Texas Border Business
EDINBURG – Several residents of Precinct 4 will begin to receive keys to a newly renovated home via a partnership with theTexas General Land Office (GLO) Disaster Recovery Program and the Hidalgo County Urban County Office. The currentrehabilitation housing program is underway through the end of the year.
On Friday, September 10th, two Pct. 4 residents received keys to a renovated home by Hidalgo County Precinct 4 Commissioner Ellie Torres who was accompanied by the local GLO representative Elijah Casas, Urban County andPrecinct 4 staff members. Commissioner Torres presented each resident with a small house warming item and words of congratulations for new beginnings. “I am humbled by the opportunity to extend the keys to a new home to our residents so that they may begin anew,” said Commissioner Torres. “Partnerships with the GLO are critical to support the needs of our residents. I will continue to advocate for a more rapid process flow to access the federal dollars available to support such projects,” said Torres.
In 2015, there were two Presidential Disaster Declarations that affected Hidalgo County: FEMA Disaster 4223 and FEMADisaster 4245. As a result, the Federal Register, Vol. 81, No. 117, was issued on Friday, June 17, 2016, allocating $6,740,560
to Hidalgo County where sixty-eight percent (68%) or $4,583,581 to be utilized for non-housing activities, such as drainage improvements, and the remaining thirty- two percent (32%) or $2,156,979 to be utilized for housing activities. Consequently, the GLO, the lead state agency for managing the State’s Community Development Block Grant – Disaster Recovery (CDBG-DR) funds, entered into a contract with the Hidalgo County Urban County Program (UCP) in July 2018 toperform housing activities in the affected area(s).
Due to the limited amount of Disaster Recovery CDBG funding available, the Method
of Distribution focused initially on the most affected areas in Hidalgo County. Discussion amongst the most affectedCounty Precincts resulted in an agreement to prioritize the projects by assisting the most affected areas. Hidalgo CountyUrban County Program in conjunction with Precinct staff concluded Precinct # 4 was one the most affected area and prioritized thirteen subdivisions. In December 2020, UCP completed the non- housing activities by providing adequatedrainage in the above- mentioned subdivisions while spending $4,246,741.85 pending project closeouts and constructionretainage. As a result of the thirteen Precinct 4 affected subdivisions having adequate drainage, the housing activities arecurrently underway through the end of the year. Every day at the General Land Office we work to help improve the lives of Texans,” said Commissioner George P. Bush. “The GLO is proud to be setting a record pace in disaster recovery while helping thousands of Texas families rebuild their lives and their homes. The GLO continues to leverage federal dollars efficiently and effectively to help Texas families and communities rebuild and militate against future storms. ”
