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City of Alice staff review multi-million-dollar street, sidewalk and public-safety grants
Summary
City grant coordinator Desiree Contola updated the council on several active grants including a $6.9 million CDBG street project, a $2.4 million TxDOT sidewalk application, a $1 million EPA-linked water-tower grant and various public-safety grants with no local match.
Desiree Contola, the City of Alice grant coordinator, told the city council on Oct. 14 that several city projects funded by federal and state grants are active or pending.
Contola said the Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) Virginia Street project is about 60% complete and will finish construction in January. "There are some work that we still have to do over on Old Kingsville Road, Reynolds, and Motor Street, but that project is going really well," she said. She told the council the Virginia Street contract is for $6,900,000 and that project carries no local match.
Contola also briefed the council on a TxDOT sidewalk grant application and a county-shared "ramp" grant. The TxDOT sidewalk application, she said, is a $2,400,000 grant award amount (the city will know the final award amount at the end of the month). The ramp grant, which the city shares with the county, was described as $100,000 with a 10% match, producing a project total of about $111,100.
Contola described an awarded $1,000,000 grant for a project she referred to as the Monica Dela Cruz grant. She said that award "is for our water towers" and that the city is coordinating a work plan with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). "We are currently working with EPA on the startup project," Contola said, adding the city will combine that $1,000,000 with a separate $4,700,000 source "with Midland," per remarks in the meeting record.
Contola said the city also pursues multiple public-safety and library grants. "A lot of those are 0 match," she said, describing police and fire department grants and library funding that do not require a local match. She said the city aims to publish an updated grants overview quarterly and will supply clean copies of the handout she distributed to council members.
Council members asked follow-up questions about the Virginia Street scope and the water-tower project. Contola said remaining work includes drainage and sewer work on Reynolds, Oak Kingsville and Mora streets and that the project "is looking really nice in what they're doing out there." On the $1,000,000 water-tower grant, she confirmed the award and said the city is doing inspections and planning with EPA.
Contola told the council the city is continually searching for additional grant opportunities and is exploring improvements at the municipal airport. When asked whether the city had considered using artificial intelligence tools to find or help fill grant applications, she said she was "open to new ideas and different things that we can do to bring in more grants."
