Hardin County residents living in the southern portion of the county could see some future relief to flood-prone areas.
During the Aug. 9 meeting, the Commissioners Court voted unanimously to authorize County Judge Wayne McDaniel to execute the Funding Acknowledgment Letter from South East Texas Regional Planning Commission (SETRPC) to accept funding through the Regional Mitigation Program.
The county could receive about $23.895 million of the $142.878 million allocated to the SETRPC from the Texas General Land Office (GLO), according to Sharon Burke, Executive Director of the SETRPC. SETRPC will develop a Method of Distribution (MOD) for the Regional Mitigation Program as part of the state’s Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) Mitigation Action Plan as amended.
McDaniel said at this week’s meeting that the general consensus was the funding from the GLO is used for drainage improvement projects.
“The other awards are going to drainage districts in Jefferson and Orange counties, but we do not have a drainage district,” he said. “So it’s coming to the county.”
McDaniel stated there is no local match required for the MOD LMI (low-to-moderate income) funds because they are federal; however, 50% ($11,947,250) of the funding must be used for projects that benefit LMI persons in the community.
He noted the funds must be spent in six years. “It looks like we’re about a year into the process so we have about five years left for the funds to be spent down,” said McDaniel.
He added the SETRPC MOD was posted on the SETRPC website (www.setrpc.org) for public comment on Aug. 5. Two public hearings are set for Wednesday, Aug. 16, and Thursday, Aug. 17. The public comment period ends Monday, Aug. 22.
“If any adjustments are needed to be made, they will be on Aug. 23,” said McDaniel. “Then there will be a special-called meeting of the SETRPC to improve the final MOD and then to the GLO for final approval.”
He said Burke feels the $23.985 million is the amount the county will receive.
“It’s higher than the amount I was told six months ago,” McDaniel added. “I was told we would receive about $18 million.”
He told the court that one project the Drainage Committee, chaired by Pct. 4 Commissioner Alvin Roberts, would like to see is a diversion channel, ditch or piping in Lumberton to send water directly from Pine Island Bayou to the Neches River.
“That’s one project but it doesn’t have to be the project chosen,” McDaniel said. “We’ll come back and look at various projects, and we’ll decide as a court. We should be working with the mayors and other stakeholders throughout the community, to decide on the funds.”
Declining to participate in the SETRPC MOD may exclude Hardin County if there are any future allocations or reallocations of funds through the Regional Mitigation Program. It is recommended each entity officially involve their city council, county commissioners court or other governing board in the decision to accept or decline funds, according to Burke.
Once the GLO approves the final MOD, the GLO will post application information at: https://recovery.texas.gov/mitigation/programs/regional-
mitigation/index.html.