• David Tewes •
• Originally published April 13, 2009 at 10:24 p.m., updated April 13, 2009 at 10:24 p.m.

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• Burn ban remains

  Victoria County's ban on outdoor burning continues in effect, including the prohibition on trash burning.

  The commissioners court agreed Monday to leave the ban in effect based on a recommendation from Ron Pray, the county fire marshal.

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Burn ban remains

Victoria County's ban on outdoor burning continues in effect, including the prohibition on trash burning.

The commissioners court agreed Monday to leave the ban in effect based on a recommendation from Ron Pray, the county fire marshal.

"The rain we were expecting this weekend did not occur," he said. "We're expecting more dry fronts and low relative humidity."

Victoria County could have an emergency operations center capable of withstanding 170 mph winds by the start of the 2010 hurricane season.

The county has been approved for a $1 million U.S. Department of Homeland Security grant to help pay for the center. It will be in the basement of the courthouse annex.

"We will have a state-of-the-art facility," County Commissioner Gary Burns said Monday. "It's something we're going to really need."

The joint city-county emergency operations center is currently in the city-owned 700 Main Center. But the aging building has suffered foundation failure, and city officials don't think the building could withstand a Category 3 hurricane.

Joyce Dean, the county's director of administrative services, said the current emergency center has 987 square feet. The new one would have 18,000 square feet and could serve as a regional facility for seven counties and for state and federal personnel.

The county's grant request was rejected last year, but Dean said the regional approach probably helped the county garner enough points to get the money this year.

"There was a lot of hard work in this project," she said. "It was a combined effort."

The county hopes to combine that grant with another being sought through the Coastal Impact Assistant Program. It's for $455,000.

"The plan is that very little will come from local dollars," Dean said. "It will come from grant funding."

The city and county have also each committed to a $100,000 match.

The county's grant request states the existing emergency center is less than 100 yards from an active rail line that carries hazardous materials daily. It's also near trucks hauling hazardous materials on U.S. 87, U.S. 77 Business and U.S. 59 Business.

The new center would be on an underground electrical grid, and it would have a generator for backup power. It also could provide room for an emergency center for Exelon if the company decides to build a nuclear plant in the county.

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