AGENDA CAPTION:
Title
Receive a Staff presentation and hold a Public Hearing to receive comments on the allocation of $754,405.00 in Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) Entitlement funding for housing and community development needs; then consider approval of Resolution 2025-142R, adopting the CDBG Action Plan that provides for the allocation of $754,405.00 in CDBG entitlement funds for program year 2025-2026; authorizing the City Manager, or her designee, to act as the official representative of the city in matters related to the CDBG Program; and declaring an effective date.
Body
Meeting date: August 5, 2025
Department: Planning and Development Services
Amount & Source of Funding
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Funds Available: Click or tap here to enter text.
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Fiscal Note:
Prior Council Action: On June 3, 2025, Council held a public hearing to receive comments, and provided direction on the projects, programs, and funding levels that should be included in the draft 2025 CDBG Action Plan.
City Council Strategic Initiative: [Please select from the dropdown menu below]
Quality of Life & Sense of Place
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Comprehensive Plan Element (s): [Please select the Plan element(s) and Goal # from dropdown menu below]
☐ Economic Development - Choose an item.
☐ Environment & Resource Protection - Choose an item.
☐ Land Use - Choose an item.
☒ Neighborhoods & Housing - Well maintained, stable neighborhoods protected from encroachment of incompatible land uses
☒ Parks, Public Spaces & Facilities - Well maintained public facilities that meet needs of our community
☐ Transportation - Choose an item.
☐ Core Services
☐ Not Applicable
Master Plan: [Please select the corresponding Master Plan from the dropdown menu below (if applicable)]
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Background Information:
In order to receive the annual CDBG funding from HUD, the City must submit an Action Plan that includes the allocation of the funding to specific programs and projects. The City must also hold two public hearings to receive comments on the use of the annual CDBG funding; the first was held June 3, and the second is this evening. The draft Action Plan was posted online and on paper at City Hall and the Library from June 6 to July 7. One comment was received June 3, in support of the recommended amount for the Mitchell Center.
Attached is the draft 2025-2026 CDBG Action Plan. This year, San Marcos has been allocated $754,405 in CDBG funding from HUD.
• 70% must benefit people with low-mod incomes = $528,084
o Low-mod income is less than 80% of Area Median Income, $133,800
• No more than 15% for public services = $131,161
• No more than 20% on Admin or Planning = $150,881
Here is a link to the City’s web page with applications and scoring summary:
<https://sanmarcostx.gov/3065/CDBG-Action-Plans>
Please refer to the tables showing the funding recommendations in the attached presentation. Below is a brief summary of the recommendations by the staff review committee:
Administration
Finally, the City is requesting 20% of the funding to be used for staff hours spent on this grant. Community Initiatives Division staff members track their hours and assign them to the appropriate grant or the general fund. This 20% does not cover the entire cost of the hours spent on this grant.
Facilities/Infrastructure Projects
The committee reviewed $1.9 million in applications for public facilities and infrastructure.
The purpose of the Thorpe Lane sidewalk project is to make the sidewalks and driveway crossings ADA accessible from Hopkins to Aquarena Springs, to provide better access to residents in the area, including two major low-income housing projects multiple student and other apartment complexes. Last year this project was funded $650,000, but that was less than requested. This year’s allocation will fully fund the project to complete the entire originally proposed scope of work.
The staff committee also recommends funding $55,000 in support of the Mitchell Center renovation, with the stipulation that at least 75% of the funding for the total project must be committed to the project before the CDBG funding can be spent. The 75% requirements is because any CDBG funding spent must result in an actual benefit to the public, and if it does not come to fruition, the funding has to be paid back. Funding is less than requested because although the committee supports the renovation of the Mitchell Center as an historic structure that can be used as a museum, they had to balance that desire with the city’s overall high priority need for affordable housing.
The Long Street sidewalks project would fill in sidewalk gaps and provide ADA compliance along the street, but the committee felt the project is just too expensive for CDBG to support at this time considering other priorities.
La Sociedad Mutualista Cuauhtémoc requested $250,000 to re-roof the Hall; however, the Cuauhtemoc Hall is already receiving $150,000 from the City for the installation of fire sprinklers.
The Calaboose Museum also requested funding for a re-roofing; however, after the application was received, City facilities staff reviewed the roof in detail and determined that roof repairs will work well instead, and that this can be funded within the City facilities budget. The Calaboose Museum building is owned by the City, and as part of the lease agreement, the Calaboose Museum Board is responsible for small repairs, but the City must handle repairs that are over $2,000. Therefore this funding was not needed after all.
Affordable Housing Projects
The City’s Home Repair and Rehabilitation program is recommended to receive $192,855, which will enable major repairs for 4-5 houses.
Austin Habitat for Humanity has a growing home repair program that they would like to expand into San Marcos. Habitat for Humanity has done hundreds of home repairs over the past several years, working in the cities of Austin and Kyle, among others. Habitat requested $50,000 for San Marcos and expects this will fund moderate repairs for two houses. The committee felt like this was a reasonable starter allocation to be able to evaluate this program’s value to San Marcos.
The last two amounts are for legal and title company expenses for applicants to City programs who do not qualify because of unclear title to the property. It is estimated that $10,000 may provide services for 4 families, and the $3,550 may provide services for 2.
Public Services
The maximum that can be allocated is $113,000. The last three agencies listed have all recently received directly funded contracts through the City, and this was taken into consideration in the decision.
Court Appointed Special Advocates (CASA) and Hays Caldwell Women’s Center are recommended to receive the full amount requested, since they serve youth and abuse survivors, two groups specifically mentioned in the surveys and workshops. For the same reason, Greater San Marcos Youth Council is recommended to receive almost their entire request, except for a small amount provided to fund St Vincent De Paul’s emergency assistance program in a more substantial way. The remainder of the funding was assigned to the Central Texas Food Bank for programs specific to San Marcos, to support emergency needs for food.
Public Review
City council held a public hearing on June 3 to receive comments on potential uses of funds, and the draft Action Plan was posted online and on paper at City Hall and the Library from June 6 to July 7. One comment has been received, in support of the recommended amount for the Mitchell Center.
The staff review committee consisted of:
Planning and Development Services
Carol Griffith, Housing and Community Development Manager
Irma Duran, Community Initiatives Program Administrator
Finance
Zindi Castillo, Accountant II
Neighborhood Enhancement
Tiffany Harris, Community Vitality Coordinator
City Manager’s Office
Hayden Migl, Director of Administrative Services
Grisell Perez-Carey, Community Resource and Engagement Coordinator
Council Committee, Board/Commission Action:
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Alternatives:
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Recommendation:
Staff recommends approval of the resolution adopting the 2025-2026 CDBG Action Plan and the funding allocations as drafted.