Bluebonnet Electric Cooperative and LCRA representatives present a $50,000 grant to the Southeast Caldwell County Volunteer Fire Department to construct additional building space. The grant is part of LCRA’s Community Development Partnership Program. Pictured, from left to right, are: Rick Arnic, LCRA regional affairs representative; Patty Mundine, VFD president, secretary and firefighter; Margaret D. “Meg” Voelter, LCRA board member; Milton Shaw, Bluebonnet Board member; Tom Hamilton, VFD lieutenant and treasurer; and Jo Anna Gilland, Bluebonnet Lockhart-area community representative. 

The Southeast Caldwell County Volunteer Fire Department will construct an addition to their facility to house two firetrucks, firefighter gear and an office, thanks to a $50,000 grant from the Bluebonnet Electric Cooperative and the Lower Colorado River Authority.

The Community Development Partnership Program grant, along with $25,000 in matching funds from the VFD, will enable the department to construct a building extension that can hold two firetrucks and firefighter gear. The addition also will include room for a small office.

“This grant will help us protect two more of our trucks from being exposed to the elements outdoors, and it also will allow us to keep all of our emergency response gear stored in one place,” said Patty Mundine, a firefighter with the Southeast Caldwell County VFD who also serves as the organization’s president and secretary. “Everyone will have a locker to store their gear, which will result in faster response times.”

The department primarily serves southeast Caldwell County and provides mutual aid to other fire departments within the county.
The community grant is one of five grants being awarded by Bluebonnet and LCRA through LCRA’s Community Development Partnership Program, which helps volunteer fire departments, local governments, emergency responders and nonprofit organizations fund capital improvement projects in LCRA’s wholesale electric, water and transmission service areas.

The program is part of LCRA’s effort to give back to the communities it serves. Bluebonnet Electric Cooperative is one of LCRA’s wholesale electric customers and is a partner in the grant program.

Applications for the next round of grants will be accepted in January. More information is available here.