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Resident urges Aransas County to back Little Bay restoration grant application
Summary
At a March 19 special meeting, a local resident asked the Aransas County Commissioners Court to pass a resolution supporting an application to the Texas Water Development Board for funds to restore Little Bay, citing a master plan, scientific reports and an estimated $8 million channel cost; the court did not act that day.
Mr. Gillery, identified in the transcript as a resident who addressed the court, asked Aransas County to adopt a resolution supporting an application to the Texas Water Development Board (TWDB) before the TWDB’s April 15 application deadline.
He told the court he had recently met with Vanessa Shroner and learned about a competitive TWDB program he said totals about $2 billion and applies to 59 communities along the Gulf Coast; he said the program would amount to roughly $30 million per community by his calculation and that about half of the awards are structured as loans. He added that, because Aransas County is considered rural, those awards could be available at zero interest, saying, "You don't have to pay it back. It's free."
Mr. Gillery said the Restore Little Bay Foundation has produced a master plan that could serve as the project foundation and that the proponents have assembled scientific material including the Turner report, a McDonald report and other studies. He said consultant David Balmos is preparing a new drawing and cost estimate for a channel from Aransas Bay into Little Bay and that the channel is expected to cost about $8 million, with roughly $1 million allotted for contingencies. "We're asking now for a resolution from the county that says resolved. We agreed that uh we should apply for that grant to TWDB ... and use the master plan to restore Little Bay as its foundation," he said.
Mr. Gillery also described local coordination: he said the city would offer staff (named in the transcript as Kimberly Henry) and that the county and city would share grant-writing resources. He emphasized the April 15 application deadline and asked the court to prepare a resolution on short notice.
The court did not take public action on the request during the special session. The transcript contains the resident’s statements and estimates but includes no county response committing to a resolution or an identified timetable for staff follow-up.
Next steps: Mr. Gillery asked the court to adopt a formal resolution and to work with city and grant-writing partners to submit an application by April 15; the court did not indicate action or a vote on that request at the meeting.
