Roma council advances application to Texas Water Development Board for drinking-water project

Unidentified Speaker (presiding council member) said the City Council approved a resolution to authorize staff to apply to the Texas Water Development Board for financial assistance to support acquisition, construction, expansion and long-term water-system infrastructure improvements. The item was presented as a preliminary step to determine potential eligibility and funding amounts; the council chair said approval of the resolution does not bind the city to a specific financing package.

Chur Ramirez, bond counsel, told the council, “This is a very preliminary stage in the process,” and explained that the authorization being requested allows staff to file the application with the board. Ramirez said the financing that ultimately might be approved could include a mix of loan components and incentive components; “a part of this bond will be an actual loan from the development board,” he said, “and a part of it will be a no interest loan. So you will only pay back the principal.”

The presiding speaker summarized the city’s next steps: engineers will conduct studies to define project scope, and a financial advisor will assess the city’s capacity before any final financing is determined. The transcript records a chair announcement that the motion to approve the resolution carried; the precise vote tally language in the record is unclear.

The resolution (identified in the meeting as Resolution No. 24-33) seeks to request assistance from the Texas Water Development Board and names financial advisors and engineers to assist with the application process. Speakers emphasized that earlier wastewater funding had been secured through a state clean-water program and that this action pertains to drinking-water funding sources.

The council did not obligate the city to a borrowing plan at this meeting; the action authorizes staff to pursue the application and return with more detailed project and financing recommendations.