The South Lee County Volunteer Fire Department will repair and update its station’s parking lot, thanks to a $25,000 grant from the Lower Colorado River Authority and Bluebonnet Electric Cooperative.

The Community Development Partnership Program grant, along with $20,000 in matching funds, will replace the gravel parking lot with 8 inches of reinforced concrete and add handicapped-accessible parking in the front of the station.

“As is, the parking lot has problems with drainage and with water getting into the building when we have heavy rain,” said Ronald Zoch, secretary of South Lee County VFD. “The concrete will fix that problem and it will help us get the equipment in and out of the driveway safely. Our engine holds up to 2,000 gallons of water so the strength of the concrete is needed.”

Improvements also will provide easier access for visitors. The station is used as a community center by several groups, including 4-H, Texas Wendish Heritage Society, Lutheran Adult Fellowship and the Lee County Fire Fighters Association.

South Lee County VFD serves a population of about 1,200 in Lee County, and has mutual aid agreements with other fire departments in Lee, Bastrop and Fayette counties. The department has 38 members and is equipped with six emergency vehicles. It also has the only brush truck in the county that can perform water rescues.

“We’ve wanted to do these upgrades for about two years now and have been looking for funding to help,” Zoch said. “So, when this grant came through, we were very excited because it provides us with the security to go forward with the project.”

The community grant is one of seven grants being awarded by Bluebonnet and the 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 July. More information is available at lcra.org/cdpp.

Despite the threat of rain, almost 200 members of Bluebonnet Electric Cooperative breezed through the first drive-through Annual Meeting in the cooperative’s history on Tuesday, May 11, 2021. Under large covered tents in the parking lot of The Silos on 77 in Giddings, members stayed in their cars to get information about Bluebonnet. They chatted with the co-op’s Board of Directors, executives and employees and registered to win door prizes.

“We are all happy to return to having our Annual Meeting with members this year,” said Ben Flencher, Bluebonnet’s Board chairman. “It sure was nice to see and visit with our friends and neighbors, even if it was through their vehicles’ windows.”

Though communities and businesses are opening in the wake of COVID-19, out of caution for Bluebonnet’s members and employees, the drive-through format of the meeting, with employees wearing masks when communicating with members, reduced the risk of tranmitting the virus.

During the Annual Meeting two incumbent directors were re-elected. The directors were Shana Whiteley, District 2, Travis County, and Bryan Bracewell, District 3, Bastrop County.

“Congratulations to Directors Whiteley and Bracewell on being re-elected to our Board,” Flencher said. “Bryan and Shana bring their talents and years of experience doing business and living in their communities to our board room. They greatly contribute to Bluebonnet’s success and do an outstanding job representing our members and their co-op.”

Whiteley has served on Bluebonnet’s Board of Directors since 2017.

“Bluebonnet is an organization of exceptional quality and integrity,” Whiteley said. “Every decision is made with the utmost care and consideration for our members. It is my privilege and honor to be re-elected to the Board during this exciting time of growth and prosperity.”

Bracewell has served on Bluebonnet’s Board of Directors since 2018.

“I am honored and humbled to be re-elected to serve Bluebonnet’s members on the Board of Directors,” Bracewell said. “The commitment and care everyone at Bluebonnet has for the members and communities we serve are rooted in the co-op’s 82-year history. I am thankful for the opportunity to contribute to Bluebonnet’s success.”

More than 6,750 Bluebonnet members participated in this year’s Annual Meeting, either in-person or by submitting proxy forms. The proxies established a quorum for the Annual Meeting. There was no new business on the meeting’s agenda, but had there been, it would have been voted on by members being represented by their proxy.

“This was a wonderful Annual Meeting,” said Matt Bentke, Bluebonnet’s general manager. “We weren’t sure what to expect from a drive-through meeting, but, judging from my conversations with members, it was a great success. We are grateful for everyone who came by to ask questions, do a little business or just say hello, and appreciate all the members who were unable to attend the meeting but supported their cooperative by sending in their proxies.”

Bluebonnet members who submitted proxy forms were also entered into the drawings for numerous door prizes, including a 2008 Chevrolet 1500 extended cab being retired from the cooperative’s fleet and two Cub Cadet riding mowers. The names of winners for those prizes will be drawn Wednesday, May 12, 2021. Bluebonnet will contact those winners to arrange for their prize to be picked up or delivered. Prizes were paid for through donations from Bluebonnet vendors.  To see all the information that was provided to members during the Annual Meeting, visit bluebonnet.coop/annualmeeting. You can also watch a video featuring highlights of this year’s Annual Meeting at https://youtu.be/7H5JPgb-f7c.