Travis County Commissioners Court
February 20, 2007
Item 2
Number 2 is a public hearing to receive input from residents of Travis County regarding the use of community development block grant funds from the united states department of housing and urban affairs, office of community planning and development. That are required to be used in unincorporated areas. (firs
>> all in favor? That passes by unanimous vote.
>> good morning, judge, commissions, sherri flemming executive manager for Travis County health and human services and veterans services. We are here this morning to begin the public hearing process for what will be the -- the 2007 cdbg process. As you are aware, we just completed our 2006 process with h.u.d. To -- to identify projects and -- and prepare for expenditure of those dollars for the 2006 cycle. So this is our first public hearing that -- that agains the process for 2007. So staff has a brief presentation that will make -- that we'll make before we allow the public comment. Thanks.
>> good morning,
>> [indiscernible] pogue, health and human services. Basically the community development block grant is federal funding for a very wide range of community development activities that Travis County receives annually and we expect to receive it for five years, five year time period.
>> [reading graphic] 65% of the funds, at least 65% are for development activities. The county can choose to spend up to 15% on public services. And also up to 20% on administration and planning. This last fiscal year the -- the county opted not to spend any of the federal funds for administration and planning and is covering those cost and has spent its 15% in public services. Public services include costs for social service type programs, like services for youth and elderly, people with disabilities. Mental health services. Services of that nature. Community development activities, redevelopment, housing, economic development. In the area of redevelopment activities this includes buying land and buildings, building and improving sidewalks, gutters, sewers and roads, clearing out old buildings.
>> [reading graphic] last year the county chose five projects to allocate cdbg funds. The first was to produce new owner occupied housing units. The second was street improvements in apache shores neighborhood. The third community development project was water and sewer improvements in north ridge acres community. Under public services we funded $5,000 to youth services. And 83,000 to -- to social services expansion and the -- in the rural community centers of manor and del valle. The county has a process that we follow when deciding what to use cdbg for. Right now at the public hearing we have interests and needs identified by the residents. We also have interests and needs identified by the Commissioners and their staff. Those going to a list of possible projects and are tested for feasibility according to h.u.d. Regulations and objectives. And then it goes into the scoring matrix where we look at local priorities and try to determine which projects will finally be funded for the year. Cdbg funds cannot be used for acquisition construction or reconstruction of buildings for the general conduct of government. It also cannot be used for political activities, certain income payments to individuals and construction of new housing units by local government.
>> can they be used for just general planning? For development in a certain part of the county?
>> yes. That would be under the administration planning cap if it's used for planning activities.
>> I may need to send you an e-mail address to let you -- if a person -- a person had questions that I didn't know the answers to.
>> okay, great.
>> now, those who -- by the way, we will have the -- the places and times of various public hearings posted on every Commissioners court agenda. Also a common neal 17 when the agenda shows. For those who do not care to attend a public hearing, they can simply submit comments in writing to you.
>> yes, yes.
>> those can be received at the cdbg office of Travis County health and human services veterans services. At p.o. Box 1748. Austin, Texas, 78767 or via e-mail to christie moffett at christie.moffett@co.travis.tx dot us. .
>> how does christie spell her name, christy.
>> moffett.
>> okay.
>> would anyone like to testify during this public hearing. If so, please come forward. If you give us your name, we would be happy to get your comments. Mr. Schneider?
>> my name, contend neath schneider, north ridge subdivision, in precinct 2. Seemed like it's been an uphill battle. I have been doing this for 20 years trying to get something done up here. Now
>> [indiscernible] I appreciate that 100%. This got so many programs out there, instead of chopping it up, natural disaster we have got out there. Me and my wife are dying. It's a health risk, really bad out there. Sewer running down the streets, water, can't drink and everything, paying $100 a month for water. Five or six people out there got no water, they can't afford the high water bills. Mine run 80, $90 a month. Every time you ain't got not water. I don't understand why they can't do a project, fib it, get it done immediately. Year after year after year trying to get help out there. It doesn't make any difference. Getting worser and worser every day. People can't live like this. Me and my wife. You can tell the water is bad. Look at my face. I can't hardly breathe out there. My wife, look at her, she just got out of the hospital. She got three ulcers in her stomach. Totally from out of that water where it's coming from. It's just really sour water and sewer both. It should be really -- really number one project where they should 50's that problem no matter what it takes, we need to get it done. We are low income. I don't have any money. I
>> [indiscernible] just to make a living. You can't do much, 60 years old, arm trouble, everything, you can't get a job, you have to make what you came. 2 or $300 water, light bills, $100 for water, and you can't drink the water. Then you got to pay another $100 to buy water so you can drink it. The doctor told us to use bottled water to take a bath in. That's what we was told. We need help out there immediately. We don't need it five or 10 years from now, we need it now. If they got programs out there now, I can't understand why they can't take the money in, finish one project, go to the next. No such things as affordable housing in Austin. There's no such thing. Pretty close to affordable housing out there. The thing about it is that you can't flush your toilets or buy a house real cheap. You have to have a pump truck come out there for $300 to pump out your septic tank because they just don't work when it rains. It's a disaster. We need help out there. It should be on a disaster list. They need to bring the water and sewer both in, get it all one time, get it over with. They can find money for beetles, bugs, trees, everything that you can think of. Go into rich areas and do a lot of landscapes, stuff. Say put clubhouses on it, all of this kind of stuff. I think they need to put this money into a place for him with services. The young generation, I don't see how they are going to make it. If you can't make $100,000 a year, you might as well hole up and die.
>> your request is that we take the year two money and spend it on wastewater?
>> wastewater and sewer.
>> water and sewer, both.
>> now on the water, you know, this was $800,000 that project is 1.4 million: the court did vote to take from the year one money the amount we needed to complete the 1.4 million.
>> I understand the water went up. Every year, every day we wait longer and longer, it's going to get higher and higher. Every every day it goes up more. The people in the neighborhood are so upset, they think that they are getting the shaft over the years that we have been getting and now we -- by the time we're getting some help, everything. You have to see it to believe it, all of that. Nobody believes we are going to get anything. Everybody lies to us so much. Water on the way, you have got the federal government, state, county, and -- and city of Austin and some private sectors. They have to pull together because of the amount involved, $1.4 million and after the project is constructed, the plan is for the city of Austin to take over the system so you all would be just like city of Austin customers, which long term would be the best deal in the world, your main point today is that water, you also have a wastewater issue. Definitely, definitely.
>> but thing about it is there's projects out there now, they should be able to cut some red tape, red tape should be cut down through the lines for -- for old citizens like us that have been out there for -- since 1960 or 70 when they built the subdivision, it wasn't built right to start with. They come in there and fix the problems so we can live like human beings, like everybody else, when they got the programs instead putting money out for affordable housing. There's no such thing. The cheapest thing that you can live in is a trailer house. Get a lot and everything for a trailer. You have got affordable housing. But you build a house for $100,000 try to sell it for 150,000. It's not affordable. You can get a place in Austin for less than 300,000. Moving further and further out there out there in the suburbs. When you have a human service problem, I mean a disaster human service problems, I think they need to come out there and put all of the money they can to get the problem done not wait four or five years. Every day you wait the money goes up and up and up.
>> takes more and more money to get started. We get -- reang the neighborhood out there, city of Austin water bills for $12, $13, $14, we can live like that. But a 2 and 3 and $400 water bill. If you have a water break in your house you have an 8 or $900. I keep my commode turned off so I didn't do that on account of stuff like that. We can't afford to live out. There we are going to be on the street like the homeless people living out of tents. We pay our taxes on our homes, try to eat, go to the -- to the hospital. I buy a little bottle of pills for $68 for my wife out of the hospital. Everything runs higher, higher, higher, don't pay the bill, they will shut your water off. They don't care. You have to call them 100 times to fix a water leak. At the same time you don't got enough water to take a bath even. Something has got to happen. It's got to happen immediately. We can't keep going on this forever. Nobody should live like this. Even dogs shouldn't have to live like we live.
>> [indiscernible] check out there. They say you take better care of your animals than people take care of their kids.
>> expedite completion of the water system, start working on the wastewater system. That's what I?m hearing you say.
>> get started --
>> what's the status of the project? Since we -- seems like we have been there --
>> it's under design.
>> okay. October is over with, that's my birthday.
>> what is the projected --
>> the project through the --
>> we can post it, give the court a status report. This is not quite the public hearing, which is year 2 money. Sneer one we voted, the whole court voted to take a couple hundred dollars from 800,000 of federal money to add to the $1.2 million. But this is a water system that's being designed and -- and now you got -- got numerous partners kind of working on it, that slows it down a little bit. Then there is the -- the vista king that he keeps mentioning is the court appointed receiver in charge of the current system. So -- so you know working through that -- is difficult, too. But -- but he's right, as soon as we get the water system fixed, the better, that doesn't even start with the wastewater problems.
>> right.
>> septic systems.
>> then we have to address the wastewater issue separately. After you get the water in.
>> are you considering wastewater as the tier 2?
>> that's what the public hearing is for.
>> [multiple voices]
>> we need to get the water in for them first.
>> what we will do is post the wastewater item for a status report.
>> we need a -- custom million behind on the payment ain't ya.
>> we will post the water system for discussion with the court and a status report. We will touch base with all of the affected parties and see exactly where we are. On the wastewater system, though, your request is that we use part of the year two money to address wastewater.
>> I think you ought to use it all. Every dime we got on hand that's come in and fix the problem that way everything is over with and then whatever money you got left start some new projects instead of just splitting it up half, half, half here. I think you ought to fix one problem at a time and then once it's fixed up everything that's it. Then you -- she's going to take it over eventually anyway. We can wait any longer, four or five years down the road. Here you have another four or five years. Because you think --
>> $5 here, here, here, ain't enough money to do nobody any good really. No such thing as affordable housing in the city of Austin.
>> what you are talking about are the eligible programs based on federal guidelines, this is federal money. Feds are saying these are the approved services and programs that you can use this money for. Meg was just sum riengz the federal standards -- summarizing the federal standards so those listening will know. That will be a longer list of requests than we have money to address. You just happen to be the first speaker writing down and tieng your comments today, typing your comments.
>> how much money goes out in the administration that you take in like this here.
>> we get 0.
>> I believe we are up to 20%, but we did 0.
>> the county voted to absorb all of the administrative costs so we put 100% of the available federal money into direct services.
>>
>> [indiscernible]
>> no, sir.
>> I don't know what -- that's -- that somebody was not telling the truth.
>> that computer was not being truthful.
>> I don't know. You ditto what mr. Schnieder says, plus --
>> good morning, judge, Commissioners. I really appreciate the opportunity to be here today. And I just want to let you know that we really appreciate everything that you are doing on the water project. And I know that it's taking a long time, but we are still needing water. Like mr. Schnieder he pretty much said my comments. He's telling you about the rash on his face, I have the same thing. If I didn't have makeup on, you would see red rashes on my face. It's ridiculous point. But I?m here today to ask that all that money being used for infrastructure for water lines and sewer lines for poor poverty stricken neighborhoods, instead of sidewalks and drainage and housing, that the first thing that this money should be used for is for water and sewer. So I?m just hoping that you all will take that into consideration. And we also want to let you know that we really appreciate everything that you are doing.
>> thank you.
>> thank you.
>> we appreciate you all for coming up. You are absolutely right. Water is just a basic human need and -- and it is a core function of government to look at that.
>> thank you so much.
>> I would like to maybe ask you a couple of questions.
>> the residents out at
>> [indiscernible] estate, the subdivision adjacent to Austin colony on 969, right across the street from kennedy ridge, in fact, did come and -- also have a request to -- to look at water needs for that community. For that little subdivision. My question is that -- that i, my staff had received a call from one of the representatives that did come here and testify before the court, discussing available sources of revenue to -- to address that concern. Since then, though, there have been I think some head way into that and of course they call the office, number one, wanting to know when the next hearing is. I think my staff maybe had addressed that. Of course the
>> [indiscernible] also bring their concerns and needs about how to go about it. Of course hornsby bend, I think, was willing to also assist as much as possible to -- to assist in -- in helping -- alleviating some of the concerns. So I guess during the public hearing seems like hornsby bend and also possibly the city of Austin have to offer to maybe offset some of the expense, if you looked at the entire project as you go and try to address those -- those needs to have water. For that particular subdivision. When you do have that public hearing, those are some tools I think that need to be taken into consideration to -- to bring water to that -- to that subdivision. So I just -- just making you all aware of what's going on because they definitely are going to be at the public hearing for this -- for this upcoming one that you are having.
>> okay.
>>
>> [indiscernible]
>> thank you ms. Brown.
>> thank you.
>> mr. Snyder, any comments?
>>
>> [indiscernible]
>> it's another subject. You are absolutely right, water is a core need and what we are grappling with, the county governments traditionally haven't been water providers, as we are increasingly urbanizing, just as you say, there is no affordable housing inside the city of Austin. Folks are moving out. You all have been out there since the 60s, correct.
>> 67.
>> what we are grappling with we are seeing an increased need in a vulnerable population that is without water and frankly, you know, folks are getting nickeled and dimed to death by private -- by the private sector as that area is growing up. Trying to address that with federal funds because traditionally we haven't had any funds. We aren't supposed to be water providers. That aside, you have a need and we as a government are looking at it to -- to address it.
>> mic mirk.
>> we hear --
>> [inaudible - no mic]
>> we hear you coming through loud and clear.
>> would anyone else like to give testimony during this public hearing.
>>
>> [indiscernible]
>> you have citizens communication? Citizens communication, aren't you?
>> yes.
>> we are posted for a public hearing on second year community development block grant money.
>> right.
>> do you have comments during that public hearing?
>> I don't want to talk about water -- I want to talk about water, but it's not their water.
>> we may need to post your item unless you plan to cover that in three minutes under citizens communication today.
>> I would like --
>> [indiscernible]
>> would anyone like to give testimony during the public hearing that we are posted to receive public hearing on.
>> move to close the public hearing.
>> second.
>> all in favor? That passes by unanimous vote.
>> thank you, there will be other public hearing opportunities.
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Last Modified:
Wednesday, February 21, 2007 8:00 AM