Cooke County adopts 2025 hazard mitigation plan to preserve eligibility for FEMA mitigation grants

Cooke County Commissioners Court approved a resolution adopting the Cook County 2025 Hazard Mitigation Action Plan, a FEMA‑approved update the county says is required every five years to remain eligible for certain mitigation grants.

Emergency management staff told the court the county requested and received state and FEMA grant funding to update the plan and that H2O Partners led the roughly year‑long process. "Once they adopt it, they're then eligible to apply for any mitigation projects through FEMA," the presenter said, citing flood control projects and generator procurement as examples.

The nut graf: Adoption by the county and other local entities — including independent school districts and incorporated communities included in the plan — is a precondition for those jurisdictions to seek FEMA mitigation funding under the updated plan.

The presenter said FEMA reviewed and approved the plan; the county, school districts and municipalities that participate must adopt the plan locally to preserve eligibility. Commissioners voted to pass the resolution; the court recorded the item as approved 3–0 with two members absent.

Implementation steps noted in the meeting include outreach to participating jurisdictions for their formal adoption and subsequent grant applications for mitigation projects identified in the plan.