Commissioners To Keep Co-Located Emergency Communications, 9-1-1 Facility In San Marcos

By, Terra Rivers, Managing Editor

On Tuesday, January 29, the Hays County Commissioners Court discussed the potential relocation of the combined Emergency Communications and 9-1-1 Response Center, which is part of the 2016 Hays County Proposition 1 Bond Package.

According to Judge Becerra, the item was placed on the agenda at his request to address constituent concerns he heard while campaigning thought out the county regarding the current floodplain where the new facility is planned to be located.

Judge Becerra said, “I’m the fiscal steward as well, but if people were to raise their hand and see who has had their lives affected by floods, flash flood alley. If we were to put a $5,000 price tag on every hand raised, I think we would cover any difference in price, so to me lives have a significant matter.”

Hays County Emergency Services Director, Kharley Smith, gave a brief presentation at the request of commissioners over an assessment of the project.

According to Smith, in 2014, the county performed assessments and feasibility studies for three properties including the property at Stagecoach Trail and a property in the Plum Creek subdivision in Kyle as potential sites for a combined facility for Emergency Communications and 9-1-1 Response Center.

The property at Stagecoach Trail was identified to be the most feasible of the three sites for the location of the facility. In 2014, the property was not identified by FEMA to reside in the 100-year flood plain.

Over the last week, Smith said staff had gone back and done a second evaluation and assessment of the Stagecoach site and an updated site in the Plum Creek Subdivision. According to the latest FEMA maps, the site at Stagecoach Trail is not located in the 100-year flood plain but borders the 500-year flood plain.

Both the Stagecoach Trail property and the Plum Creek property are located near railroad tracks. The San Marcos location has a manufacturer that stores hazardous chemicals close to its location while the Kyle location has several that store and produce hazardous chemicals.

Codi Newsom, Senior Project Manager for the 2016 Hays County Bond projects, provided commissioners with the results of a relocation analysis.

According to Newsom, the county has already paid invoices for a total of $6,820,000 on the project as of December 2018; the county is expected to be invoiced for $615,000 by the end of January for items, which are currently in progress.

Newsom said the cost incurred to date “does not include staff or stakeholder time that has already been invested in the project.” The estimate only includes the invoices received and paid by the county.

Newsom continued to say the estimated walk-away cost from the entire project would be between $6 million and $8 million. **This estimate does not include what has already been paid by the county.**

Also, she estimated a cost of $54,800,000 to take the project in a different direction and split the project into two facilities, relocating the Emergency Communications Center to Kyle. The original approved cost for the project was $41,260,000. To split the building into two, the county would be looking at an additional $13,540,000.

Newsom provided commissioners with a list of additional factors, which could increase the cost further for the relocation or redirection of the project.

The overall impact for the relocation of the project is projected to range between $26,975,000 and $28,975,000 with the additional staff and other factors needed for either option.

Commissioner Lon Shell discussed the history of the project and how the county has recognized the need for a co-located Emergency Communications and 9-1-1 center for 15 years.

“The government center site, though not perfect like I said, I believe fits our needs the best,” Shell said. “We have infrastructure in place. We have our departments that are there, IT especially onsite that makes a really efficient way for us to operate. The flooding concerns, we have seen two significant flooding events in that area, one which practically rained right on top of that part of town for a day. I know in my precinct here in San Marcos; at that time, I had homes flooding that were on the sides of hills. It was raining so much. That was very significant. We were always careful to capture those images of flooding events at the government center. One promise that I know we made to our voters when this was on the ballot, which this was part of our presentation, this site, this public safety building thing, which includes this law enforcement center and emergency communications center were combined,” Shell continued. “All of the material that was used to inform voters before that election, these buildings were combined there behind the Hays County Government Center. That’s what the voters voted on. And we had a commitment at that time not to spend a dollar more than they had approved, and I know we’re working very hard to make sure that’s happened. It’s been a very challenging project at both sites, but I can’t see spending $30 million more to move to a new site, which may have just as many concerns as this site.”

Commissioner Debbie Ingalsbe expressed concerns about other projects, which are relying on grant funding and is being done in connection with the bond project; if the facility’s completion is delayed, the county could potentially lose the grants.

Commissioners were set to discuss and possible action on the potential relocation of the facility. However, commissioners chose to close the discussion without a vote and moved into executive session.

In other news, the commissioners appointed John Scott Raven as the new Hays County Fire Marshall with a 5-0 vote. 

According to Smith, the Emergency Services Department has spent the last four months going through an extensive search for a fire marshal candidate; Raven scored the highest of the candidates reviewed for the position.

The department looked at certifications, character references, experience and supervisory skills; each candidate was also interviewed by participating members of local emergency agencies before the recommendation of appointment was brought to Commissioners.

Commissioners also passed a motion to establish a 35 MPH speed limit on Manchaca Springs Road.

According to Commissioner Mark Jones, the road currently does not have a speed limit, which is why the item was brought to the commission.