Today Texas Land Commissioner George P. Bush announced the Texas General Land Office (GLO) approved $11,957,845 in Hurricane Harvey disaster recovery grants to improve streets as well as sewer, water, drainage and public facilities in Refugio County.
"Hurricane Harvey devastated communities across the Texas Coast," said Commissioner Bush. "These recovery funds are critical to improving local infrastructure that will protect lives, homes and businesses from future storms. We continue to work with our partners in communities across the region to leverage these resources efficiently and effectively to benefit Texans affected by Hurricane Harvey."
With these funds, Refugio County will be able to install new culverts and regrade ditches at the Rancho Grande and Autry Road culverts and along the Northside Woodsboro drainage ditch on the backside of Ashby Street and Chaparral Street properties. The county will also make sewer and facility upgrades at the Refugio County Water Control & Improvement District #1 water treatment plant, including a new pump building, pumps, a chlorination system, pump controls and fencing. Additionally, Refugio County will improve fishing piers, kayak docks and road access at Mission River Park and Austwell Pier. Finally, one communication tower will be demolished, and two new towers will be constructed, in Bayside and Tivoli, including buildings and communications equipment.
Street improvements will be made at the following locations:
- Vega Road - Adams Road to FM 136
- Autry Road - Adams Road to Old Gin Road
- Austwell Cemetery Road - FM 3035 to approximately .5 miles southeast of FM 774
- Williams Road - Wilson Street to approximately .5 miles south
- Bayside Cemetery Road - near the intersection of FM 136
- Rancho Grande Road - near the intersection of FM 136
- Suntide Road - between Hwy 77 and Toup Road
- Oakwood Cemetery Road - near the intersection of Suntide Road
- Toups Road - near the intersection of Cliff Road
- River Road - south of State Hwy 35
Texas GLO Hurricane Harvey Recovery Funds:
Commissioner George P. Bush and the Texas General Land Office was appointed by Governor Greg Abbott to lead the historic Hurricane Harvey housing recovery efforts funded by $5.676 billion in Community Development Block Grant Disaster Recovery (CDBG-DR) funds from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development.
The GLO allocated $413 million of the allocation for infrastructure projects to protect communities affected by the storm. The GLO allocated the funds to regional Council of Governments’ (COGs) based on a HUD approved needs assessment. The locally-led COGs then conducted methods of distribution (MODs) for determining infrastructure and buyout and acquisition amounts for cities and counties within each jurisdiction. COG boards are comprised of officials from the impacted communities elected in part to prioritize funds allocated for recovery programs. The MOD process requires public engagement and the GLO reviewed each MOD for compliance with federal rules and requirements before approving each plan.