Corrections to an Excel miscalculation increased a community development block grant for Kendall County to improve public and broadband infrastructure by $136,000.
The grant is part of a $29.8 million sum that was granted to the Alamo Area Council of Governments (AACOG) in the wake of Hurricane Harvey and other flooding in 2015 and 2016. Half of the $29.8 million was approved by the state to be distributed among nine Texas counties that were affected by the flooding; Kendall County was eligible.
The original grant amount increased from $1.336 million to $1.472 million after the Texas General Land Office found the mistake.
At a Kendell Commissioners Court meeting June 10, AACOG Regional Services Administrator Claudia Mora explained the miscalculation and outlined how the county can use the extra monies after the amount was allocated using the correct formula.
“They may be used for anything like road and street improvements, bridge improvements. They can be used to modify or lay down broadband infrastructure in your community,” Mora said. “Anything that is impacted by weather.”
Mora asked the commissioners to accept or deny the modified amount and said that AACOG will have a public hearing July 17 regarding the new calculations.
Mora said the money can also be used for engineering planning and studies for the county’s emergency weather preparedness or a flooding warning system.
The Risk Factor, a model that estimates climate and weather risk across the United States, found that 3,445 properties in Kendall County have a greater than 26 percent chance of being “severely affected by flooding over the next 30 years.” Data from the Risk Factor has been featured in the New York Times, the National Association of Realtors and the Wall Street Journal.
As long as the Texas General Land Office approves the modification, Kendall County will have access to the funds during the 2024 fiscal year. The county will then have two years to complete state-approved public improvement projects with the grant money.
The commissioners unanimously approved the motion to accept the modified amount of $1.472 million.
“I’m glad someone can do math,” Precinct 2 Commissioner Andra Wisian said.
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