County waits on federal sign-off for funeral-program grant, has seven FEMA-eligible properties identified

County staff told the fiscal court they have submitted the final application for a federal funeral-program grant and are assembling supporting documents for federal review. A staff member said the application package has been forwarded to a USDA contact, "a guy named Chris Sloan," and the county has gathered documents and photographs to assist the federal reviewers. The presenter said the program will run similarly to an existing program in another county and that "we have 7 properties right now that we're able to purchase through FEMA." Those seven were described as residential properties; the presenter said commercial properties are also involved but that the county has not yet identified a clear avenue to acquire those. The presenter said the USDA program being pursued appears to require a smaller county match: "The USDA has a better matching system. We're only gonna have to match 5%. It looks like a 90, 10," the presenter said, while also noting the county and city may not have to provide local funds directly for certain elements. The presenter gave a target of completing work before April of the next year but linked timing to final federal approvals. Court members asked about timelines and funding; staff said they expect to have an agreement in place soon and will follow up with interested property owners. The presenter said appraiser and attorney services are in place and that the county can move quickly once federal approvals arrive. No final federal approval or funding obligation had been recorded in the meeting transcript; the update was informational and staff requested authorization to proceed with federal application steps and local preparation.