The Woodlands Township Board of Directors received a briefing on emergency preparedness that outlined new communications tools, generator installations at township facilities, cell‑tower and satellite backup options, and coordination efforts with utility providers and county partners.

Chief Buck, supported by staff including Leanne Peterson, Todd Stevens and William Pham, presented changes to the township’s emergency operations plan and described steps to improve grid reliability, public notifications and facility resilience before the next hurricane season.

Why it matters: township staff said the region faces an above‑average Atlantic season and that robust, multi‑channel communications and backup power for key infrastructure reduce health and safety risks when storms cause prolonged outages. The presentation said the legislature recently passed reliability‑focused bills after township advocacy, and CenterPoint will brief the board on its infrastructure changes at a future meeting.

Staff highlighted several near‑term and planned changes:
- Communications: the township will deploy Everbridge for multi‑channel alerts (email, text, voice) and has prepared a hazard‑messaging matrix and prewritten graphics for faster distribution. Staff said the township will expand its “sneakernet” options — printed notices and pickup points — for incidents when Internet service is unavailable.
- Generators and facilities: most major township facilities now have generators; the town hall generator was due to arrive in June and be commissioned by August. Fire stations and the parks campus already have or will receive full‑facility backup.
- Cell‑tower and network resilience: staff are evaluating about 11 cell‑site locations with partners; while most macro tower sites have generators, many small “streetlight” small‑cell nodes remain battery‑dependent. Staff discussed the operational limits of batteries and recommended generators or natural gas backup for critical sites.
- Satellite connectivity: staff reported that township facilities can use satellite services (e.g., Starlink) for operational purposes and potentially provide limited public access during extended outages; staff will bring a budget amendment to consider operational Starlink kits.
- Emergency response assets: the township maintains high‑water vehicles and boats (staff described multiple vehicle and boat assets available for rescue and evacuation) and follows FEMA NIMS guidelines in structuring its emergency operations center (EOC).

Chief Buck and staff emphasized preparedness actions for residents, including the township alerts web page and standard household preparedness items (72‑hour supplies, cash, battery‑powered radios and generator safety). The emergency operations plan bound for the board was described as an 82‑page document with NIMS‑aligned roles and an activation timetable. Staff also said they will continue coordination with Montgomery and Harris counties and utility providers on debris removal, power restoration and public communications.

The board voted to accept the emergency preparedness briefing. Directors noted the need to expand the sneaker‑net for printed communications, to finalize Everbridge configuration, and to consider Starlink or other satellite solutions where cell or ISP outages are likely to be persistent. The motion to accept the briefing was moved by Director Schneider and seconded by Director Schooley Gibbs; the motion carried.

Sources: emergency preparedness briefing and staff remarks during The Woodlands Township Board of Directors meeting; presentation materials in the board packet.