Texas GLO posts 2021 Winter Storms Action Plan for public comment

By
Odessa American
-

AUSTIN The Texas General Land Office (GLO) on Monday posted the State of Texas 2021 Winter Storms Action Plan for $43,632,000 in Community Development Block Grant Disaster Recovery (CDBG-DR) funds for public comment. These funds were allocated to Texas by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) for disaster recovery for areas affected by the 2021 Winter Storms (DR-4586) from Feb. 11-21, 2021. Additionally, the GLO will field public comments at a virtual public hearing on Thursday, Nov. 16 at 6:00 p.m. The deadline to submit public comments is Dec. 6, 2023, by 5 p.m.

The GLO’s action plan proposes distributing the funds through the following programs:

  • The 2021 Winter Storms (21WS) HUD MID Counties Program ($30,459,000) – Provides funding for infrastructure improvements and/or the rehabilitation, reconstruction, and new construction of affordable multifamily housing within the HUD MID counties. This program will allow for specific projects in the HUD designated “most impacted and distressed” counties of Dallas, Harris, and Tarrant. Included in these program funds are the Mitigation Set-aside funds ($5.691 million) HUD provides for CDBG-DR grantees to mitigate against future similar disasters in the affected areas.
  • The 2021 Winter Storms (21WS) Fire Facilities and Protective Measures (FFPM) Program ($7,500,000) – Provides funding for disaster relief, long-term recovery, and restoration of fire protection facilities for the remaining 251 Secondary MID counties impacted by the 2021 Winter Storms. The program will allow for the recovery of fire protection facilities and allow for improvements and equipment, while also allowing for permanently affixed power generator public facility needs that are essential during winter storm events.

The action plan is available for review at recovery.texas.gov/public-notices. Per federal requirements, the GLO will consider and respond to all public comments before the final action plan is sent to HUD. Public comments may be emailed to the GLO at [email protected], mailed to P.O. Box 12873, Austin, TX 78711-2873, or faxed to 512-475-5150.

Virtual public hearing via Zoom:

For those who wish to call-in rather than utilize the Zoom link, please use the following information:

  • Dial-In Number: +1 346 248 7799, +1 719 359 4580, +1 253 205 0468 US
  • Meeting ID: 867 2223 4406

You may also click here to find your local number: https://txglo.zoom.us/u/kbtrIvV4Fn

To provide public comment during the event, participants must register at https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/21WS_Public_Hearing. Comments during the hearing will be limited to three (3) minutes, though additional comments can be submitted in writing as well. Translation services are available upon request for this hearing, provided that requests are made at least 48 hours in advance.

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