The Orange City Council Tuesday approved ways to help people who had flooded properties in March. The council unanimously agreed to waive building permit and tap fees for people fixing water-damaged properties or using temporary housing.
Planning Director Kelvin Knauf said the city had previous waivers after Hurricane Ike.
Also, the council approved allowing people who had flood damage to live in recreational vehicles, travel trailers or other temporary housing while they are repairing their houses.
Doctor of Philosophy and City Manager Shawn Oubre said FEMA has identified 12 properties that qualify for the federal government-supplied mobile homes.
Dr. Oubre said city staff identified 175 buildings in the city with water damage from the Sabine River flood.
In other business Tuesday, the council approved a new telephone system for city offices using Shortel Hosted Voice over IP Phone Services. City CIS Manager Mike Zeto said the system, which operates through internet, will save the city about $60,000 a year.
He said the system “will eliminate the need for costly phone equipment and maintenance contracts.” Also, the system will now have any long-distance phone charges.
Zeto said the city staff in an emergency evacuation can use the system at other locations through the internet.
Dr. Oubre praised Zeto for his research and said Zeto had worked on the system for 18 months.
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