County turns to grants to beef up SWAT, HazMat

Hays County is applying for numerous grants to boost the capabilities of its SWAT and HazMat response teams and emergency preparedness in general. 

At its meeting Tuesday morning, the Hays County Commissioners Court gave the green light to applications for five grants from the Office of the Governor Homeland Security Grants Division to help with matters ranging from radiation detection to soil moisture studies. Emergency Management Coordinator Kharley Smith addressed the court briefly on what the grants would cover. She also noted that the grants have regional benefits, and applications go through the Capital Area Council of Governments (CAPCOG). The grants require no matching funds from the county.

The first grant would give $104,860 for new robotic equipment and technology for the SWAT Team. Smith said the grant would bring the county SWAT team to “the next level of capabilities.”

Two other grants would assist with hazardous events forecasting and a soil moisture index and monitoring network that would be integrated into the county’s early warning system. The forecasting grant would provide $65,976 for a weather balloon to provide real-time data to emergency management personnel to help predict outcomes of potential hazardous situations. The county would work with researchers from St. Edward’s University in Austin to provide data collection and analysis. The soil moisture index and monitoring network, for which a grant would provide $415,837, would similarly provide better understanding of the likelihood of flooding, Smith explained. 

“An inch of rain is different when the ground is saturated versus when the ground is dry,” she said. 

The final two grants are for equipment and maintenance of equipment for the Hays County HazMat Team. One would provide $87,620 to purchase radiation detectors and chemical identifier equipment, and the other would provide $20,000 for maintenance of the HazMat Team monitors that will increase the lifespan of those monitors. 

The commissioners approved all the grant applications and voiced gratitude for the county’s grants department.

“They’re working really hard in the background … but all these applications require man hours and lots of work,” County Judge Ruben Becerra said. 

Precinct 1 Commissioner Debbie Gonzales Ingalsbe also thanked the grant department for their work on “all the grants that we apply for.”