The Commissioners Court met Thursday afternoon and during its meeting County Judge Brint Carlton announced that the first tented shelter for Harvey evacuees will be opened in Orange County next week. The judge indicated after working with the City of Orange they found a suitable location for a tent shelter to house evacuees at the Boat Launch in Orange.
The tented shelter will be similar to the one already established in the Port Arthur area. The Texas office of Health and Human Services will help operate the shelter. Equipment for the shelter location began arriving on Thursday in Orange. The judge believes the complete shelter should be setup by Sunday evening. “The evacuees should start coming back on Monday,” Carlton stated.
The shelter will be on the parking lot of the Boat Launch and will accommodate about 250 people. Carlton informed that the area around the Boat Launch could be enlarged to include the grassy areas which would accommodate another 250 people if necessary. A third area might include the area around the old navy base which is owned by the Port District. Carlton estimated that area might hold an additional 150 people. At last report, there were an estimated 500 evacuees from the county that will be returning by buses next week.
The special called meeting of Commissioners Court was to allow it to receive Mutual Aid Agreements from municipalities in the county. The Commissioners unanimously approved accepting Mutual Aid Agreements from six municipalities in Orange County. The Agreements will allow the county’s contractor Ashbritt to pick up Harvey debris in those cities at the same rate FEMA charges for debris removal in rural areas. The only city that did not turn in a Mutual Aid Agreement was the City of Orange.
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