LCRA and PEC representatives present a $23,050 grant to the Cottonwood Shores Volunteer Fire Department to make fire station renovations. The grant is part of LCRA’s Community Development Partnership Program. Pictured, from left to right, are: Greg Widmer, volunteer; Becky Evans, Cottonwood Shores VFD board member; John Marr, Cottonwood Shores VFD board member; Diana Gonzales, PEC community engagement representative; Janet Taylor-Carusi, Cottonwood Shores VFD secretary; George Russell, LCRA Board member; and Steve Dyer, LCRA Governmental Affairs representative.
A dated fire station in Burnet County will get a working kitchen, remodeled bathroom and more thanks to a $23,050 community grant from the Lower Colorado River Authority and Pedernales Electric Cooperative.
The Cottonwood Shores Volunteer Fire Department, the grant recipient, is providing a matching contribution of $9,900 toward the remodeling.
In October, department volunteers assisted with door-to-door evacuations and other emergencies during the region’s historic flood. Janet Taylor-Carusi, Cottonwood Shores Volunteer Fire Department secretary, said the event highlighted the need to provide meals and rehab for first responders at the fire station.
Station One was built in the late 1970s/early 1980s without a kitchen, and the fire department has had to make do without hot water, a stove or sink, even as it hosts annual events for kids, a car show, cook-offs and training activities for first responders.
“There were no funds to build a kitchen – it’s just a bank of cabinets,” Taylor-Carusi said. “Now we’re going to renovate the entire ‘kitchen area’ with up-to-date wiring and plumbing. It will advance our abilities to fundraise. Not only that, but it will be used by other nonprofits and as a training facility. It will turn the building from basically a shell, to a functional fundraising, meeting and kitchen space.”
Fire station renovations will begin in December and include a new kitchen, public restroom and building entrance ramp to make the building more accessible. The work is expected to be complete in early 2019.
The community grant is one of a number of grants recently awarded through LCRA’s Community Development Partnership Program. The program provides economic development and community assistance grants to cities, counties, volunteer fire departments, regional development councils and other nonprofit organizations in LCRA’s wholesale electric and water service areas. The program is part of LCRA’s effort to give back to the communities it serves. PEC is one of LCRA’s wholesale electric customers and a partner in the grant program.
Applications for the next round of grants will be accepted Jan. 1-31, 2019. More information is available at lcra.org/cdpp.
About LCRA
The Lower Colorado River Authority serves customers and communities throughout Texas by managing the lower Colorado River; generating and transmitting electric power; providing a clean, reliable water supply; and offering access to nature at more than 40 parks, recreation areas and river access sites along the Texas Colorado River, from the Hill Country to the Gulf Coast. LCRA and its employees are committed to enhancing the lives of Texans through water stewardship, energy and community services. LCRA was created by the Texas Legislature in 1934. For more information, visit lcra.org.
Media Contact
Clara Tuma
512–578–3292
clara.tuma@lcra.org
Source: LCRA Business News
