City Council approves pursuit of Colonia Self-Help Center Program Grant

By: Jose G. Landa, Copyright 2015, Eagle Pass Business Journal, Inc.

The Eagle Pass City Council approved to authorize City Manager Gloria Barrientos to create and submit a grant proposal for the City of Eagle Pass with the Texas Department of Agriculture (“TDA”) Office of Colonias Initiatives (“OCI”) Colonia Self-Help Center Program at their regular monthly meeting held on Tuesday, February 3, 2015, possibly saving Maverick County residents’ continued participation in the important Colonia Self-Help Center Program after Maverick County Commissioners Court had to de-obligate (return) a $1,000,000 (Million) grant earlier this year due to non-compliance issues with the program requirements.

During discussion of Agenda Item No. 9, City Manager Gloria Barrientos stated that she had personally met with Mr. Gilbert Salazar of the TDA Office of Colonias Initiatives to review the Colonia Self-Help Center Program grant process, timelines, requirements, and allowable program expenses. Barrientos recommended to City Council that the City of Eagle Pass should apply for a TDA Colonia Self-Help Center Program grant and work with the TDA Office of Colonias Initiatives in preparing and submitting a grant application to assist City and County residents receive financial assistance in remodeling their homes, have access to Computer Labs, and participate in a Tool Lending Program.

City Manager Gloria Barrientos noted that “this would be a completely new grant with the City of Eagle Pass,” not Maverick County Commissioners Court.

Maverick County Commissioners Court approved on January 12, 2015 to de-obligate (return) the sum of $893,047 of a $1 Million dollar TDA Colonia Self-Help Center Program grant previously awarded to Maverick County because the County failed to comply with TDA program requirements, causing Maverick County residents in four Colonias-Las Quintas, Deer Run, Loma Bonita, and Las Brisas-to lose valuable and much needed financial assistance to remodel their homes and other services.

In light of Maverick County’s loss of these key grant monies for needy residents, Maverick County Judge David R. Saucedo approached the Eagle Pass City Council on January 23, 2015 at a special meeting to consider applying for the TDA Colonia Self-Help Center Program grant in order to save Maverick County residents’ disqualification from this program and the use and benefit of these desperately needed grant funds in the community and local economy. Judge Saucedo advised City Council that the TDA Colonias Initiatives Program would entertain and consider an application from the City of Eagle Pass for Colonia Self-Help Center Program grant funds in order to save Maverick County residents from permanently being disqualified from this program and the loss of the $893,047 that Maverick County had to de-obligate or return back to the State of Texas. Unless the City of Eagle Pass applied for this grant program, these funds will be redistributed to other communities in Texas.

After discussion, the City Council unanimously approved to authorize City Manager Gloria Barrientos to draft and submit a TDA Colonias Self-Help Center Program grant application and submit to City Council for their review and final approval before submitting to TDA.

Another important agenda item approved by City Council was to authorize City Manager Barrientos to negotiate and execute an agreement with Vista Planning and Design for an update of the 1995 City of Eagle Pass Master Plan. The City of Eagle Pass has not updated its City Master Plan since 1995, more than 20 years ago. A new, revised City Master Plan is gravely needed to guide the City’s present and future growth and economic development.

City Manager Barrientos advised City Council that the cost to revise the City Master Plan is $15,000.

During discussion, City Planning Director Bryan Shea stated “the boundary of the City in the current master plan doesn’t correspond with the current boundary. The City is actually much larger than this. The plan was not really organized and structured. The intention behind the idea is for the consultant to construct the document and our office will edit it.” Shea presented to City Council what was needed to revise the City Master Plan and expand its scope of coverage to accurately reflect the future and strategic needs of the City.

Mayor Cantu asked Shea if he felt that this was the best way to go about setting the changes to the plan. Shea replied affirmatively and stated the objective was to get it done before the month of September 2015.

Mayor Cantu opined that when it came to master planning that there should be more community input and suggested the possibility of forming an ad-hoc committee to overview the City Master Plan and invite community participation.

Mayor Cantu stated “As long as there is public input in the process, I find some comfort in it. I just want to make sure that we take that concern from them through the entire process because ultimately they’re the ones that are affected or can be if something is not made public as far as the process is concerned.”

The City Council went into Executive Session to discuss three agenda items, including the proposed City Charter Amendments, the status of the City of Eagle Pass Public Safety Headquarters Schmatic Designs and the Architect’s request for reimbursement of additional costs, including a public safety consultant, civil engineer, and landscape and irrigation designer.

Upon returning into Open Session, the City Council approved to reimburse Gignac Architects an amount not to exceed $24,000 for a civil engineer for the Public Safety Headquarters Project, provided instructions to City Attorney Heriberto Morales concerning the City Charter Amendments, and took no action on the schematic designs of the Public Safety Headquarters.