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Elbert County emergency management outlines ALERT/IPAWS integration, shelter recertification and Red Cross MOU
Summary
Emergency-management staff reported full IPAWS integration, shelter recertification with the American Red Cross, SBA/FEMA assistance totals, and asked the board to schedule adoption of a debris-management plan.
Aaron Warren, identified as a county bridge-management staff member, and the county emergency-management director (identified in the record as Dave/Darren) presented updates to the Board of County Commissioners on emergency preparedness and recovery work.
Warren reported that Elbert County achieved full approval and compliance with the integrated public alert and warning system (IPAWS), improving the county's ability to send notifications by radio, television and mobile devices. Warren said IPAWS integration with the regional dispatch center strengthens the county's alerting capabilities and maintains compliance with federal and state requirements. He also reported that, in partnership with the American Red Cross, the county has recertified all emergency shelters and is overhauling its mass-care and sheltering coordination to improve feeding, volunteer coordination and charitable-donation distribution during disasters.
Warren provided figures from Small Business Administration disaster-declaration assistance for the county: 9 household applicants approved for individual assistance (totaling about $315,800 distributed), two business applicants (about $31,700 distributed) and 14 economic-injury applicants. He said some recovery projects — including a rebuild of a critical “AgriBridge” — will include a county cost-share estimated around 12.5 percent; Warren said he has the exact number available but did not read it into the record.
Warren also previewed a community event, “Mulch Madness” in April 2025 in partnership with Mountain View Electric Association to reduce wildfire risk by accepting mulch and organic debris at no cost and distributing wildfire-mitigation information.
Separately, the OEM director presented a county debris-management plan and requested that the item be placed on a future board agenda for formal consideration; the director noted identified primary and alternate staging sites and said intergovernmental agreements would be required for some tertiary sites. Commissioners did not take a final vote on the plan during the meeting; the chair asked that the plan be scheduled for a future meeting.
Ending: The board received the emergency-management updates and directed staff to place the debris-management plan on a subsequent agenda for formal action.
