Commissioners approve office space, in‑kind support for long‑term flood recovery group

Jamie Johnson, director of the Resiliency Center, asked the court to allow the newly forming Uvalde United Long Term Recovery Group to sign an MOU to use county office space to coordinate long‑term flood recovery efforts. Johnson said best practice and recommendations from the Texas Division of Emergency Management (TDEM) support housing long‑term recovery where established recovery relationships already exist.

"I identified, like, utilities, Wi‑Fi, pest control, janitorial services, and supplies, and figured the portion that the long term recovery group would need to contribute to the building… comes out to about $56 a month, but I rounded it up to $60," Johnson said. Johnson asked the court whether the group should pay the $60 monthly share or whether the county would cover it as an in‑kind contribution. County staff and commissioners discussed fiduciary safeguards, separation of funds, and a fiduciary umbrella/grant administrator to keep flood‑recovery funds separate, per TDEM guidance.

Commissioners expressed support for housing the long‑term recovery effort in the county building and approving the in‑kind contribution; the court approved the request with a motion recorded as carrying 4‑0. Staff clarified that funds tied to other grant programs (e.g., resilience center funding) would not be used for flood recovery and that the recovery group will maintain separate financial records and a fiduciary arrangement.

Next steps: staff will finalize an MOU with the recovery group and record the in‑kind contribution; the court will monitor that grant restrictions and TDEM guidance are followed.