The federal government released an official notice of the allocation June 9, which is intended to help the city recover from 2015's two floods, and the city plans to hold at least two public meetings in the coming weeks to discuss how the funds should be allocated.
The city will host a meeting June 22 with the Needs Assessment Task Force, a collection of local stakeholders including representatives from San Marcos neighborhoods, San Marcos CISD and the business community. The meeting, which will be open to the public but will not include a public comment period, will take place from 11:30-1:30 p.m. at the San Marcos Activity Center in Room 3.
Collette Jamison, San Marcos assistant city manager, said the city will also hold a public meeting at which residents will be invited to comment on how they believe the funds should be allocated. The time and location of that meeting has not yet been determined.
Public involvement will be a priority, Jamison said. The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, or HUD, requires that the city use a broad public outreach plan to let residents know about the grant money, she said.
“[City officials] are wanting people to be aware of [the grant money],” Jamison said. “HUD is going to look and make sure our citizen participation strategy is viable.”
The city held two public meetings in April to discuss potential allocations of the grant money and to review the progress of recovery efforts to date.
The federal register, which describes the rules and requirements for how the city may use the funds, was released June 9. San Marcos has 90 days from the effective date of the federal register—which is five days after its release—to create an action plan spelling out how the funds will be used.
Once public input is gathered, City Council will review the needs assessment and begin prioritizing projects. The plan will be sent to HUD after it is approved by City Council. Once approved by HUD, a line of credit will be opened and the city can begin accessing the funds.
Potential fund uses
Potential uses of the funds include buying out flood-damaged properties, assisting residents with elevating their homes out of the flood plain and constructing large-scale engineering projects such as the overflow channel for the Blanco River that would divert water east of the city during flood conditions.
Jamison said the grant will go a long way toward helping San Marcos recover from 2015’s two floods in May and October, but the city is also seeking opportunities
“That doesn’t mean that this money is going to make the city of San Marcos whole, because it’s only $25 million,” Jamison said. “We will leverage these funds to get other grants.”
The disaster recovery funding is part of a larger bill that allocated $299 million for long-term disaster recovery in South Carolina and Texas
Jamison said the city is working with other regional municipalities and agencies to determine what plans are in place for other flood mitigation projects. The city will look to ensure its projects complement others planned throughout Hays County, she said.
“We’re not in a vacuum when we do this,” Jamison said. “We need to find out what Hays County and all these other municipalities are doing [to mitigate future flooding].”
