Kendall County joined a growing list of Texas counties issuing disaster declarations ahead of the April 8 solar eclipse.
County Commissioners Court Judge Shane Stolarczyk Monday signed the “declaration of local disaster” as entities within the county continue to work together in preparation for the once-in-a-lifetime event. “It was unanimous that this entry of a disaster declaration was in the best interest of our residents,” Stolarczyk said during the commissioners’ court meeting. “We went ahead and ordered it because if there is state or federal money available or assets available, having the disaster declaration in place outs us at the top of the list for that.”
Stolarczyk, in reading the proclamation, said the sheer number of people and vehicles expected “will greatly hinder will the abilities of our emergency services, law enforcement, EMS and fire department to safely and adequately perform their duties,” as well as present an overload on county resources.
“We are in the heart of this; this is going to be a hot area. This is going to have an impact on us whether we like it or not,” he added.
Kendall County is the latest in a string of Texas counties issuing disaster declarations to help manage the detrimental impacts of such a significant tourism boom. Kendall joins Kerr, Bell and Travis counties in enacting the disaster declaration, as required by the Texas Department of Emergency Management for local municipalities to take advantage of state resources.
Kendall officials “have taken this event very seriously,” Stolarczyk said. “We’re trying to do everything we can to prepare and to put us in a position to succeed and have a successful event where we don’t jeopardize our residents’ health and safety, or for our visitors.”
But unlike other county declarations, Kendall County is not requiring vendors or party planners to register their gatherings.
In Travis County, private property owners in unincorporated parts of the county are required to notify the county if they plan to host a gathering with more than 50 people to watch the eclipse.
In Bell County — one of the first counties to declare — property owners hosting, renting or leasing space between April 5-8 for gatherings expected to exceed 50 people must provide the county with: site plans showing the layout of the event; clearly marked parking and camping spaces; ingress and egress routes in and out of the property; and designated routes in and out for first responders emergency vehicles.
County Emergency Manager Jeff Fincke told the commissioners there is a comprehensive plan between the city and the county.
“I think you can assure (the public) that resources will be staged where we believe we will need them to move around through the county,” Fincke told commissioners. “We’re trying to put them in locations where we think if we have the traffic and the problem with mobility, we feel like we’ll have them in the right place and get there as quickly as we can.”
He said the county’s level and breadth of preparation received high marks from federal officials.
“I was impressed with the comments from the FBI ... when he said you guys are far ahead of a lot of other counties and communities,” Fincke said.
Estimates range from 500,000 to as much as 2 million people may converge on the Hill Country to take in the eclipse. Area hotels and Bnbs are reportedly sold out; some remaining rooms are going for between $650 and $1,500 per night for the April 6-8 weekend.
Fincke said much of what the county is doing is based on reports from states that experienced the 2017 total eclipse.
“We have learned a lot from them. I-10 is a big concern of ours,” Fincke said. “In 2017, the state of Wyoming had more people on the interstate than they have as an entire population as a state. What takes three hours to cross was taking people 8 and 10 hours to move, after the eclipse.”
Stolarczyk is urging Kendall and Boerne residents to use the next few weeks to adequately prepare to “just hunker down at home” and witness the event.
Items like groceries, gas and prescriptions should be purchased days and weeks in advance, he said.
“Plan to just hunker down in your own homes that weekend because it’s just not worth getting stuck in traffic, with all the major thoroughfares coming through here,” the judge said. “We’re going to have a lot of folks not from here, coming here. The unknowns are the concern. We just don’t know what’s going to happen.”
Comment
Comments