San Marcos City Council Receives Presentation On CDBG-Mitigation Action Plan

By Terra Rivers | Managing Editor

On Tuesday, the San Marcos City Council received a presentation on the Community Development Block Grant-Mitigation Action Plan.

The City of San Marcos has been awarded $24,012,000 of funds from the Housing and Urban Development for mitigation projects in the city.

In compliance with Federal Register Notice 6109-N-02, the City is required to submit an Action Plan prioritizing the use of the funds for hazard mitigation/preparedness in response to the 2015 floods.

Following a public hearing, the council directed staff to allocate $16 million of the funding toward the Blanco Gardens project, so the project could be completed.

The remaining $8 Million would be allocated to addressing repetitive loss, preservation of land, warning systems, signs and barricades, planning and administration.

The complete proposed program budget follows:

• Addressing Repetitive Loss = $2,849,600
• Preservation of Land = $300,000
• Warning Systems = $60,000
• Signs & Barricades = $3,601,800
• Planning = $1,200,600
• Administration =$1,200,600
• Blanco Gardens Mitigation Project =$16,000,000

Council member Dr. Jocabed Marquez noted the need for alternative sheltering options in the event of a flood.

“My concern is that a lot of people who are flooded out of their homes have to stay in hotels and motels,” Marquez said. “And it becomes really difficult for them to pay for that amount of time that their home is uninhabitable. So, I don’t know if we can move some money into providing other forms of shelter other than the activity center just because they are on the Eastside.”

Staff said Rachel Ingle, Emergency Operations Manager, is working to have shelter agreements in place ahead of an emergency; the shelter agreements would be made with local hotels and motels to help accommodate those who were displaced by floodwaters.

According to Laurie Moyer, Director of Engineering, these agreements would typically not be paid until the disaster occurred; FEMA funds come in during the disaster and could be used to cover such costs.

The CDBG-MIT Action Plan will return for a public hearing on January 7; staff plans to bring it back for an official resolution of approval sometime in February.