Friendswood emergency director urges residents to sign up for alerts as hurricane season opens

Brian Mansfield, director of emergency services for the City of Friendswood, told the City Council on June 2 that the hurricane season had begun and urged residents to sign up for the city's emergency notification system.

"I'm entering my 25th hurricane season," Mansfield said, adding that the city's plans are "all hazard" and that staff are coordinating with local, state and federal partners, including the National Weather Service and power utilities.

City officials described work with power companies and regional emergency-management partners to shore up communications, update contingency plans and confirm contacts at senior centers and nursing homes. Mansfield said the city holds tabletop exercises with private partners, and city staff will present preparedness briefings to the chamber and the senior activity center this week.

Why this matters: Friendswood officials said post-storm debris removal and communications remain areas of concern. Those operations can be costly and depend in part on federal reimbursement levels, which Mansfield said are under discussion and may change. He urged residents to have personal plans and to buy flood or wind insurance now, before any storm activity triggers insurance holds.

Most important facts: Mansfield described contracts the city maintains for debris removal and monitoring and said they are being renewed so the city can respond quickly if needed. He warned that federal reimbursement rules are shifting, and that a smaller federal share would increase the city's out-of-pocket costs. "Right now typically we're at a 75% reimbursement," Mansfield said, and added that proposed federal changes could lower reimbursements or change thresholds for eligibility.

Council members pressed staff on communications after storms and on outreach to homeowners associations and small group homes. Council member Sally Branson and others urged broader outreach to HOAs and reminded residents that the city maintains an HOA contact list that needs updating. Mansfield said staff will continue to meet HOAs and the senior facilities management and that the city maintains a vulnerable-people registry it reviews and calls during events.

Mansfield described limits on the city's mass-notification tools: the city uses Friendswood Notify (the city's mass-notification contract) for urgent, geographically targeted warnings but avoids overuse for non-immediate items so messages remain actionable. "If you haven't signed up for emergency alerts, please do so," Mansfield said. He noted copies of information and printed notices will be posted at city facilities during outages.

On debris operations, Mansfield said the cost and scope vary with the event. For scale, he told the council the city spent about $3.5 million for debris pickup after a recent storm codenamed Barrel and about $5 million after Hurricane Harvey. He said some events generate debris that is largely uninsured and is therefore harder to recoup from federal sources.

Council direction and next steps: Council discussed whether to consider higher reserves or catastrophic insurance in the next budget because a lower federal reimbursement rate would affect the city's finances. Mansfield said those are policy questions for council during budget planning. He also encouraged council members to help disseminate preparedness materials and suggested staff will provide packets or talking points for council outreach to neighborhoods.

Ending: Mansfield reiterated that residents should sign up for Friendswood alerts and check flood and wind insurance coverage before storms arrive. "Now's the time," he said.