On Feb. 1, Mayor Brandt Rydell issued a disaster declaration for the city, which was extended for another seven days Feb. 6.
“During disasters, local governments are expected to use their own resources first during response operations,” according to a presentation Fire Chief Daniel Baum prepared for city leaders. “If local resources and mutual aid are insufficient, state assistance may be requested.”
Baum said the declaration was a prerequisite before any outside help will be seen.
“What that disaster does is it’s the first step in requesting resources or possibly getting some kind of reimbursement from either the state or FEMA at some point in the future,” Baum said. “Now, none of that has been determined yet, but that’s the first step. It’s like a check box.”
A disaster declaration also allows the city additional powers, including certain purchasing rules and ordinances being overridden, Baum said.
“If (the city has) to buy an emergency whatever, now you can do it without having to post an agenda and do a city council meeting,” Baum said.
As far as ordinances, Baum said the city is also temporarily waiving permit fees for people to restore electricity or make emergency repairs.
In the meantime, the city has been taking the additional steps needed to document the extent of damages for the state and federal governments.
Baum said residents who suffered damage can use the app of the Individual State of Texas Assessment Tool (iSTAT) Damage Surveys or fill out a form through the web site at https://damage. tdem.texas.gov/ “It’s basically an app you can use on your phone or computer to basically document the damage and estimated cost to repair,” Baum said. “That’s another way they gather data to meet that state threshold for potential federal assistance.”
