County deals with storm damage, rebuilding

COLDSPRING — The San Jacinto County Commissioners Court moved on several measures to begin digging out of the damage left by recent storms.

At the Wednesday regular meeting, commissioners approved hiring contractors on an emergency basis to deal with storm damage and approved an agreement with the American Red Cross for use of the county parking lot at the storm shelter.

Additionally, the court approved rates to haul road material of $10 per ton for precincts 1, 2 and 3 and $15 per ton for Precinct 4.

Emergency Management Coordinator Emmitt Eldridge said that as of Wednesday, the county was housing 43 people, 40 dogs and 11 cats at shelters, and as of last week, had received 242 damage claims amounting to more than $4.4 million.

Eldridge also said that the prediction for water release from Lake Livingston Dam is expected to grow to 132,000 cubic feet per minute because of the excess runoff. County Judge Fritz Faulkner at the height of the rains during Hurricane Harvey, the release was only 111,000 cfm.

In other business, the court approved a bond renewal for County Treasurer DiAnna Bailey.