The bond election for flood mitigation is the year’s high point
Harris County Judge Ed Emmett was introduced by state Representative Garnet Coleman on the tenth anniversary of Hurricane Ike making landfall to a sold out crowd at NRG Center. Sounding upbeat in his analysis of the past year, Judge Emmett says during Harvey government leaders at every level, city and county, state and federal, plus business and industry leaders and academia, came together to find solutions to the dire circumstances that had enveloped the community.
“Since Hurricane Ike we’ve had other events, Tax Day, Memorial Day floods, and of course Harvey. Harvey was the ultimate game changer,” Judge Emmett tells KTRH News. “I think it brought everybody to the reality that we have to pay attention to mitigation, and resilience and flood control.” The Judge especially pointed out the passage of a $2.5 billion bond as a demonstration of residents’ new-found commitment to addressing preparation for future storms. The measure passed with 86% support in August.
“The bond. I have to keep going back to it,” he says, drawing attention to the almost two dozen meetings the county held with residents allowing for their input and answering their questions. “The public engagement sessions where the public met face to face with County workers, I think there’s a sense of engagement and partnership that we didn’t have a year ago.”
Emmett told the audience that the day the measure passed was the day “Harris County became truly Harris County Strong.”