The gist
On April 8, Pearland City Council discussed reallocating an unused $630,000 portion of a U.S. Department of Housing & Urban Development, or HUD, allocation to fund roadside ditch improvements.
City officials discussed the reallocation process at the April 8 meeting, but they will need to vote on it at the May 13 Pearland City Council meeting.
City staff recommended reallocating the funds to make roadside ditch improvements to areas near the Brookland Acres subdivision, Garden Road, O’Day Road and Woody Road, all of which underwent significant flooding during Hurricane Harvey in 2017, said Joel Hardy, Pearland grants-special projects administrator.
The backstory
Since 2006, Pearland has received HUD Community Development Block Grant funds annually, which cumulatively total $6.7 million, to support capital improvement projects in low- to moderate-income communities, according to agenda documents.
The surplus of $630,000 in funds results from unspent project administration costs and other projects coming in below budget or being canceled, Hardy said.
The roadside ditch improvements were originally to be funded entirely with $2.3 million in Texas General Land Office grants awarded in fiscal year 2020-21, but delays resulted in price increases, requiring additional funds to pay for the improvements, according to agenda documents.
What’s next
Pearland City Council will vote May 13 on whether to request the fund reallocation from HUD, according to agenda documents.
