Dear Neighbors,

Over the past three years, our community has faced unprecedented challenges–including severe temperatures, pandemics, elevated wildfire risk, and issues with our water supply–that have highlighted our need to prepare for the unexpected. As part of the City’s efforts to bolster our climate resilience and disaster preparedness, I invite you to join me at a District 10 emergency preparedness pop-up event on Wednesday, January 18th at the Howson Branch Library (2500 Exposition Blvd.). You can stop by between 4 and 7 pm (no RSVP required). My office will have a table at the pop-up, and I will be holding office hours at the event from 5-6:30 pm.

At the event, emergency preparedness experts from Austin Homeland Security and Emergency Management (HSEM) will share information on specific disaster risks in central and northwest Austin, how to sign up for emergency alerts, and what your household should include when creating a plan or building a supply kit. Austin HSEM will also discuss the roles of government, schools, businesses, and families in emergency preparedness, and provide updates on the City’s emergency response planning. Austin Fire Department’s Wildfire Division will be there, as well as several other City departments with emergency preparedness information relevant to the geography of District 10.

My office is working with Austin Energy and Austin Water to provide information about power and water outages, our circuit reliability work, and utility conservation and customer assistance programs at the event. My table will have a limited number of water valve shutoff keys to share, and the first 50 guests will receive a free household emergency supply kit from Austin HSEM.

I hope to see you on the 18th. You can expect a longer newsletter from me next week with community announcements and a 2022 recap. I wish your family a wonderful start to 2023.

Regards,