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City outlines Section 3 hiring plan for $500,000 Wisteria drainage project
Summary
City staff and GrantWorks described federal Section 3 requirements for the Wisteria Drive drainage project, including contractor selection and outreach to local workers and businesses for HUD-funded work.
The city of La Marque briefed residents on federal Section 3 hiring rules and local outreach tied to a $500,000 Community Development Block Grant for the Wisteria Drive drainage project.
The presentation, delivered by GrantWorks labor-standards staff, said contract number CDV23-0327 will fund about 1,615 linear feet of 24-inch culvert, concrete inlets, driveway repairs and related work along Wisteria Drive from Ross Avenue to Winding Way. The award is funded through the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development and the Texas Department of Agriculture, GrantWorks said.
GrantWorks’ representative said the prime contractor and key consultants have been selected: GrantWorks will provide grant administration, LJA Engineers will handle engineering and the prime contractor on the construction phase is Marcon. The presenter said Marcon is a Section 3 business concern.
Why this matters: Section 3 of the Housing and Urban Development Act of 1968 requires recipients of certain HUD funds to direct economic opportunities “to the greatest extent feasible” toward low- and very-low-income persons and businesses in the project area. The city must therefore document outreach and hiring to meet that obligation.
At the meeting, the presenter reviewed qualifying criteria and outreach steps. A business may qualify as a Section 3 business if it is owned by low-income persons, owned by residents of HUD-assisted housing, or if 75% of its labor hours over a 3-month period are performed by Section 3 workers. A worker may qualify if household income falls below the county threshold or if the worker lives near the project; the presenter showed the project-area map used to define targeted workers.
Council members pressed GrantWorks to provide documentation of earlier outreach and to supply monthly reports showing numbers of local applicants and hires who meet Section 3 criteria. GrantWorks’ representative said outreach has been ongoing as part of the selection process and agreed to work with city staff to provide the requested reports and evidence of targeted outreach to local high schools and community colleges.
The presentation included links and references to Texas CDBG policy issuance 20‑01 and federal rules (24 C.F.R. part 75). GrantWorks said the city will track project labor hours by Section 3 categories and that labor specialists will collect necessary income paperwork for verification.
What’s next: Construction has kicked off administratively; GrantWorks and city staff will follow up with a written report on recruitment and the list of outreach channels used for the Section 3 hiring effort.
