Polk County and Prairie Meadows Provide Flood Relief Funding to Fort Bend County, Texas

Today the Polk County Board of Supervisors approved a resolution that will provide $25,000 to the Fort Bend County Office of Emergency Management near Houston, Texas. Prairie Meadows Racetrack and Casino will provide an additional gift of $25,000. The funding is in response to unprecedented and widespread flooding caused by Hurricane Harvey that has displaced hundreds of thousands of residents and is quickly depleting local resources.

There are numerous state and federal programs that will provide relief but this funding will allow Fort Bend County more flexibility to meet any special circumstances and needs of their residents that might not be provided by those programs. “It’s heartbreaking to see the images of the flood victims and we are fortunate to be able to provide funding that will help provide much needed resources,” said John F. Mauro, Polk County Board of Supervisors Chair.

The Polk County Emergency Management Department has worked closely with the Fort Bend Office of Emergency Management in the past. In 2014 Polk County Emergency Management Director A.J. Mumm taught an Emergency Operations Center management course in Fort Bend County and has worked with Fort Bend County Emergency Management Director Jeff Braum as adjunct instructors for the Texas Engineering Extension Service out of Texas A&M University.

A.J Mumm said “my experience with disasters is it’s a matter of when, not if, you will be hit with a disaster and the emergency management community is a small community who is always looking for ways to help one another. The best way we can help is with a financial contribution so they can purchase the exact supplies needed.”

“We remember the devastation during the 1993 and 2008 floods here in Iowa and I’ll never forget the support that we received from across the county,” said Board of Supervisors Vice Chair Angela Connolly. She added, “this time we are in a position to pay it back for those who helped us and I hope inspire others to pay it forward for the next county that might need help. This is what it means to be an Iowan and an American, we help in any way we can.”

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