The city expects to receive about $500,000 to fund projects in the 2016 program year, which begins Oct. 1.
“At the federal level this is one of the programs that [the Department of Housing and Urban Development] has to fight for to keep funding going and to keep it in existence because budgeting is so tight,” CDBG Program Manager Janis Hendrix said.
The city will hold a workshop for applicants Jan. 29 at 9:30 a.m. at the San Marcos Activity Center, 501 E. Hopkins Street.
Projects or programs that use CDBG funds must focus on one of the following areas: housing, transportation, infrastructure improvements, public facilities, clearance, or public services from a governmental or nonprofit entity benefiting low- or moderate-income residents.
Projects funded with CDBG money in the past have included construction of Eddie Durham Park and restoration of the neighboring Cephas House on San Antonio Street, improvements to Veterans Park, expansion of the San Marcos Senior Center on Arizona Street and distribution of funds to Habitat for Humanity, the Hays-Caldwell Women’s Center and other nonprofit agencies.
The city will hold a workshop Jan. 29 to receive applications for CDBG funds. The workshop will be held at the San Marcos Activity Center, 501 E. Hopkins St., San Marcos and is open to the public. The city will also hold on Feb. 17 a stakeholder workshop where residents will be able to give input on how the funds should be spent. The Feb. 17 workshop will be held at the Old Fish Hatchery, 206 N. CM Allen Parkway, San Marcos.
Flood relief
Hendrix said City Council may direct a portion of the funds to be allocated for flood mitigation and aid to those affected by flooding, but until the city knows how much money it will receive from the Federal Emergency Management Agency, direction from council will likely have to wait.
The money the city receives from FEMA could be used to repair public infrastructure such as roads and drainage features damaged by flooding.
San Marcos Communications Director Kristi Wyatt said the city expects to know in the next few months how much money it will receive from a federal omnibus bill—a single piece of legislation containing many individual measures—that was passed in December. The bill, which is separate from the FEMA money, allotted $300 million for states that experienced flooding and storm damage in 2015.
The money can be put toward “disaster relief, long-term recovery, restoration of infrastructure and housing and economic revitalization in the most impacted and distressed areas resulting from disaster declared in 2015,” according to the bill.
Cities will apply to the states for portions of the money, although there is currently no application process in place, Wyatt said.
“It’s going to be $300 million spread across a couple of states that had tornadoes, hurricanes and all those floods that happened, so it’s going to be a lot of money spread over many different areas,” she said.
