Deadline for public input on flood payback approaches

The deadline to give input on a reimbursement program for Blanco Gardens homeowners is coming up soon.

The city’s Community Development Block Grant-Disaster Recovery (CDBG-DR) Program is looking for community input through June 4 on the potential reallocation of $1 million to reimburse qualified homeowners who spent their own money to repair their homes after the 2015 floods.

Residents are asked to provide feedback until June 4 through an online survey or via email to [email protected]. Written copies of the survey can be found at the CDBG office at 630 E. Hopkins St.

The city hosted community meetings on May 23 at the Old Fish Hatchery Building to share information about the reimbursement program and gather feedback. Aaron Harris from the city’s development services department said that nine community members attended the meetings. Harris said that as of Friday, there had only been 11 responses to the survey. He said the city sent press releases, made social media posts, linked to the survey on the front page of the city website, posted notices around town, conducted media interviews and made door-to-door visits to spread word about the program.

The proposed reimbursement plan would award qualified homeowners up to $50,000 or 50 percent of the 2015 value of their home for eligible repair expenses.

The city has a list of proposed qualifications, including:

• The property must be in the city’s updated 100-year floodplain in Blanco Gardens
• The applicant’s annual household income must be less than 80 percent of the area median income for the appropriate household size
• Residents must provide photos of the flood damage, documentation of work performed, and receipts, invoices, or bank statements showing the financial totals of repairs and must not have received previous reimbursement for the claimed expenses.

The reimbursement program, along with other possible CDBG-DR fund reallocations, will be on the agenda for the San Marcos City Council meeting on June 4. For more information on the CDBG-DR Recovery Action Plan or Reimbursement program, go to the SMTX Flood Recovery website.