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Coryell County gets CDBG-MIT award; commissioners discuss FEMA DR‑4781, SS4A and other grants
Summary
Coryell County officials were briefed on a nearly $3.4 million Community Development Block Grant-Mitigation award and ongoing FEMA disaster-recovery work, and heard options to reapply to an implementation grant that previously sought $15.4 million.
Coryell County Commissioners on Tuesday were briefed that the Texas General Land Office has awarded the county just shy of $3,400,000 under the Community Development Block Grant-Mitigation (CDBG-MIT) program.
The award covers four county projects and two city projects, County Judge (name not specified) told the court. The county-identified projects include replacing a low-water crossing on County Road 274 and replacing a low-water crossing on Bald Knob Road with a clear-span structure. The county also allocated one project to the city of Gatesville and one to the city of Copperas Cove: a culvert or drainage replacement on a Shady Lane location near Bridge Street in Gatesville and storm‑drainage improvements on East Avenue B in Copperas Cove.
Why it matters: The grant will fund infrastructure work aimed at reducing future flood damage and improving drainage at problem crossings and in town storm systems. County staff and the vendor contracted for grant administration must still complete environmental reviews, assign a GLO program manager and proceed through design, bidding and construction stages before work can begin.
Officials described early cost estimates for the two county crossings as planning-level figures. A county presenter said the Bald Knob project’s construction-plus-engineering estimate is about $800,000 and the County Road 274 construction-plus-engineering estimate is roughly $1.4 million; smaller estimates were given for the municipal projects. Staff cautioned these were preliminary estimates and will be refined during design and environmental review.
Commissioners also discussed ongoing FEMA disaster-recovery work under DR‑4781, including a Category B reimbursement package that staff said recently cleared a CRC review and is now in the state portal awaiting county certification and signature. Staff said, if certified, the county could expect payment in a few weeks, but they are reviewing line items — including overtime and out-of‑schedule work — before signing.
County staff and contractors described continuing work to sort project categorization between Category B (emergency work) and Category C (permanent work) and said FEMA or the current PDMG contractor will revisit sites next week to re-inspect damaged locations. Staff warned that differences between the county’s on‑site documentation and the federal/contractor site visits — including changes in site appearance that occur after the immediate post‑event period — can affect what is reimbursable.
On federal implementation funding, Caroline Austin of NRS told the court the county’s prior SS4A/implementation submission totaled $15,425,840 and that the current program cap per project is $25,000,000. Austin said NRS can refile an application for the county “at no additional cost” but that the court should review and update project lists before resubmitting.
Court members directed county staff to coordinate cross-referencing of grant project lists (CDBG‑MIT, DR‑4781 priority projects and any implementation grant candidates) and return with a recommended funding strategy at a future meeting.
Ending: Staff said the next administrative steps are assignment of a GLO program manager for the CDBG‑MIT work, kickoff meetings with grant administrators and site visits by FEMA/contractors for DR‑4781 projects before the county proceeds to design and bidding.
