Kerr County Youth Camps Appeal to Dan Patrick on Proposed Floodplain Restrictions

After the Guadalupe River flooding tragedy on July 4, owners of affected camps in Kerr County have requested Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick to work with them and reconsider the safety camp bills newly filed.

On August 28, owners of damaged camps –Camp Waldemar, Vista Camps and Camp Stewart– sent a letter to Lt. Gov. Patrick, the Texas Senate and Gov. Greg Abbott, asking them to reevaluate flood bills:

• House Bill 1 requires camp operators to develop emergency plans in case of natural disaster, including shelter and evacuation information, which should also be taught to campers.
  
• Senate Bill 1 implies that the state won’t license camps that have cabins in a floodplain, unless the floodplain was around a lake or still body of water.

On August 21, the Texas House passed both bills. HB1 and SB1 require the youth camps to make changes to their facilities by relocating cabins and installing emergency alternatives, such as rooftop ladders and signaled evacuation routes.

“Collectively, our camps would face millions of dollars in mandated rebuilding costs for cabins subjected to the prohibition that did not sustain damage by recent flooding. These additional burdens would come on top of already significant flood repairs, operational expenses, and existing loans,” declared camp leaders in the letter. 

They also claimed that there “must be meaningful financial support, whether through insurance, state grants, or other funding mechanisms, so that the burden does not fall solely on families, camps, and communities.”

By a declaration to The Texas Tribune, State Sen. Charles Perry responded to the lucrative demands, assuring that camps are private enterprises. “The state’s not rebuilding private sector camps.” If the legislation passes, the state won’t assist camps.

Initially, the legislative committees planned to require camps to have a plan to evacuate campers if the weather service announced a flash flood warning, but parents of the kids who died at Camp Mystic are encouraging more rigid, camp-focused legislation, in order to avoid another flooding disaster.