City of San Marcos staff have developed a proposal for the use of $24,012,000 in Community Development Block Grant mitigation funding that the city received in 2019 to address flooding risks and prevention.
Members of City Council received a presentation on the proposed plan during a City Council meeting Dec. 17. The drafted plan identified as potential categories for funding allocation: improving disaster sheltering, establishing and improving evacuation routes, land preservation, addressing repetitive loss, better warning systems, and increased numbers of signs and barricades. The plan also proposed program budgets for each category identified, in which the Blanco Gardens drainage improvement project would receive $16 million of the total $24 million.
Funds for the CDBG-MIT come through the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. The state of Texas was allocated $4.38 billion to address areas affected by Hurricane Harvey and floods of 2015 and 2016, according to the Texas General Land Office. The city of San Marcos received the grant as a result of the 2015 flooding.
City Council members will have to take formal action on approving the use of the funds in February, said Michael Ostrowski, San Marcos’ assistant director of planning and development services, at the council meeting Dec. 17.
