Neena Satija:
I think it’s very possible they will.
We have never seen a disaster like this happen so close to a legislative session. Usually, the session only meets six months out of every two years. On the other hand, I think the big question is, what is it? What is the system they’re going to pay for? Is it just sirens?
The experts we have talked to say it’s not just about the sirens blaring. It’s about having enough gauges in the river, having enough monitoring stations to inform those sirens to say, this is when you really need to get out, this is how high the water is going to get.
So it’s a pretty sophisticated system that you really need. And the question is, how much are state officials willing to pay? I would also note that local officials in Kerr County did not want sirens. They actually decided as part of their plan they were trying to get funding for that they didn’t want to include sirens.
So I think a lot of questions — a lot of unanswered questions about what exactly the state will pay for, what local communities are going to ask, and how much money the state decides they’re willing to front for all of this. It’s going to be not just a million for Kerr County, but I think you could get into much higher numbers when you’re talking about other communities and having the best system you possibly can.
