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BASTROP COUNTY — A $25,000 community grant will help expand emergency response training in Bastrop County, supporting a growing region where demand for preparedness continues to rise, officials said.
The Texas Public Safety Training Academy will use the grant from the Lower Colorado River Authority and Bluebonnet Electric Cooperative— alongside $63,000 in matching funds—to relocate from Bastrop to a larger site in northern Bastrop County. Program officials said the expanded facility will include two portable buildings, accessible parking, utility connections and a livefire burn area to support real-world training for rural firefighters, EMTs and law enforcement.
“We’ve seen time and again how devastating wildfires can be in Bastrop County,” said Philip Marquette, assistant fire chief and deputy director of the academy. “This new, bigger facility will help us train more responders in wildfire suppression, structural firefighting and emergency medical response so we’re better prepared when the next emergency strikes.”
The training site will also serve the broader community through disaster preparedness workshops, recruitment events and nonprofit outreach, officials said.
“We want to ensure that everyone involved in protecting our communities has a place to come together, learn and prepare,” Marquette added. The grant is part of LCRA’s Community Development Partnership Program, which awarded 45 grants in its most recent cycle. Bluebonnet, one of the state’s largest electric cooperatives and an LCRA wholesale customer, is a longtime partner in the program.
“This project directly strengthens rural emergency response in one of the fastest-growing parts of our region,” Bluebonnet General Manager Matt Bentke said. “It’s the kind of work we’re proud to support.”
The announcement comes just weeks after Bluebonnet held its annual meeting, where leaders emphasized continued service and system expansion across the cooperative’s 14-county territory.
“This kind of steady growth has enabled us to keep rates among the lowest in the state while building a more resilient, reliable electric system,” Bentke said.
Debbi Goertz was also re-elected as Bluebonnet’s director for Bastrop County during the meeting.
The next LCRA grant application period opens in July. Details are available at lcra.org/grants.
