* This transcript was created by voice-to-text technology. The transcript has not been edited for errors or omissions, it is for reference only and is not the official minutes of the meeting. [00:00:03] GOOD AFTERNOON. [Transportation Infrastructure Mobility Committee Meeting on September 20, 2022.] THERE WE GO. GOOD AFTERNOON. AND WELCOME TO THE SEPTEMBER 20TH, 2022 MEETING OF THE TRANSPORTATION INFRASTRUCTURE AND MOBILITY COMMITTEE. I, MYSELF, DYLAN HEDRICK CHAIRMAN. WE ALSO HAVE COUNCILMAN JEFF BASS AND COUNCILMAN ROBERT VERA WITH US. OUR FIRST ITEM ON OUR AGENDA IS TO APPROVE THE AUGUST 16TH, 2022 MINUTE MEETING MINUTES. I HEAR A MOTION FOR THAT. ACTUALLY. I HAVE A QUESTION ABOUT THE MINUTE. YES, SIR. OKAY. UM, LOOKING AT MY NOTES AND LOOKING AT THE MINUTES, UM, IT DIFFERS WITH THE AGENDA AND I, SORRY, IT'S BEEN A MONTH, RIGHT? SO, UM, ON THE ORIGINAL AGENDA FROM JULY ON ITEM, NUMBER TWO, IT SAYS UPDATE ON, UH, GEORGE BUSH EXTENSION TO I 20. UM, BUT I DON'T SEE ANYTHING ABOUT THAT IN MY PERSONAL NOTES, NOR DO I SEE IT ON THE MINUTES. UM, SO DID WE DISCUSS THAT? DID WE PUSH THAT OFF TO A LATER DATE? ARE YOU LOOKING AT THE JULY MEETING MINUTES OR THE ONES FROM AUGUST MEETING? OH, I'M LOOKING AT JULY. WHERE'S MY AUGUST ONES THEN MAN, I'M LOST. I DON'T KNOW WHERE MY AUGUST ONE IS THEN. I'M SORRY. THAT'S WHY I'M NOT LEAVE. YOU'RE LOOKING AT THE JULY MEETING. YEAH, I THINK THAT WAS, YEAH, THAT WAS JULY. OKAY. OKAY. THAT'S YOU HAVE ONE OF THOSE FOR HIM? YES, SIR. I DID. I'VE GOT IT. OH, NO, I'VE GOT THE MINUTES. YEAH. I WAS JUST COMPARING IT TO WHAT I HAD, BUT YEAH. AND WHAT I'M LOOKING, WHAT I'M LOOKING AT ON MY PERSONAL IS FROM JULY, NOT FROM AUGUST, SO OKAY. MY BAD. I WAS LOOKING AT THE WRONG MONTHS. ALL RIGHT. WE HAVE ALL DIRECTION THEN FOR THE, UNLESS YOU HAVE ANY OTHER QUESTIONS? NO, NO MORE QUESTIONS. OKAY. WE HAVE MOTION FOR THE APPROVE, THE AUGUST 16TH, 2022 MINUTES HERE A SECOND, SECOND, SECOND. ALL IN FAVOR. AYE. NONE IN THE NEGATIVE MOVEMENTS ARE APPROVED. MAKE SURE YOU KEEP A COPY FOR NEXT MEETING. YEP. ALL RIGHT. AND WE'LL MOVE ON TO THE NEXT ITEM ON AGENDA IS THE FLOOD PRONE PROPERTIES, BUYOUT PROGRAM, FURTHER DISCUSSION. I NEED YOU TWO GENTLEMEN. WE'RE HERE LAST TIME. SO WE APPRECIATE YOU COMING BACK AGAIN. I'LL TURN IT OVER TO YOU. ALL RIGHT. THANK YOU VERY MUCH. UM, GOOD AFTERNOON, MR. CHAIRMAN AND OUR COMMITTEE MEMBERS. UM, I KNOW WE DISCUSSED THIS AT LENGTH LAST TIME WE WERE HERE. AND, UM, SHORTLY AFTER THAT PARTICULAR MEETING IN AUGUST, UH, MR. MORTENSON HERE TO MY LEFT AND ALSO MR. FISHER WHO'S WITH US TODAY, BOTH WENT DOWN FOR THE TEXAS FLOOD, PLAIN MANAGERS ASSOCIATION, UH, ANNUAL CONFERENCE, AND, UM, STARTED TALKING WITH, UH, MEMBERS OF THE TEXAS WATER DEVELOPMENT BOARD, AS WELL AS FEMA MEMBERS AND FOUND OUT THAT WHAT WE WERE PRE, WHAT WE PRESENTED TO YOU AT THE LAST MEETING WAS NOT EXACTLY ACCURATE ON HOW WE GO ABOUT THIS, THIS PROGRAM AND THIS PROCESS FOR THIS GRANT FUNDING. UH, WE FOUND OUT QUICKLY THAT, UH, GETTING REIMBURSED ON THE BACK END IS NOT AN OPTION LIKE WE ORIGINALLY THOUGHT IT WAS. SO WE'RE HERE TONIGHT TO PRESENT TO YOU THE WAY THAT FEMA REQUIRES US TO, TO RUN THIS PROGRAM. SO WE'RE GONNA DO THIS TWOFOLD. WE'RE GONNA PRESENT TO YOU THE FIRST, THE, THE PROGRAM PROCESSES AND PROCEDURES THAT WE ARE PROPOSING TO IMPLEMENT WITH THIS FLOOD PRONE BUYOUT PROGRAM FOR THE CITY. AND THEN AS A SEC, SEPARATE ITEM, WE WILL DISCUSS OUR RECOMMENDATIONS FOR WHAT WE DO WITH THE FUNDING PORTION OF IT. I ACTUALLY HAD A CONVERSATION WITH CHAIRMAN, UH, HEDRICK, UH, I GUESS IT WAS, I THINK THE MONDAY FOLLOWING THIS MEETING ALMOST ABOUT A WEEK LATER AND EXPLAINED ALL THIS TO HIM. AND HE SAID, WELL, WE NEED TO BRING THIS BACK TO THE COMMITTEE AND HAVE A RE DISCUSSION. AND SO THAT'S WHERE WE'RE AT TODAY. SO AT THIS POINT I WILL TURN IT OVER TO MR. MORTENSON SO HE CAN PRESENT THE, UH, REVISED INFORMATION. AND AS MR PCH SAID, UM, YEAH, WE ATTENDED THE TEXAS FLOOD PLAY MANAGEMENT ASSOCIATION AND, UM, THE TEXAS WATER DEVELOPMENT BOARD ACTUALLY PUT ON A HALF DAY SESSION ON HOW THE FMA GRANT PROGRAM WORKS THROUGH THEM, HOW THEY ADMINISTER IT AND WHY THEY'RE SO SUCCESSFUL. UM, I THINK THEY HAD 14 APPLICATIONS LAST YEAR THAT THEY SUBMITTED TO FEMA AND 10 OF THEM GOT APPROVED FOR FUNDING. UM, AND SO IT'S, THEY'RE REALLY BIG ON HELPING CITIES OUT AND GOING THROUGH THAT PROGRAM. SO, UM, WE SUBSEQUENTLY, WHEN WE GOT BACK, UM, SET UP A MEETING WITH THEM AND I THINK THAT WAS ON THE 12TH. UM, ME AND JAKE HAD AN HOUR LONG MEETING WITH ONE OF THEIR HIGHER RANKING OFFICIALS JUST TO GO THROUGH ANY AND ALL QUESTIONS WE HAD ABOUT THEIR PROGRAM AND HOW THE DIFFERENT THINGS WE WERE TRYING TO DO FIT INTO THAT PROGRAM AND WHAT ALL WENT THROUGH IT AND THEIR EXACT PROCESS ON HOW THEY GO ABOUT IT. AND SO WE'RE GONNA GO OVER A LITTLE BIT ABOUT THEIR, THEIR PROCESS AND HOW WE WOULD LIKE TO INCORPORATE THAT INTO OURS FOR THE CITY AND MOVE FORWARD WITH THIS PROGRAM. SO THE OVERALL PROCESS OF THE TEXAS WA SO THIS IS THE TEXAS WATER DEVELOPMENT BOARD AND FEMA'S PROCESS AND HOW THEY GO ABOUT THE FMA PROGRAM. [00:05:01] SO THE TEXAS WATER DEVELOPMENT BOARD OPENS APPLICATIONS AT USUALLY THE VERY END OF SEPTEMBER, USUALLY SEPTEMBER 30TH. UM, AGAIN, VERY SLIGHTLY, BUT THAT'S THE TYPICAL DATE. UM, AND THEY HAVE BASICALLY A TWO MONTH WINDOW WHERE THEY ACCEPT APPLICATIONS. AND THEN AFTER THAT TWO MONTH WINDOW STARTING IN THE BEGINNING OF JANUARY, THEY START THEIR R RFI PROCESS. SO THAT'S WHEN THEY GO, THEY WORK WITH THE CITIES, THEY LOOK AT THEIR APPLICATIONS, THEY JUST SAY, HEY, CAN YOU ADD SOME MORE INFORMATION HERE TO MAKE IT STRONGER, OR IF WE'RE DOING BUYOUTS AND OUR BCA IS A LITTLE BIT LOW, HEY, CAN WE REMOVE THIS HOUSE TO GET OUR BENEFIT COST RATIO JUST A LITTLE BIT HIGHER TO GET IT IN THAT NEXT CATEGORY OR TO MAKE IT A LITTLE BIT STRONGER. SO THEY WORK WITH DIFFERENT CITIES IN THE DIFFERENT APPLICATIONS FOR THE NEXT TWO MONTHS TO GET YOUR APPLICATION AS STRONG AS POSSIBLE BEFORE IT GOES TO FEMA. AND THEN JANUARY 25TH, UM, FEMA'S DEADLINE IS JANUARY 26TH. THEIR PROGRAM'S NOT THE BEST. AND SO THE TEXT WATER DEVELOPMENT BOARD ALWAYS SUBMITS ON THE 25TH JUST TO ENSURE THAT EVERYTHING'S UPLOADED AND EVERYTHING GETS TURNED IN ON TIME AND MEETS THEIR DEADLINE. UM, AND THEN AFTER THAT PROCESS IS DONE, IT GOES TO FEMA AND FEMA STARTS LOOKING AT THE APPLICATIONS AND THEY'LL ISSUE RFIS AND ASK FOR MORE INFORMATION ON PROJECTS IF NEEDED. UM, AND THAT USUALLY LASTS A MONTH OR SO. AND THEN SOME, IT VARIES YEAR BY YEAR, BUT SOMETIME IN THE MARCH, JUNE, THEY OPEN WHAT THEY CALL THEIR PERIOD OF PERFORMANCE. AND SO THAT'S WHEN SELECTED APPLICANTS CAN START SPENDING MONEY AND GET REIMBURSEMENT FOR. SO AT THAT POINT, ONCE YOU FIND OUT YOU'VE BEEN SELECTED, YOU CAN START SPENDING MONEY. YOU CAN'T SUBMIT FOR PAYMENT UNTIL YOU ACTUALLY RECEIVE THE FUNDS, BUT AT THAT POINT, THE CITY CAN START INCURRING COSTS. UM, AND THEN JUNE IS TYPICALLY WHEN THE TEXAS WATER DEVELOPMENT BOARD FINDS OUT WHAT THOSE SELECTIONS ARE. UM, SO THEY'LL FIND OUT AND THEN THEY'LL NOTIFY THE CITIES. AND THEN AUGUST IS USUALLY WHEN THOSE FUNDS ARE TRANSFERRED FROM THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT TO THE TEXAS DEVELOP TEXAS WATER DEVELOPMENT BOARD. AND AT THAT POINT, THEN THE TEXAS WATER DEVELOPMENT BOARD REACHES OUT TO THE CITIES. THEY COME UP WITH CONTRACTS AND GET EVERYTHING IN PLACE TO ACTUALLY START USUALLY USING THOSE FUNDS AND SETTING UP THE PROGRAM. SO THE CITY CAN RE GET REIMBURSED FOR THOSE FUNDS. UM, THE PERIOD OF PERFORMANCE, AND TYPICALLY ON THESE GRANT FUNDS IS APPROXIMATELY THREE YEARS. SO YOU HAVE A THREE MONTH WINDOW OR THREE YEAR WINDOW TO USE THE FUNDS IN THAT GRANT. UM, THEY CAN APPLY FOR EXTENSIONS AND AS LONG AS YOU'RE USING THE FUNDS AND MOVING FORWARD, THEY'RE TYPICALLY YOU CAN GET, I THINK THE FIRST EXTENSION IS A YEAR AND THEN SUBSEQUENT EXTENSIONS AFTER THAT ARE SIX MONTHS. UM, AND SO TYPICALLY BY SEPTEMBER, OCTOBER, THAT CONTRACT WITH TEXAS WATERVALE BOARDS IN PLACE, YOU GUYS CAN THEN START BEING REIMBURSED FOR ANY FUNDS THAT YOU HAVE INCURRED SINCE THE PERIOD OF PERFORMANCE STARTED. AND THEN YOU'RE KIND OF OFF TO THE RACES AT THAT POINT. UM, SO THAT'S THEIR PROCESS. UM, AND THE ONE BIG DIFFERENCE ON THAT IS WE, THE PERIOD OF PERFORMANCE, WHEN YOU CAN START INCURRING COSTS IS NOT UNTIL THAT MARCH. SO WE CAN'T, WE CAN'T PURCHASE ANY HOUSES PRIOR TO THAT, OR YOU, THEY CAN'T BE INCLUDED IN THAT APPLICATION. RIGHT? SO THAT WAS THE MAIN POINT THAT WE NEEDED TO MAKE ON THAT. UM, DO YOU GUYS HAVE ANY QUESTIONS ABOUT THIS SCHEDULE AND HOW THAT AFFECTS WHAT WE WERE TRYING TO DO? I HAVE A QUESTION, BUT IF ANYONE ELSE FIRST HAS QUESTION, GO AHEAD. I'M GOOD. UH, IS THERE ANY RISK AT ALL? IF YOU START INCURRING COSTS BEFORE WE WERE ACTUALLY NOTIFIED IN JUNE OF YOU'VE BEEN SELECTED, IF YOU START SPINNING IN MARCH, HAS THERE EVER BEEN A SITUATION WHERE THEY'LL DENY YOU, EVEN THOUGH YOU'RE IN THIS PERIOD OF PERFORMANCE, THAT IF THEY HAVE OPENED THE PERIOD OF PERFORMANCE, MY UNDERSTANDING IS THE PERIOD OF PERFORMANCE IS OPEN. SO IF, IF YOU'VE BEEN SELECTED, YOU CAN START INCURRING THOSE COSTS, BUT WHETHER THEY'VE INFORMED YOU OR NOT, I BELIEVE SO. WE CAN THAT WITH THE TEXAS WATER DEVELOPMENT BOARD, JUST TO MAKE SURE, BUT THAT'D BE UP TO THE CITY JUST IN CASE IF YOU, IF YOU DIDN'T, WEREN'T AWARDED THEN, SO YOU JUST BE OUT THOSE FUNDS. YEP. AT THAT POINT, DO WE KNOW HOW MUCH MONEY THEY DO NOT ALLOW THE APPLICATION IS APPROVED AS A WHOLE? SO WHATEVER YOU APPLY FOR IS WHAT YOU WOULD BE AWARDED. IF, IF WE HAD, LET'S SAY 10 PROPERTIES IN ONE YEAR THAT WANTED, THAT WENT THROUGH THE APPLICATION, OUR APPLICATION PROCESS TO THE CITY, WE PACKAGE 'EM ALL TOGETHER. IF WE SUBMIT 'EM AND, AND WE'RE, AGAIN, WE'RE LOOKING AT ALL THE PROPERTIES, THERE MAY BE A PROPERTY OR TWO THAT WE MAY HAVE TO PULL OUT OF THERE TO MAKE OUR BENEFIT TO COST RATIO WORK BETTER SO THAT WE GET THE FUNDING. ARE WE, ARE WE QUALIFY FOR THE FUNDING, UM, SINCE WE ARE COMPETING FOR THE FUNDING STATEWIDE. SO THAT THAT'S BEEN PART OF IT IS THAT YOU MAY HAVE ONE THAT'S ON A FRINGE THAT KEEPS YOU FROM GETTING TO THAT REALLY GOOD [00:10:01] BENEFIT TO CALL, WELL, WE MAY PULL ONE OUT, CALL IT FOR THE FOLLOWING YEAR, JUST SO THAT WE CAN GET MAYBE NINE IN THAT PACKAGE. BUT WHEN WE SUBMITTED THE TEXAS WATER DEVELOPMENT BOARD, ALL NINE PROPERTIES GO AS ONE APPLICATION FROM THE CITY OF GARLAND, THAT'S HOW IT WOULD WORK. AND THEN, UM, WHEN IT GOES TO, TO FEMA, IT STAYS ALL TOGETHER AS THOSE NINE PROPERTIES. AND THEN THAT'S WHAT ACTUALLY GETS APPROVED OR DISAPPROVED FROM FEMA. AND, AND AS RYAN MENTIONED, I BELIEVE THERE WERE HOW MANY, YOU SAY 10 OUT OF 12 LAST YEAR, 10 OUTTA 14 OR 10 OUT 14 IN STATE, FROM WHAT THEY TOLD US, TWO OF THE APPLICATIONS, THEY GOT NO RESPONSE FROM THE CITIES WHEN THEY WERE TRYING TO GET THEM TO IMPROVE THEIR APPLICATIONS. AND SO THEY SUBMITTED THEM AS IS JUST KNOWING THEY PROBABLY WEREN'T GONNA GET SELECTED. UM, THE OTHER TWO MET THE CRITERIA AND THEY JUST DIDN'T, WEREN'T PRIORITIZED HIGH ENOUGH ON THE LIST TO GET THE FUNDING. UM, BUT IN THAT CASE, TEXAS WATER DEVELOPMENT AWARD STILL HAS THOSE APPLICATIONS AND THEY WILL RESUBMIT THOSE AGAIN FOR THE NEXT YEAR FOR THOSE CITIES, IF THEY WANT THEM TO. GOOD. GOOD. ALL RIGHT, GOOD. SO, IN, IN, IN GOING WITH THIS, OUR PROCESS IN THE CITY WOULD BE TO RE UM, SOLICIT APPLICATIONS BEGINNING SOLICITING FROM PROBABLY THE BEGINNING OF JANUARY. THIS IS OUR PLAN AT THIS POINT. AND THEN WE WOULD RECEIVE, UM, APPLICATIONS BETWEEN MARCH AND MAY, I BELIEVE IS WHAT OR MARCH AND APRIL A TWO MONTH PROCESS FOR OUR WINDOW TO RECEIVE APPLICATIONS SO THAT WE HAVE TIME TO PREPARE ALL THE DOCUMENTATION TO SUBMIT BY SEPTEMBER THE 20TH OF, OF THE FOLLOWING YEAR. AS YOU CAN SEE THIS YEAR, THE 20TH IS, OR THE SEPTEMBER 30TH IS THE CUTOFF DATE. WE'RE OBVIOUSLY MISSING THAT FOR THIS YEAR FOR NEXT YEAR'S FUNDING. SO WHAT WE'VE, UM, RECOMMENDED AT THIS TIME IS THAT WE ALLOCATE FOR THIS UPCOMING C I P YEAR $2 MILLION FOR THE FIRST YEAR OF THE PROGRAM IN 2023. UM, THE PROGRAM OUTREACH AGAIN IS FROM JANUARY TO FEBRUARY AND THEN THE CITY APPLICATION PERIOD OF MARCH AND APRIL. AND THEN IF WE RECEIVE OUR, OUR THOUGHT PROCESSES ON THIS, IS THAT A TYPICAL PROPERTY, INCLUDING ALL RELOCATION EXPENSES AND THERE'S, THERE'S GONNA BE ANY, UM, UH, APPRAISALS, THINGS LIKE THAT, THAT A PROPERTY IS MOST LIKELY GOING TO BE AROUND, YOU KNOW, ANYWHERE FROM 400 TO $500,000. SO WE FIGURED IF WE HAD 2 MILLION IN THERE, WE'RE LOOKING AT FOUR PROPERTIES, UM, THAT WE COULD SAY, YES, WE HAVE ENOUGH FUNDING TO GO PURCHASE FOUR PROPERTIES. SO THE IDEA WOULD BE IF WE RECEIVE FOUR OR FEWER APPLICANTS, UM, THE CITY JUST GO AHEAD AND UTILIZES THAT 2 MILLION TO PURCHASE ALL THE PROPERTIES IN FALL OF 2023, CUZ WE CAN MOVE FASTER THAN WHAT THAN WAITING FOR ANOTHER YEAR, TILL WE GET FEMA APPROVAL AND USING, USING THEIR FUNDS. IN THE MEANTIME, WE CAN STILL CONTINUE WITH THE PROCESS FOR FUTURE PROGRAMS TO, TO GET ON TRACK WITH THAT. WE, WE'RE NOT CERTAIN HOW MANY WE EXPECT THIS YEAR BEING SUCH A NEW PROGRAM. I KNOW THAT AS FAR AS THE CITY ENGINEERING DEPARTMENT, WE'RE NOT RECEIVING A BUNCH OF CALLS FOR THE BUYOUT PROGRAM, UH, IN, IN INQUIRIES ON IT. I DON'T KNOW IF THE COUNCIL MEMBERS ARE AT THIS TIME. SO SENDING THIS OUT, WE'RE GOING TO SEND OUT NOTIFICATION IF WE GET APPROVAL TODAY SAYING, YEAH, THIS IS THE WAY WE WANT TO GO. UM, WE'LL TRY TO GET NOTIFICATION OUT EVEN BEFORE THE END OF THIS YEAR, PROB HOPEFULLY BY NEXT MONTH WE CAN AT LEAST START NOTIFYING A LOT OF THE PEOPLE IN THE FLOODPLAIN THAT THIS IS COMING SO THAT WHEN THEY RECEIVE THEIR OFFICIAL NOTIFICATION IN JANUARY, THEY'LL ALREADY HAVE SOME IDEA THAT THIS IS ON, ON THE BURNER AND THAT THEY CAN ALREADY START THINKING ABOUT, DO THEY WANT TO BE BOUGHT OUT? DO THEY WANT TO APPLY FOR THIS? AND WE CAN PROCEED WITH IT. NOW, IF THERE ARE MORE THAN FOUR APPLICANTS, THEN WE ARE PROPOSING THAT WE NEED TO FOLLOW THROUGH WITH THIS PROGRAM THROUGH THE TEXAS WATER DEVELOPMENT BOARD ONLY BECAUSE WE PROBABLY WON'T HAVE THE FUNDING TO BUY OUT MORE THAN THOSE PROPERTIES. AND WHEN YOU GET A LARGER GROUP OF THEM TOGETHER LIKE THAT, THERE'S A GOOD CHANCE THAT YOUR BENEFIT TO COST RATIO WILL WORK WHERE YOU WILL RECEIVE THE FEDERAL GRANT. SO THAT WAS OUR REASONING BEHIND APPLYING THE 2 MILLION FOR THIS NEXT YEAR. UM, WHAT WE WERE ALSO WANTING TO DO WITH THIS, WITH THIS FUNDING IS THAT THERE, THERE MIGHT BE A FEW PROPERTIES IN THERE THAT MAY BE ONLY A 90 10 LOCAL MATCH THAT THE, THAT THE CITY WOULD HAVE TO COME UP WITH 10%. SO THAT 2 MILLION, IF YOU HAVE THAT NUMBER OF PROPERTIES WOULD ALSO GO APPLY TOWARDS THE CITY'S LOCAL MATCH OF 10%. AND IN SOME CASES THERE MIGHT BE A 75, 25 SPLIT. UM, I BELIEVE THOSE WERE THE BREAKDOWN THAT WE HAD THE LAST TIME THAT [00:15:01] WE SHOWED YOU THE, THE IN THE LAST MEETING. SO WHATEVER THE LOCAL MATCH IS, THE CITY'S GONNA HAVE TO, UM, HAVE SOME FUNDING FOR THE LOCAL MATCH FOR ANY PROPERTIES THAT AREN'T 100%, UH, GRANT FUNDED. AND I WILL ADD TO THAT. UM, ONE THING THAT FEMA IS DOING OVER THE NEXT FIVE YEARS FOR EACH OF THE NEXT FIVE YEARS, THEY'VE ALLOCATED USUALLY THEIR FMA PROGRAMS ABOUT 160 MILLION TO 200 MILLION A YEAR. UM, OVER THE NEXT FIVE YEARS, SEQUENTIAL EVERY YEAR, THEY'RE ALLOCATING 800 MILLION TO THE PROGRAM. AND 400 MILLION OF THAT EVERY YEAR IS SET ASIDE FOR PROPERTY BUYOUTS. SO THERE'S A LARGE AMOUNT OF MONEY AVAILABLE OVER THE NEXT FIVE YEARS STARTING THIS YEAR. UM, SOMETHING ELSE THEY HAVE ADDED TO THE PROGRAM IS THE SVI INDEX, WHICH IS A VOL CULTURAL VULNERABILITY INDEX. AND IF, WHICH, AS YOU CAN LOOK IT UP THROUGH THE CITY'S, UM, OH, I FORGET THE WEBSITE, BUT I HAVE A WEBSITE THAT YOU CAN GO LOOK UP THAT NUMBER AND ANYTHING ABOVE A 0.5 ACTUALLY QUALIFIES FOR 90% MATCH VERSUS THE 75. SO IT, IT BUMPS UP YOUR MATCH PERCENTAGE. AND WHEN ME AND JAKE LOOKED AT THOSE NUMBERS FOR GARLAND, YOU GUYS FIT ABOVE THAT 0.5 RANGE. AND SO YOUR MATCH IS BETTER THAN WHAT IT WOULD'VE BEEN PREVIOUSLY. ANY QUESTION? NO QUESTION. ARE THERE ANY, UM, UH, LAND USE RESTRICTIONS FEDERALLY WHEN ACCEPTING THESE FUNDS ACCEPTING THE FUNDS? YES. UM, ACCORDING TO FEMA, IF, IF THEY, IF YOU USE THEIR GRANT FUNDS TO PAY FOR A PROPERTY, YOU HAVE TO PERPETUALLY LEAVE IT AS GREEN SPACE OR OPEN SPACE. NOW THERE, I BELIEVE THERE'S A FEW CAVEATS IN THERE THAT, THAT YOU CAN PUT MAYBE A, A PARK TRAIL ACROSS IT, BUT THAT'S ABOUT THE ONLY USE THAT YOU COULD, YOU KNOW, IT'S LEFT AS MORE OPEN SPACE AND, AND LET IT NATURALLY REVEGETATE. BUT THE, THE IDEA IS THAT YOU COULD PUT A TRAIL OR SOMETHING LIKE THAT THROUGH IT. SO ALONG DUCK CREEK PLACES WHERE WE WERE LOOKING AT POSSIBLY GETTING SOME TRAILS AND, AND THERE'S A LOT OF HOMES THAT A ALONG DUCK CREEK, UM, AREA THAT WOULD DEFINITELY QUALIFY FOR THIS, UH, BUYOUT PROGRAM AND THE GRANT FUNDING, THAT WOULD BE A GREAT PLACE TO ACTUALLY IMPLEMENT SOMETHING LIKE THAT ON THE CITY'S BEHALF. OKAY. BUT WHAT ABOUT USES SUCH AS JUST LIKE A PARK OR A GAZEBO STRUCTURE OR PLAYGROUND EQUIPMENT OR COMMUNITY GARDEN? I BELIEVE THAT THERE WOULD BE, UM, RESTRICTIONS ON, ON PLAYGROUND EQUIP ANY STRUCTURAL ITEM THAT GOES ON THE PROPERTY. YOU, YOU WOULD NOT BE ALLOWED TO, AGAIN, IT WOULD HAVE TO BE FLAT SURFACE, UM, AND LET IT GO BACK TO NATURAL VEGETATION REALLY. I MEAN, YOU COULD PROBABLY KEEP IT GROOMED AS A PARK IN AN OPEN SPACE, BUT BEYOND THAT, UM, NO STRUCTURES, NO, YOU COULDN'T PUT A, I DON'T BELIEVE YOU COULD PUT A PUBLIC RESTROOM FACILITY ON OR ANYTHING LIKE THAT. SO NOTHING STRUCTURAL THAT WOULD IMPEDE THE FLOW OF WATER. OKAY. THERE ARE SPACES OUTSIDE THE FLOOD, PLAIN THOUGH, ON THOSE PROPERTIES, YOU COULD PROBABLY DO SOME OF THAT STUFF WITH, OKAY. SO NOT NECESSARILY EVEN THE FLOOD PLAIN. OKAY. SO THE PART OF THE PROPERTY IT'S OUTSIDE OF THE FLOOD PLAIN, WE HAVE WOULD BE LESS RESTRICTED ON. YES. OKAY. OKAY. NOW YOU COULDN'T RESELL THE PROPERTY AND, UM, PUT A NEW HOUSE ON IT OR DO SOMETHING OF THAT NEXT. RIGHT. BUT I'M JUST THINKING OF OTHER, YOU KNOW, COMMUNITY OR PARK RELATED THINGS THAT COULD, WOULD MAKE SENSE TO GO THERE. YEAH. SO A LOT OF THE SPACE OUTSIDE THE FLOOD PLAIN, YOU COULD DO THAT. OKAY. WITHOUT A PROBLEM. OKAY. THANK YOU. THANK YOU. GOOD. AND TO ACQUIRE THIS PROPERTIES, WHAT IS THE PROCEDURE WE HAD TO DO? SO THE MAIN IT'D BE A VOLUNTARY PROGRAM. SO WE'D DO PUBLIC OUTREACH. WE'D SEND PROBABLY LETTERS TO ALL THE PEOPLE THAT ARE LOCATED WITHIN THE FEMALE FLOOD PLAIN WITHIN THE CITY TO START WITH. AND IT WOULD BE UP TO THEIR DECISION AND THEY COULD BACK OUT AT ANY POINT, LIKE JUST BECAUSE THEY SIGNED THEIR LETTER OF INTENT, UM, WHICH WE'VE CREATED A FORM THAT WE'RE WORKING THROUGH WITH CITY STAFF FOR THAT VOLUNTARY FORM BUYOUT. AND SO ONCE THEY DECIDED THEY WANNA BE A PART OF THE PROJECT, UM, WE'D INCORPORATE THAT INTO THE APPLICATION. AND THEN FROM THERE, ONCE WE WERE NOTIFIED OF THE FUNDING, THEN WE'D START WORKING THROUGH NEGOTIATING PRICES AND ALL THAT KIND OF STUFF. AND THEY BACK OUT AFTER WE DO THE DEAL. YES, SIR. OKAY. AND THAT IS ALLOWED AND, AND, UM, FEMA'S AWARE OF THAT. AND THEY, AND ACTUALLY THE TEXAS WATER DEVELOPMENT BOARD GAVE THAT PRESENTATION. THAT WAS ONE THING THAT THEY BROUGHT UP WAS THAT THEY CAN BACK OUT AT ANY TIME, BUT YOU CAN APPLY IF YOU HAVE OTHER HOUSES THAT MEET THE CRITERIA. AND YOU'VE, IF, SO YOU FIND OUT IN JUNE, BUT YOU'VE ALREADY GOT NEW APPLICATIONS FOR THE NEXT YEAR. YOU COULD POTENTIALLY REPLACE ONE OF THOSE HOUSES. YOU'VE LOST WITH ONE OF THE NEW ONES AS WELL. SO CUZ THAT MONEY'S BEEN ALLOCATED TO THE CITY BASICALLY. AND SO IF YOU CAN SHOW THAT THAT HOUSE MEETS THE SAME CRITERIA AS, AND GET IT APPROVED BY FEMA, YOU CAN SUBSTITUTE HOUSES. I'M THROUGH, WHAT'S THE MINIMUM [00:20:01] AMOUNT YOU'VE SEEN FOR FEDERAL GRANTS. UM, YOU CAN APPLY FOR ONE HOUSE. SO, UM, SHE WAS TELLING US PARIS, TEXAS APPLIES FOR LIKE ONE HOUSE. OKAY. THE REASON I ASK IS JUST BECAUSE THAT $2 MILLION NUMBER THAT WE'RE PUTTING TOWARDS FOUR HOUSES POSSIBLY. I MEAN, I'D LOVE TO SPEND FEMA'S MONEY RATHER OURS. YEAH. ON THAT. SO, UM, CAN YOU REMIND US HOW MUCH WE HAVE IN THE BOMB PROGRAM? IS IT $4 MILLION WE HAVE TOWARDS IT? YEAH. SO COMMITTEE THEN FOLLOWING, THIS IS WHAT THEY HAVE UP THERE IS THAT WE'LL RUN THIS FIRST YEAR AND IF WE GET FOUR FEWER, WE'LL GO AHEAD AND TAKE CARE OF IT OURSELVES. THE FIRST YEAR, IF WE GET MORE AND FOUR IT'LL BUMP 'EM INTO AN ADDITIONAL YEAR PROCESS, WHICH WILL BE TWO YEARS FROM NOW TO GO THROUGH THIS. WHAT DO YOU THINK ABOUT THAT? I, LIKE I SAID, I LIKE USING FEMA'S MONEY BETTER THAN OURS. SO I'M FOR GOING THROUGH THIS PROCESS. I'D RATHER, YOU KNOW, IF WE GET THREE APPLICANTS, SAY MAYBE MAKE THEM ALL, WAIT THAT YEAR, GOING INTO FE PROCESS, THEN WE'LL USE OUR MONEY, UH, USE FAMOUS MONEY AND HAVE OUR MONEY AS A MATCH IN THAT RATHER THAN YEAH. BUT THAT'S SOMETHING FOR CONSIDERATION. WELL, AND, AND I WAS THINKING THE SAME THING AFTER, YOU KNOW, LOOKING AT THIS, I WOULD MUCH RATHER SPEND THEIR MONEY THAN OURS. AND, AND IF, YOU KNOW, ONCE WE SPEND OUR MONEY IT'S GONE. RIGHT. SO, YOU KNOW, I THINK, I THINK THAT IT MIGHT BE BETTER USED TO DO, YOU KNOW, OUR MATCHING PARTICIPATION. UM, I DON'T, I MEAN, I GUESS I DON'T, YOU KNOW, PRIMING, IT WOULD BASICALLY PRIMING THE FIRST YEAR WOULD $2 MILLION OUT OF OUR FUNDS. I DON'T, I DON'T NECESSARILY SEE THAT THAT PROVIDES A BENEFIT IN THE LONG RUN. UM, YOU KNOW, I THINK IF SOMEONE'S WILLING TO DO THIS AND YOU KNOW, WAITING'S PART OF THE GAME, IT'S GONNA BE PART OF THE GAME EVERY, EVERY YEAR FORWARD. SO THAT, SO I DON'T, I DON'T SEE THE BENEFIT OF, OF USING 2 MILLION OF OUR FUNDS THE FIRST YEAR, IF WE HAVE LESS THAN FOUR APPLICANTS. BUT, UM, BECAUSE IF WE CAN, IF WE CAN APPLY WITH FEWER APPLICANTS, RIGHT. WE COULD APPLY WITH TWO OR THREE THEN. YEAH, I WOULD, I WOULD JUST DO THAT WAY. JUST GO AHEAD AND GET US IN THERE, GET US IN THE SYSTEM WITH THE, WITH THE FEMA AND FMA AND, AND GET ROLLING ON THAT. YEAH. BUT, BUT, BUT WE'RE NOT GONNA SPEND ALL THAT MONEY ON FOUR PEOPLE. WELL, WHAT THIS, WHAT THIS RECOMMENDATION SAYS RIGHT HERE, IT SAYS IF WE HAVE FOUR OR FEWER APPLICANTS USE OUR MONEY TO PER A HUNDRED PERCENT TO PURCHASE THE PROPERTIES. SO I MEAN, YOU KNOW, 2 MILLION, THAT'S ONLY 500,000 PER PROPERTY THAT, THAT COULD EASILY HAPPEN WITH FOUR PROPERTIES OR LESS THAT WE, THAT WE SPEND THE WHOLE 2 MILLION. SO, UM, OR ROBERT, THE OTHER THING WOULD BE IF WE DON'T USE OUR MONEY TO BUY THEM OUT. RIGHT. AND JUST SUBMIT THE APPLICATION FOR THE FEDERAL FUNDS, WITH THE 1, 2, 3 OR FOUR PROPERTIES, NO MATTER WHAT IT IS, GO THAT ROUTE. I THINK THAT, THAT, THAT'S, THAT'S THE WAY I'D LIKE TO GO WITH IT. OKAY. SAVE OUR MONEY. AND WE'RE TALKING ABOUT DELAY OF, WELL, REALLY NINE MONTHS FROM THE FALL OF 2023 TILL WHEN THE NOTIFICATION OF SELECTIONS IN JUNE OF THE NEXT YEAR. AND THEN THEY HAVE TO WAIT TILL THE END OF THAT YEAR TO ACTUALLY MAKE THE PURCHASE FINALIZE THE PURCHASE. SO, SO I'M FINE FOR TAKING THAT AMOUNT OF TIME TO BUILD UP INTEREST IN THE PROGRAM. MM-HMM , YOU KNOW, RATHER THAN JUST THIS OUTREACH OF TWO MONTHS HERE, JANUARY, FEBRUARY, WE'D HAVE LONGER THAT TO BUILD UP INTEREST TILL WE GET TO, YOU KNOW, THE APPLICATIONS THAT WE NEED TO HAVE, START HAVING THEM COME IN OF JANUARY OF, WELL, REALLY WOULD BE, YOU WOULD BE NEXT YEAR, A YEAR FROM NOW IS REALLY, YEAH. DECEMBER OF 23 IS WHEN YOU'D BE SUBMITTING TO PERIOD OPEN ALMOST A YEAR FROM TODAY. YEP. AND THEN, CORRECT. SO WE'D HAVE A YEAR TO ADVERTISE AND HOPEFULLY MAKE OUR APPLICATION EVEN STRONGER IF WE HAVE, YOU KNOW, 70 PROPERTIES OR WHATEVER THE NUMBER IS IN THE CITY THAT WE ARE ELIGIBLE. SO, YOU KNOW, IT DON'T SEEM FAIR. YOU DO ALL THIS WORK AND YOU GOT IN AND THEN ALL OF A SUDDEN, ONE OF 'EM I, I DON'T WANT TO GET OUT THAT'S THAT'S, THAT'S, THAT'S PRETTY TOUGH, YOU KNOW? YEAH. WE DO ALL THE WORK FOR IT. AND THEN THERE'S, I'M OUT. THAT HAPPENS A LOT OF, A LOT OF THINGS AND A LOT OF PLACES I KNOW I KNOW. WELL THEN, UH, WOULD THE COMMITTEE'S RECOMMENDATION THEN BE TO NOT USE $2 MILLION FOR FOUR PROPERTIES, BUT USE THAT AMOUNT, THE WHOLE 4 MILLION IS MATCHING AND GO THROUGH THE FEMA PROCESS ONLY WITH SELECTIONS AS IS OUTLINED IN [00:25:01] THE BOTTOM. THE LAST BULLET POINT THERE. YES. OKAY. I OCCUR WITH THAT. WE'LL GO. THAT SOUND GOOD. MM-HMM SO I WANNA MAKE SURE I UNDERSTAND. AS FAR AS THE CIP P IS CONCERNED, YOU'RE WANTING TO ALLOCATE THE $4 MILLION ALL IN ONE YEAR, JUST AS MATCHING FUNDS OR DO WE WAIT UNTIL 24 WHEN THE ACTUAL CUZ WE WON'T BE APPLYING TO THE TEXAS WATER DEVELOPMENT BOARD UNTIL UM, THIS TIME, NEXT YEAR WE WEREN'T IN, WE WOULDN'T INCUR COSTS AT THE EARLIEST UNTIL MARCH OF 20, 24 THEN SO WE, WE WOULDN'T HAVE TO DO ANY C I P CORRECT. THE COMING YEAR. IT'D BE THE YEAR FOLLOWING. CORRECT. OKAY. BUT YOU DON'T WANT TO PUT ALL $4 MILLION, MAYBE TWO. WELL, I MEAN, WE'RE GONNA FIND OUT INTEREST LEVEL IN BEFORE THEN. YEAH, EXACTLY. AND I THINK THIS IS A BOND PROGRAM AND WE'D LIKE TO HAVE OUR BOND PROGRAMS FOLLOW OUR SAME BOND PROJECTS PROCESS OF WITHIN SEVEN YEARS. WE'D LIKE TO HAVE THE MONEY SPENT. SO WE GET A HUGE AMOUNT OF INTEREST IN THE FIRST YEAR. I'M FINE PUTTING IT ALL TOWARDS ONE YEAR AND MEAN MATCHING. IT'S GONNA GO, YOU SEE THE MATCHING IT'S 90% OR 75%. WE ONLY HAVE TO SPEND A FRACTION OF THAT FOR, SO WE CAN GO A LONG WAY WITH OUR LOT OF HOUSES, 4 MILLION. YEAH. IT'LL GO A LONG IT'LL GO A LONG WAY. YEAH. SO I DON'T HAVE A WORRY ABOUT SAVING SOME RESERVING SOME, I WOULD GO AHEAD AND PUT IT ALL IN THAT, NOT THIS COMING, BUT THE FOLLOWING YEAR 24 MM-HMM RIGHT, CORRECT. BECAUSE IF THE INTEREST LEVEL IS THAT GREAT, THERE'S NO REASON TO PUT OFF THE DOING IT. SO YEAH. THEY KNOW WE, YEAH. ONCE SPENDING, SPENDING THE MATCHING FUNDS TO MATCH THE LEVEL OF INTEREST. RIGHT. SO THERE'S NO REASON THAT'S SOMETHING I ASKED THE DEVELOPMENT BOARD. I WAS LIKE, IS THERE A CAP WE NEED TO LOOK AT FROM THE HIGH END? LIKE IF DO WE NEED TO NOT GO ABOVE 5 MILLION IN TOTAL HOUSES OR SOMETHING? AND THEY SAID, NO, THEY SAID HARRIS COUNTY GOT APPROVED FOR, I THINK, 17 MILLION ON A PROJECT LAST YEAR. SO THE THEY'VE, THEY DON'T REALLY HAVE A CAP THAT THEY LOOK AT FOR PREP. OKAY. SO IT'S REALLY JUST WHAT YOUR APPLICATION LOOKS LIKE AND HOW IT, IT CAN RANK. SO MM-HMM YEAH. SOUNDS GOOD. COMMITTEE. THAT WAS GOOD. GOOD. ALL RIGHT. OKAY. ALL RIGHT. WE'LL MAKE THAT CHANGE. VERY GOOD. WELL THEN THAT WAS THE ONLY ITEM ON OUR AGENDA. THEN FOR THE SEPTEMBER 20TH, 2022 MEETING OF THE TRANS TRANSPORTATION INFRASTRUCTURE AND MOBILITY COMMITTEE, WE ARE A GERM. THANK YOU. * This transcript was created by voice-to-text technology. The transcript has not been edited for errors or omissions, it is for reference only and is not the official minutes of the meeting.