2003-07-14
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SPECIAL JULY TERM
HELD JULY 14, 2003
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THE STATE OF TEXAS
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COUNTY OF CALHOUN
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BE IT REMEMBERED, that on this the 14th day of July, A.D., 2003, there was
begun and holden at the Courthouse in the City of Port Lavaca, Said County
and State, at 4:00 P.M., a' Speci~l;~erm of the Commissioners' Court, within
said County and State, and there were present on this date the following
members of the Court, to-wit:
Michael J. Pfeifer
Michael J. Balajka
Roger C. Galvan
H. Floyd
Kenneth W. Finster
Anita Fricke
County Judge
Commissioner, Pct. 2
Commissioner, Pct. 1
Commissioner, Pct. 3
Commissioner, Pct. 4
County Clerk
PURPOSE 01' MEETING:
Judge Pfeifer Announced this Emergency Commissoner's Court Meeting was being
held due to the Hurricane Claudette, out in the Gulf of Mexico, and everyone
was waiting for the telephone conference call between weather personnel from
Brownsville to Louisiana.
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CONFERENCE CALL:
The weather bureau from Houston-Galveston area reported there was a hurricane
or tropical storm warning for North Central Coast; at last time the storm was
at Lat. 27.5 N. and Long. 93.1 W. or 255 miles East of Corpus Christi and 166
miles Southeast of Galveston. Winds were at 100 mph and classified as a
catagory one storm. It was stated that they were looking for the storm to
make landfall in Port O'Connor around 7:00 p.m. on Tuesday.
Corpus Christi was reporting North tropical winds and storm tides 2 - 4 feet
up to Rockport; from Rockport to Lavaca Bay the tides would be 3 to 6 feet
and 1 to 3 inches of rain would fall Monday night with isolated tornados.
Judge Pfeifer inquired as to clarification of wind speed on impact to the
Port O'Connor area. Corpus Christi advised it would be the centerpoint where
the storm would make landfall and the hurricane center has 75 mph winds and
gusting at 90 mph at landfall and with rapid decrease as the storm moves
inland.
Judge Pfeifer also inquired as to when the rains would start in Port O'Connor--
Corpus Christi replied rain bands and tropical storm force winds would begin;
early Tuesday morning, around 8:00 a.m. and also might have rain bands Monday
night in advance of tropical storm force winds. The wind speed of the storm
at 4:00 p.m. Monday afternoon was 65 mph.
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Path of storm after landfall should move through southern part of San Antonio,
head to south part of Del Rio and end in Mexico.
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Next conference call will be at 10:00 p.m. Monday night and the following
call would be at 4:00 a.m. Tuesday morning.
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GENERAL DISCUSSION:
Voluntary evacuation - Chief Deputy Mark Daigle advised the Court that Schicke
Point, Port Alto and Olvia area have been advised to evacuate. They were in
the process of advising River Bottom area, Port O"Connor and Magnolia Beach to
evacuate on a voluntary basis.
Commissioner Finster stated the water was still down in Port O'Connor, but
people were making preparations to secure their properties and the Department
of Public Safety was helping to keep the traffic moving.
Sgt. Garza with DPS advised the National Guard had been advised of the storm
and they stated they had three helicopters, various types of vehicles and
search teams available at the Victoria Airport.
Melvin Strong estimated it would take 14 hours to evacuate the county, of
course there is no mandatory evacuation, it is all voluntary.
Mark Daigle addressed Henry Barker, EMS, about ambulance service. Mr. Barber
said he thought they would stop services when winds reached 40 mph, unless
they found they couldn't handle the winds at a lower rate. At that time they
would decide if they would continue.
Hospital and nursing home making their own plans.
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Highway personnel advised the causeway would not be closed, unless water rose
over the highway and it was impossible to get to the causeway.
Calhoun County Independent School District and Senior Citizens offered their
buses for evacuation.
Judge Pfeifer announced it was time to decide whether to ask the County for
voluntary evacuation. Motion was made by Commissioner Michael Balajka and
seconded by Commissioner Roger Galvan to activate the CAM system for voluntary
evcauation of Calhoun County - motion passed.
Judge Pfeifer stated the Commissioner's Court recommended that the main Court-
house, Courthouse Annex and other county offices be closed on Tuesday, July 15,
2003 and Wednesday, July 16, 2003 and would reopen for business at 8:00 a.m.
on Thursday, July 17, 2003. Depending on the damage after the storm comes
ashore, closures might be revised. Contact Judge at 553-4600 or 553-4400.
Judge Pfeifer made Motion for closure of Courthouse, Courthouse Annex and
other county offices, seconded by Commissioner Balajka, motion carried.
THE COURT, ADJOURNED at 4:55.P.M.
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1.',- 771
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