Uvalde County has accumulated $5,925,000 in grant funding to go towards establishing a new Emergency Operations Center which will serve as an emergency communications hub for the region.
By Michael Robinson | Uvalde Hesperian
10-29-24
Uvalde County Commissioner’s Court met on Monday, October 28th where Uvalde County Grant Writer Carl Esser presented a new FEMA allocated EOC grant award of $2,250,00 to go toward funding the completion of the Uvalde County Emergency Management Operations Center (EOC) located on 207 South Getty Street which was formerly the location of the American Lumber Company.
Esser provided the following background on the project:
Feb 27th, 2023: Uvalde County purchased the American Lumber Company Building at 207 South Getty Street $725,000 with Pandemic American Recovery Plan Act Grant Funding
March 13, 2023: Uvalde County adopted a resolution for FY 2024 Community Project funding requesting from the U.S Department of Homeland Security $2,250,000 with 25% match of $750,000 totaling a project cost of $3 million dollars to renovate the existing American Lumber Company Building.
June 22nd, 2023: Congressman Tony Gonzales announced that the Homeland Security Funding Package had passed the U.S. House Appropriations Committee including $2,250,00 for the Uvalde County Emergency Operations Center buildup.
October 15th, 2024: Uvalde County received their grant award letter from the Texas Division of Emergency Management for the EOC $2,250,000 (Federal share) and a local share of 25% for $750,000. The local match will include $725,000 that was the building’s purchase price with an additional $25,000 in-kind match over the course of the grant with no additional Uvalde County match required.
The new FEMA grant’s period is from September 1st, 2024 through August 21st, 2024. The County has 3-years to complete the project.
According to Esser the new EOC will serve Uvalde County and surrounding counties to serve as a one stop center to manage, mitigate, respond to both man-made and natural disasters to better equip smaller adjacent counties with needed resources.
According to Esser, Construction has not yet started on the new EOC. According to Esser the Uvalde County Commissioners will be visiting other counties where their respective emergency operations centers have been upgraded.
Texas County Emergency Management Center links of interest
Dallas County breaks ground on $40 million emergency operations center | Community Impact
