If not, all
in favor, raise your right hand. Opposed, same
sign.
Okay. Those were the only things that I
have that, I think, required Court action.
Mark, do you have anything you want to
offer, Mark Beavers from the fire department?
MR. BEAVERS: No, not really. Mark
Beavers, Kerrville Fire Department. I'm curious as
to who is going to enforce, just out of curiosity,
this fee, this permit, what's going to keep
somebody from just building, rebuilding before
anybody enforces the fact that he has to have a
permit?
JUDGE HENNEKE: Just like any other
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regulation. You count on people with good sense to
abide by the regulations. If they don't want to,
the chances are they'll -- you know, we won't find
out about it, but I don't think people will do
that. One thing if they've applied for FEMA
assistance, they probably won't get any building
assistance until such time as they've got their
permit in hand, so...
MR. BEAVERS: I guess that's the
assumed process?
COMMISSIONER LETZ: Well, it's the
same as we have right now. You had to get a permit
to build in the floodplain now, and how do we
enforce that? The enforcement process is basically
if we find out that someone has done it, then
Stuart goes to them and says, you know --
MR. BEAVERS: Here's the rules.
COMMISSIONER LETZ: -- here's the
rules, and you need a permit, and in situations we
say you have to take it out.
JUDGE HENNEKE: Most of the builders
and surveyors know about the rules, so they advise
their clients, so we don't have a whole lot of
problem. Occasionally someone will build in the
floodplain without bothering to get an evaluation
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or a permit first.
COMMISSIONER LETZ: But rarely is
that a residence. Usually it's some sort of a
structure or something like that.
MR. BEAVERS: Thank you.
JUDGE HENNEKE: Thanks, Mark.
All right. At this time I'm going to
introduce Mary Ann Carlisle, who is with the
Federal Emergency Management Agency. I'm not
exactly sure what her title is, but she's full of
information and full of energy even having driven
in from San Antonio.
So I've asked Mary Ann to come this
morning, first of all, to explain, you know, what
the status is as far as FEMA is concerned, and,
secondly, to answer any questions any of the
Commissioners have regarding process, status,
available assistance programs. This is your chance
to talk to someone who will provide you with
information that you could pass on to your
constituents, so welcome, Mary Ann.
MS. CARLISLE: Thank you. Thank you
for inviting me here. Once again, my name is Mary
Ann Carlisle, and I am in community relations with
FEMA, the Federal Emergency Management Agency.
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Basically I work with the individuals. We have
public assistance and various -- the roads and the
bridges, and my responsibility is to work with the
individuals to see that they know that federal
assistance is available and how to apply for that
The way that I do that -- I am
fortunately or unfortunately the only community
service or community relations person in this
county, so I work very closely with the
community-based organizations, with churches, with
schools, any organizations that I can to help
disseminate information to your residents
throughout the county that federal assistance is
available and also how to apply for that
assistance
The other message that I get out is that
we have -- we're fortunate that we have a disaster
recovery center in the county that has been opened
this morning. We will keep that facility open as
long as it's being utilized, so it's very important
that we continually -- we as a county, continually
keep the word out that that facility is available.
The applicants are asked to go in there.
So many people want to deal with someone on a
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one-to-one basis, and that's their opportunity to
have their questions answered, to be able to go in
there and have help. If we've sent them materials,
paperwork to do, and they're confused or don't
understand the procedure, they can actually go in
and sit down with one of our people and have those
papers completed. So it's a really big asset and
I'm very, very pleased that this county has been
chosen to have that disaster recovery center. So
those are the two messages that I send out.
I do not work with the media at all. I'm
me in the areas that are devastated talking with
the victims, ensuring that everything is running
smoothly with them, and that's my goal here; and I
am strictly working in this county to be of support
and to ensure that the citizens are taken care of.
I do have a business card. I have two
telephones. I have a federal number that does not
work in this area, but when I am on my way back to
San Antone, you can catch me on the federal number,
and the city manager has seen that I have a local
telephone here with me, so that I'm on call and
will be available to you and the other people of
the community. I ask that you do not give this
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number to the general public.
I understand that you're getting a lot of
questions out there from your people, which is good
because we can know what's going on out there.
Please, if you would call me. If you hear things
like, Well, I called FEMA. They told me an
inspector would be out there. I haven't seen
anyone. They told me I would be hearing from them
in several weeks, and I have not heard anything.
These are the types of calls that I would
appreciate from you.
If you know of someone who is unable to
make our 1-800 call to make application for FEMA,
please don't hesitate. I will gladly go out to
their home and assist them, even make the call for
them if they're -- they're not able to do that, so
I'm at your beck and call. I want to give you my
business cards.
Also -- like I said, I want to reiterate
again that this disaster recovery center will be
available. Even SBA will be there. We're going to
have Salvation Army and a lot of different
organizations there so that we can -- they can
actually get the help that they need or be referred
as they go into the center.
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I'd like to just take a brief moment and
introduce you to our system and what happens so
that when people ask you, you'll know, you know,
what our basic system is. People make application
for federal assistance if they've had damages or
What they do is they have to call our
have some information here for you to take back to
your precincts. They call that application number,
and these operators have been trained and know what
questions to ask, because sometimes what people
consider important, they forgot other damages that
they've had or other heartaches or losses, and so
this operator can try and make sure that -- that
the information is obtained.
Approximately -- well, it looks like it's
going about every five to seven days, and five to
seven days after that call is made, they will
receive a call from a FEMA inspector who will come
out and actually inspect their property. He has a
computer with him, and all that information goes
directly into our computer site at the time. Then
within -- we say ten days, but it's running sooner
than that. I'd rather them be surprised than
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disappointed. They will be receiving notification
from us on what they're eligible for.
There's three messages that I concentrate
on passing along when I work disasters. The first
one is please make application if you've suffered
damages or losses due to this disaster. The second
thing is if you receive any paperwork that we're
requesting more information, you complete that
paperwork. Follow our system through.
The third message I like to give is when
you follow that procedure through and we determine
what you're eligible for, it's not mandatory that
you accept it. You can say, No, thank you. I'm
not interested in that. That's not what I want,
but I do feel that people owe it to themselves to
see what is available, and if it will help them, to
pursue the system, so those are the three things.
I've found that in working this for so
many years that there's a lot of confusion and fear
sometimes of local government or government,
period, and by reassuring them that they are not
committing -- once they make that call, they are
not committing to the results, that will be, you
know, forthcoming.
So that's all I've got. I can open it up
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for questions for individuals, and tell me what
you've been hearing. Tell me if there's any
concerns or ask me questions.
COMMISSIONER WILLIAMS: Let's go
back to your phone numbers, Mary Ann.
MS. CARLISLE: Yes.
COMMISSIONER WILLIAMS: Would you
give those to us, please.
MS. CARLISLE: Can I give you the
business cards?
COMMISSIONER WILLIAMS: Sure. Do
you know the local number that the city manager
provided for you?
MS. CARLISLE: Yes.
COMMISSIONER BALDWIN: Mary Ann --
MS. CARLISLE: Yes.
COMMISSIONER BALDWIN: One of the
questions I had the other day was, does this apply
to -- I mean, it applies to water damage in a home,
but does it have to be the river rising or a creek
rising and getting in the home? What if someone
lives on top of a mountain, very flat there, and
there's just so much rain that it came into their
home and did some damage there? Is that covered?
MS. CARLISLE: Any damages or losses
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due to --
COMMISSIONER BALDWIN: By water.
MS. CARLISLE: -- due to this
disaster.
COMMISSIONER BALDWIN: Okay.
COMMISSIONER LETZ: But it doesn't
have to be -- it could be wind damage.
MS. CARLISLE: It could be wind
damage, lightning.
COMMISSIONER BALDWIN: Oh, I see.
MS. CARLISLE: Any loss -- damages
or losses due to this disaster.
COMMISSIONER BALDWIN: Okay. Thank
you.
MS. CARLISLE: Yeah. Good question.
COMMISSIONER LETZ: Where is the
disaster center?
MS. CARLISLE: Where is the disaster
center?
COMMISSIONER LETZ: The address.
MS. CARLISLE: Ah, I just happen to
have some of these, and if you will take them back
to your areas. The more that -- that we get out of
here -- it's at Trinity Baptist Church. They have
graciously said that we could stay there as long as
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Not all counties in the disaster are
fortunate enough to get a disaster recovery center,
so that's why I'm so avid. I just recently --
well, in fact, about 20 minutes ago -- visited with
your Chamber of Commerce, and they're going to mail
one of these to 1100 businesses asking them to
please post these so that the public can see them,
and it keeps it in front of the public eye so that
they'll better utilize and be sure and go over
there.
Our system is not one hundred percent
perfect.	If	you hear -	- and	these arP	some of my
concerns,	and	this is -	- this	is what	happens
periodically on -- they're rare instances, but they
do happen where they just fall through the system,
and we want to make sure that the word gets out.
You know, go in there with any of your situations
or problems.
Also people that need clothing and all,
if they'll go into our center, or food, whatever,
we can refer them on. Disaster unemployment is
available also, so if they -- they had lost work
hours due to this disaster, they can go into the
local unemployment office and file for disaster
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unemployment.
We're going to offer, and you'll notice
on that brochure or on that flyer it says that
crisis counseling is available in many, many other
areas. So I'm going to be in all the areas
working. You'll see me everywhere.
What else have you heard or how can I
help you at this point? I know it's early.
Disasters are just like deaths. The people are in
shock, and then they go through the grateful
period, and then they go through the anger, and so
I'm used to all those. I've been around for about
eleven years in FEMA, so I can handle the angry
ones too, and a lot of times they're justified.
COMMISSIONER LETZ: Do you handle
agricultural losses at all or just --
MS. CARLISLE: No.
COMMISSIONER LETZ: Okay.
MS. CARLISLE: Yeah, sure don't.
Okay, questions?
JUDGE HENNEKE: What about
businesses? Do they follow the same basic process?
MS. CARLISLE: Businesses, when you
call the 1-800 number -- I used to be a 1-800
operator, and when you call that 1-800 number, they
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take business applications and also individual
applications. Businesses go under the Small
Business Administration, and a lot of people will
say, Well, you know, I don't want a loan. I can't
handle a loan right now, but there's some good
advantages, tremendous advantages during a disaster
time.
They have a lot more flexibility in being
able to set loan payments that are comfortable for
the applicants, long-term, low-interest loans; and,
you know, it would not behoove them to try to force
someone to take a loan out when they had no
capability of paying it back on individuals. So
business owners we encourage to call our 1-800
number, and once again, visit with our SBA. Visit
with our FEMA people. See what's available before
you -- you know, you drop the idea.
COMMISSIONER BALDWIN: Did you say
that the SBA people are at the center as well --
MS. CARLISLE: Yes.
COMMISSIONER BALDWIN: -- as you?
And are they there the same hours?
MS. CARLISLE: Yes. We work hours.
COMMISSIONER WILLIAMS: Mary, I've
got a situation where not only the rainfall --
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well, the rainfall contributed to a private dam
breaking, and then a wall of water came down and
messed up the contents of -- individually owned
contents in a storage shed -- rental storage shed
situation.
MS. CARLISLE: Uh-huh.
COMMISSIONER WILLIAMS: Can we
assume that those -- the contents of those
individuals who rented those spaces is -- are
eligible for -- the individuals are eligible for
FEMA assistance?
MS. CARLISLE: Gray area. The
reason being, FEMA is designed to help people to
become safe, sanitary, and secure. So that means
that we -- we get them -- move them -- you know,
bring them back to a place where they're safe,
sanitary, and secure, not with any additional
luxuries.
The reason I say "gray area" is because
if I'm storing antiques or goods in a storage shed,
and I'm not using them on a daily basis, it's a
little bit of an iffy. I would encourage them to
call. I never, never -- I don't qualify anyone
ever, but encourage them to call and let our
operators walk them through that -- through the
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system --
COMMISSIONER WILLIAMS: Okay.
MS. CARLISLE: -- because there's
other things that I don't know that might be
relevant to it.
COMMISSIONER WILLIAMS: Okay. Thank
you.
MS. CARLISLE: Yeah. We have help
-- another question I just thought ~f. For your
information we have a lot of questions. This is
not just help for homeowners. It is for renters
and businesses. So we can help them with the
contents if they are a renter, and, of course, the
structure would be -- have to go through the owner,
but contents we could help them.
Be aware that if they were -- had to move
out of their home that we can look at rental
assistance. We can look at lodging if they found
it necessary to have to go to a hotel, so there's
many, many areas in which we can help them, and
that's why we're here.
COMMISSIONER WILLIAMS: How many
people are in your center to take care of these
folks?
MS. CARLISLE: I haven't been over
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there today.
COMMISSIONER WILLIAMS: Okay.
MS. CARLISLE: And too, opening
today, we -- there might be more. We open up --
that center is a state/federal center. It's not
just a federal center, and so we encourage IRS and
all of the different departments to come in to be
able to help people; and so you'll see, you know,
Salvation Army coming in and other agencies to be
available, and we try to get as many people to
volunteer, agencies to volunteer to come in, so
that once, you know, they have applied, and we are
doing their paperwork and all, we can refer them
and say, Well, just go over to this table and let
them help you.
COMMISSIONER GRIFFIN: One question.
MS. CARLISLE: Yes.
COMMISSIONER GRIFFIN: Since we're
getting them safe, sanitary, and secure --
MS. CARLISLE: Yes.
COMMISSIONER GRIFFIN: -- that would
include then on a private property damage to a
water system or a septic system --
MS. CARLISLE: Yes.
COMMISSIONER GRIFFIN: -- as well as
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anything else? Okay.
MS. CARLISLE: Good questions.
JUDGE HENNEKE: Stuart, did you have
a question?
MR. BARRONS: Yes, sir. I was
wondering if I could get a list of all the damaged
structures in the county in the floodplain. I've
only had one person that's called me so far to
report any kind of damage, and I need to permit any
houses that are going to go back into the
floodplain, so if I could get a list of those, I'll
do the leg work in finding where that property is
located and whether they're in the floodplain or
not so I can permit those.
MS. CARLISLE: Okay. That's a gray
area in the Privacy Act. Once they call in and
make application with us --
MR. BARRONS: Well, FEMA is
requiring us to permit anything that's in an
uninsured floodplain to go back in.
MS. CARLISLE: I understand.
MR. BARRONS: I was hoping since
you're requiring that, y'all would be willing to
help us in locating them.
MS. CARLISLE: Yeah.
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JUDGE HENNEKE: Stuart, I think you
need to -- you need to take that up with your
contact at FEMA. That's not what Mary Ann does.
MS. CARLISLE: That's right.
MR. BARRONS: Well, they're calling
in to -- they don't call in to my contact. My
contact just says --
JUDGE HENNEKE: Well, you need to
make the request of your contact --
MR. BARRONS: Okay.
JUDGE HENNEKE: -- whether it's
permissible under this applicable federal law for
them to release that information to you. Okay?
MS. CARLISLE: Yes, thank you.
Questions?
JUDGE HENNEKE: Any other questions?
MS. CARLISLE: Wow. You guys had me
thinking this morning.
I hope to meet each one of you. Who
could provide me with a list or a map of the --
COMMISSIONER BALDWIN: I'm sorry.
That comes under the Privacy Act.
(Laughter.)
MS. CARLISLE: Okay.
JUDGE HENNEKE: The court
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coordinator, Ms. Sovil, will give you a list of the
commissioners.
MS. CARLISLE: Great, great. I
thank you so much for inviting me here.
JUDGE HENNEKE: Thank you.
MS. CARLISLE: Please take -- call
me. Call me. Let me help you, and anything that I
can do within the county, give me a call. Refer
other agencies to me in your areas if they would be
receptive to help me disseminating information, and
thanks.
COMMISSIONER BALDWIN: Thank you
very much.
JUDGE HENNEKE: Okay, thanks.
MS. CARLISLE: Okay, bye.
JUDGE HENNEKE: One final thing that
I had before we adjourn, I'm going to be gone next
week. I think I'm still going to try to go on
vacation, and I think it would be useful to have
one point of contact for the Court.
COMMISSIONER LETZ: (Indicating.)
JUDGE HENNEKE: And that's who I was
thinking about, so...
COMMISSIONER GRIFFIN: Second.
JUDGE HENNEKE: We'll just designate
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No. 1, Mr. Baldwin, to be the point of contact for
the Commissioners Court if anything that comes up.
So that means you get to go to all the meetings
I've been going to for the last week.
COMMISSIONER BALDWIN: And that is
good. Are we going to have juvenile court and
everything? Can I do that part?
JUDGE HENNEKE: No. It's just the
FEMA part.
COMMISSIONER GRIFFIN: You're going
to have your hands full.
JUDGE HENNEKE: Anybody have
anything else?
COMMISSIONER LETZ: Just a comment.
I think we found the railroad cars at Hermann Sons.
COMMISSIONER WILLIAMS: Really. How
far down were they?
COMMISSIONER LETZ: They just tipped
up we believe. They're right there.
COMMISSIONER WILLIAMS: Really.
COMMISSIONER LETZ: Now that the
water has gone down far enough. They're there, and
it appears that Leonard and I have already -- we're
talking and I -- you know, we're trying to figure
out -- it appears likely we'll be able to put them
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back in place.
JUDGE HENNEKE: Well, that's a good
thing.
COMMISSIONER LETZ: But that's
unknown still. Don't write it up in the paper yet.
MS. LAVENDER: We were down there
this morning.
COMMISSIONER LETZ: Well, we know
they didn't go far.
COMMISSIONER BALDWIN: That is great
news.
COMMISSIONER LETZ: Yes. Very, very
good news for me.
COMMISSIONER
everything just pushed them
COMMISSIONER
COMMISSIONER
up. Maybe you'll get in th
them and --
GRIFFIN: Gravel and
over.
LETZ: Yes, just --
GRIFFIN: Tilted them
=_re and dig out under
COMMISSIONER LETZ: Yeah. There
will be some expense to the County because we'll
have to get a crane to lift them again, which is no
easy task, and probably get a bigger crane than we
had last time, because of the limits of that crane,
but at least we know where they are.
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JUDGE HENNEKE: Anything else?
Okay, we're adjourned. Thank you all.
(Commissioners Court adjourned at
11:34 a.m.)
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STATE OF TEXAS X
COUNTY OF KERR X
I, Lisa C. Greenwalt, Deputy Official
Court Reporter in and for the County Court of Kerr
County, State of Texas, do hereby certify that the
above and foregoing contains a true and correct
transcription of what occurred in open session and
were reported by me.
WITNESS MY OFFICIAL HAND this the ~(,(ITM
day of e 2002.
~j. ,,
LISA C. GREENWALT, CSR 6067
Expiration Date: 12/31/03
Greenwalt Court Reporting
P.O. Box 294191
Kerrville, Texas 78029-4191
(830) 537-4223
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ORDER NU. ~7E44
AUTHORIZING CQUNI"Y JUDGE TO CONTRACT WITH PFI
On this the ic'th day of J~..{].y, ;=QiOc, upon motion made 6y
Commissioner L.etz, ser_onded by Commissioner Williams, the
C;our•t unanimously approved by a vote of 4-0-~D, a~"ithor-i~ation
for County .Judge to contract with PFI for large roll-off
d~ampsters for an amount not to exceed a thou"sand dollars.
ORDER NO. c7645
WRIVER OF FEE= FOR FLOOD VT.CTIMS
On this the loth day of ,J~_i1y, cQ~O=', upon motion made by
Commissioner Griffin, seconded by Commissioner Let z, the Co~_~r•t
unanimously approved by a vote of 4-0-0, waiver of the Ker•r-
Co~_inty fee -- floodplain permit fees for• any str•~act~_ir•e that
was damaycd by the J~_tly 200 flood incident.