Harlingen staff announces CDBG, HOME and ARP programs to speed housing repairs and veteran assistance

Sandy Alvarez, Community Development (CDBG) director, told the Harlingen City Commission that the city’s Community Development Department administers federal grant programs used for housing repair, public‑works projects and social‑service subrecipients. "This year, we received, 913,635 in CDBG funds and $325,911.52 in home funding," Alvarez said, listing the current entitlement amounts the department is handling.

The presentation outlined a suite of concurrent federal programs staff are implementing and seeking to accelerate for local need. Alvarez described an ongoing Healthy Homes grant (applied for in 2022, awarded June 2023, funds released September 2024) under which city staff have taken 82 applications, determined eligibility for 26 households, completed about 18 inspections and finished their first completed home. She said repairs under Healthy Homes are limited to safety and health fixes, with a cap of $10,000 per home to address hazards rather than cosmetic remodeling: "the repairs are only up to 10,000 per home," Alvarez said.

Alvarez also described the city’s housing rehabilitation and reconstruction program carried out with CDBG funds. She said the program has roughly $400,000 available that could be used for emergency repairs and disaster response and that using that pool in smaller awards (up to program caps) could help roughly 40 families rather than reconstructing two or three full homes. "We have about 400,000, so that we could use for emergency situations," Alvarez said, and added that the funding can be used for disaster situations such as floods and fires under the program’s existing policies.

Staff and commissioners discussed logistics and timing. Alvarez said the department can start taking applications and begin procedural steps — income eligibility checks, environmental reviews and procurement for a pool of contractors — immediately and estimated the city could "start in maybe 2 weeks at most" to begin processing applicants, subject to HUD environmental and procurement requirements. She cautioned HUD rules make some steps lengthy: "it takes a while," she said, describing federal compliance steps that must be met before funds are spent.

The commission also heard details on related programs. Alvarez said the city was awarded $1.2 million in Home ARP funds and that the city had allocated portions of that to supportive services; she listed subrecipients and amounts for supportive services that had already been committed. Alvarez said the Home ARP awards included distinct allocations for a veterans general assistance program and a Housing for Heroes program (the presentation named $400,000 and $500,000 figures, respectively) and described program uses such as rental or mortgage assistance, accessibility improvements, and weatherization.

Commissioners pressed staff on outreach and speed of implementation. Mayor Norma Sepulveda noted her office had advocated for veterans funding and urged rapid expenditure and outreach. Alvarez and staff said they already have flyers, application forms and procurement processes in progress and that they will coordinate with district town halls and community partners to publicize application opportunities once intake is ready. Staff confirmed eligibility checks (household income and location within low‑to‑moderate‑income criteria) and noted awards are grants and often deferred‑forgivable mechanisms aimed at homeowners and other specified beneficiaries.

Why it matters: Harlingen officials framed the programs as immediate tools to address housing damage and stability following recent flooding and other local needs. The city’s ability to convert larger reconstruction awards into many smaller emergency grants could broaden immediate assistance, they said, though federal compliance requirements will limit how quickly each individual award can be completed.

Alvarez invited residents to apply and said staff would return to the commission with updates. Commissioners asked staff to provide concise handouts for town halls and outreach events so residents could apply as soon as intake opens. Alvarez said staff would prepare materials and coordinate with assistant city staff for distribution.

Ending: The commission asked for a follow‑up presentation in August to report on implementation status and expenditures and for staff to coordinate with the veterans advisory board and with commissioners’ town halls. Several commissioners reiterated the priority of expending the funds efficiently to meet HUD expenditure deadlines.