Pharr board recommends CDBG subrecipients, discusses flood relief and paying down Section 108 loan

The City of Pharr Community Development Council on June 1 held a public hearing on Notice of Funding Availability for the 2025 annual action plan, heard presentations from multiple nonprofit subrecipient applicants and approved staff'recommended allocations for Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) public-service and related activities.

The hearing opened with no members of the public signed up to speak. After presentations by applicant organizations, the council moved to approve the staff recommendations for subrecipients and funding amounts as presented; the motion carried.

Why it matters: The council's decisions determine which local nonprofits receive limited federal CDBG dollars this program year and how the city will use CDBG flexibility to respond to a recent flood event in the South Park area. Council members also discussed plans to liquidate part of a longstanding Section 108 loan tied to the Pharr Aquatic Center to free up future borrowing capacity for larger infrastructure projects.

Presentations and requests - Make-A-Wish Rio Grande Valley: Becky Gerhardt, identified herself as CEO of Make-A-Wish Rio Grande Valley, said the chapter covers Hidalgo, Cameron, Willacy, Brooks, Kenedy and Starr counties and that the chapter has granted 1,705 wishes locally since its founding in 1997. Gerhardt said the chapter has granted 66 wishes in the current fiscal year and that seven children from Pharr were on the chapter's wait list; she asked the council to consider funding to cover full wish costs including travel, lodging or home modifications.

- Sisters Inspiring Success: Co-founders Olga Regalado and Lorena Regalado described a recently formed 501(c)(3) that provides interview clothing, application help and interview coaching for low-income women. Olga Regalado said the group aims to serve at least 60 Pharr residents with a $25,000 request and noted the group had served about 15 clients so far using donated clothing.

- Ave Frontera: CEO Griselda Salinas presented the nonprofit's education, mentorship and tutoring work in South Pharr and summarized partnerships with UTRGV and South Texas College. She said the organization serves students and families and has a student legacy fund to support community tutors.

- To Give International: Augusto Contreras, co-executive director, and Belen Gonzalez described an arts-education program that serves children in the region and reported current capacity to serve 10 families with the intention to expand to 42 children.

- Lower Rio Grande Valley Development Council (LRGVDC) / Area Agency on Aging and ADRC: Rolando Flores, program supervisor, described two proposals. For the Area Agency on Aging (AAA) he said the agency helped about 11,082 residents age 60+ in the previous year across Hidalgo, Cameron and Willacy counties and that 523 were from Pharr; the AAA requested $30,000 to help 40 Pharr clients (20 clients for homemaker services at roughly $1,000 per client and health-maintenance assistance). Flores also described the Aging and Disability Resource Center (ADRC) program for residents under 60 and people with disabilities and said the ADRC was seeking $30,000 (with program specifics outlined in the binder provided to the board).

- Valley Metro (public transit): Nancy Sanchez, program supervisor for planning and mobility at LRGVDC, reviewed Route 30 service that links Pharr with San Juan and Edinburg and operates Monday'Saturday. Sanchez said the service recorded 11,192 rides over two years (6,382 in FY2024 and 4,810 from Sept 2024 to April 2025) and that the provider requests $60,000 from the city to meet local match requirements tied to Federal Transit Administration grants.

- Mujeres Unidas (Women Together): Cecilia Mata, legal and social services director, summarized the agency's long-running domestic-violence, sexual-assault and batterer-intervention programs, noting the organization provides shelter, transitional housing and legal advocacy; she said the agency served 1,818 clients districtwide last year with 203 from Pharr.

Staff recommendations, caps and allocations Staff presented preliminary allocations and explained the public-services cap and administrative caps that apply to CDBG. The presentation noted a 15% cap on public-service funding and a 20% cap on administration. The staff memo and preliminary allocation spreadsheet were provided to board members and reflect adjustments based on prior-year spending and agencies that had not used past awards.

Substantial amendment, flood relief and Section 108 loan discussion Staff reported the city is in a 30-day public-comment period for a substantial amendment to the FY2024 annual action plan and amendments to the 2020 CV funds; the comment period is scheduled to close on June 6. As part of the amendment staff proposed creating an Emergency Repair Program to assist households affected by a March flood in the South Park area and reallocating funds for a Flood Disaster Assistance Grant. The staff presentation said $65,000 would be moved to cover repairs for 10 households under the emergency repair program and that a separate flood-disaster assistance line item of $250,000 was proposed to assist affected families (as described in the action-plan amendment staff presented).

Staff also outlined plans to create a new activity to liquidate part of the city's Section 108 loan tied to the Pharr Aquatic Center. The staff presentation gave a payoff figure in the amendment documents and described the intended result as freeing up the city's capacity to apply later for a larger project to address drainage and flooding infrastructure. Council members discussed that paying down the loan would help the city meet HUD ratio expectations and position Pharr to pursue future Section 108 borrowing for larger drainage projects.

Board action After the presentations and discussion, the council voted to approve the staff'recommended list of subrecipients and funding amounts as presented. The board also approved the designation of two members to the Community Development Council (nominations previously made for Olga Cardoza and Lucio Gaitan). The board approved minutes of the April 14, 2025 meeting and adjourned.

What the record shows All program descriptions, client counts, funding requests and figures in this story are drawn from material presented at the June 1 meeting and the binders or handouts provided to the board. Staff noted the substantial amendment is in a 30-day comment period and is not yet final until the public comment period and any required HUD steps are complete.

Looking ahead Staff said final allocations and the substantial-amendment details will be brought back to the board as required by CDBG rules and as the public-comment period closes; staff indicated they will continue work with public-works and engineering to develop a plan should the city pursue a larger Section 108-funded drainage project.