Cooke County still offering $3,000 safe-room rebates

GAINESVILLE, Texas — Cooke County is still accepting applications for a residential safe-room rebate that can cover half the cost of an eligible tornado shelter, up to $3,000, under a FEMA-funded program the county updated in September. Cooke County Emergency Management runs the Residential Safe Room Rebate Program with cities and towns across the county. Homeowners can receive 50% of total cost, up to $3,000, for a National Storm Shelter Association-certified safe room or storm shelter installed to FEMA P-320, FEMA P-361 and ICC 500 standards. The program is funded by the Federal Emergency Management Agency through the Texas Division of Emergency Management. It covers unincorporated Cooke County and property owners in Gainesville, Muenster, Lindsay, Valley View, Callisburg, Whitesboro, Era and Oak Ridge. County materials cite 62 tornado events in Cooke County since 1950, with seven deaths, 107 injuries and about $70 million in damage. The May 2024 Valley View tornado is the most recent storm referenced in the program announcement. Funding is limited and applications are handled first come, first served. Homeowners must apply and receive a rebate award letter before installation begins. The county's seven-step outline includes a floodplain check, selection of a certified vendor, application review, the award letter, post-installation documentation, a county inspection, and then rebate payment. County staff note that state reimbursement sometimes takes months after paperwork is submitted. Contacts are County Emergency Manager Rand Brown at 940-668-5400 and County Judge's Clerk Chelsea Terry at 940-668-5435. Program materials and the application are posted at co.cooke.tx.us under the Safe Room Program page. The city of Gainesville's CivicAlerts notice of the program was posted June 5 and last updated Sept. 13. Applications can be mailed to Cooke County Emergency Management, 101 S. Dixon Street, Gainesville, TX 76240, or emailed to saferooms@co.cooke.tx.us. Homeowners are asked to read the Safe Room Program Guidelines handbook on the county webpage before calling staff.