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Facilities director urges countywide high-water safety committee to map routes and signage
Summary
Justin Harris, director of facilities, told the board that recurring high-water events confuse visitors and strain emergency services and asked the county to support a committee to designate safe routes, permanent signage and grant applications to reduce risk.
Justin Harris, director of facilities (as he identified himself at the meeting), asked Orange County commissioners to back a countywide committee to develop a high-water safety plan for resorts, residents and through traffic.
Harris said the problem is practical: when state highways flood, visitors and delivery drivers follow consumer navigation apps onto unsafe local roads and bridges, creating rescue demands for county crews. "We refuse to call it a flood safety plan," Harris said, describing the work as a high-water routing and safety effort intended to keep commercial traffic off local streets during events.
Harris asked the board to appoint a commissioner to participate alongside technical staff (Rick Emerick and Carl Anderson) and representatives of nearby towns, citing private-sector interest — including a local Walmart store manager — in identifying and signing permanent, durable routes for high-water events. He suggested a mix of communications tools (local radio, social-media updates, and physical signage) and said a committee could seek grant assistance where eligible.
Commissioners discussed funding options and cited House Bill 1461’s community-crossings language as a possible source for low-water-crossing or signage projects. County staff said they would research the bill’s particulars and connect the committee with grant contacts and state representatives.
The board did not take a formal vote to create a committee at the meeting but agreed to collect member names and return the proposal for formal approval at the next meeting. Commissioners asked staff to add county and town representatives to an email list and requested a committee report with proposed routes, signage types and potential funding sources.
