County Commissioners welcome new Emergency Management Coordinator

Milam County Commissioners named Kenzie Oliver as the County Emergency Management Coordinator and received updates on other projects during a meeting Monday.

County Commissioners welcomed Oliver, who has been working with current Interim Emergency Management Coordinator Susan Reinders over the last several months, to the position. She will take over in the next several weeks.  

“Today is the official turnover, Kenzie has been with us since February working underneath Susan and learning all the ins and outs of emergency management,” Milam County Judge Bill Whitmire said. “We are happy to have her.”

Oliver is getting her Masters in Emergency Management.

“We want to say thanks to Susan for everything she has done,” Whitmire said. “She had built the department and rebuilt it.”

Commissioners also received an update about drainage and flood mitigation in Rockdale. The county has been working with Grantworks to fund the project which was first considered in 2017. 

Costs for the project have gone up significantly since then and the project is being reworked to fit the funding.

“We can’t complete the work without the city or county pouring in probably $300,000 into that project as is,” Whitmire said.

Commissioners will take up the topic again at their next meeting to accept new bids.

In other business the commissioners also: voted to open applications for alternates to appoint to the CTCOG Board of Directors since Cameron Mayor Bill Harris has retired; tabled discussion on an amendment to Adelite Storage’s tax abatement agreement; approved accepting reimbursement from EPCOR in the amount of $383,000 to fix damage they have caused to county roads; renewed a county contract with Mantis Innovation for electricity for the next four years; and declared May 16-22 as Search and Rescue Week in Milam County.