Law enforcement and emergency services got a boost Tuesday when the Hays County Commissioners Court okayed spending for the county’s early warning flood system and grants for crime scene analysis and communications.
The court approved a professional services agreement with Water and Earth Technologies related to improvements in the county’s Flood Warning System. The county has received grant money from the Texas Water Development Board for the improvements, including new water level monitoring stations at Soil Conservation Service dam sites, cameras at “critical locations” and rain gages at every existing low water crossing stations.
“This is going to be phase three of our early warning flood system,” county emergency services chief Kharley Smith told the commissioners.
Two of the new camera locations are Post Road and the “double crossing” of Onion Creek on Farm to Market Road
150. Gauges will be added at Blue Hole, Jacobs Well and Hugo Road, among other locations.
The commissioners also approved two grants from the Office of the Governor, Criminal Justice Division. The first is an $82,000 grant for the Hays County Crime Scene Analysis Solution project. Capt. Mark Cumberland of the Hays County Sheriff’s Department said the grant will allow for the purchase of new technology to improve crime scene analysis. The technology will enable the 3D diagramming of crime and accident scenes. The grant has no fund-matching requirements.
The second grant is $53,395.50 for the Hays County Incident Area Communications Project. The funds will help provide deployable communications operations for county emergency responders for use during incidents or call-outs requiring collaboration among responders. This grant also had no matching requirements.
The commissioners also approved two mental health-related items involving law enforcement and emergency personnel. The first is a grant application to the Office of the Governor, Criminal Justice Division, First Responder Mental Health Program for the Hays County Peer Network for First Responders project. The county’s project aims to provide services and assistance to peace officers and first responders who face direct and indirect trauma in the line of duty. The grant application will provide support for salary, benefits, training and supplies to begin the process of setting up a peer network for Hays County’s first responders.
The second mental health-related item is a grant application for the Hays County Mental Health Crisis Intervention project. The grant would help fund a certified mental health professional position in the sheriff’s office to assess and treat those in the field suffering an immediate mental health crisis. The position will be a collaborative effort with the Scheib Center.
