Gatesville seeks grant administration services for 2024 disaster recovery funds

Gatesville is moving to hire the firm that will handle the paperwork behind disaster-recovery money tied to the May 2024 floods, a first visible step toward turning grant language into actual projects for Coryell County. The city’s RFP-2026-0001 for grant administration services for the Texas General Land Office’s 2024 CDBG-DR Local Communities Program was released April 10 and was due Monday at 2 p.m. CDT, alongside a separate engineering RFQ for the same program.

The money in play is substantial. The Texas General Land Office set aside $97,033,950 for the Local Communities Program, which is designed for disaster relief, long-term recovery, and restoration of infrastructure or economic revitalization projects. At the state level, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development allocated $555,687,000 in CDBG-DR funding to Texas for the 2024 disasters through Federal Register notice 90 FR 4759 on Jan. 16, 2025. Even so, the program guide says awards depend on available resources, so not every applicant will receive funding.

For Coryell County, the urgency traces back to the flooding of May 4 and 5, 2024, when County Judge Roger A. Miller declared a local disaster after some parts of the county received as much as six inches of rain. The county order said the flood caused extreme damage to roadways and infrastructure, along with homes, properties, businesses, and agricultural and ranching lands. In Gatesville, the Leon River gauge reached 33.78 feet on May 5, far above the 22-foot flood stage, a signal of how hard the storm hit the county seat and the surrounding area.

The next checkpoint comes at the Gatesville City Council meeting on April 28 at 110 North 8th Street. The agenda shows Resolutions 2026-051 and 2026-052, both sponsored by Mike Halsema, to approve the ranking of submissions for RFQ-2026-0001 and RFP-2026-0001 and authorize city staff to begin contract negotiations with the highest-ranked firm. The agenda identifies the work as 2024 Disasters Local Communities Program project 24D-LCP-240-1443, giving residents a clear marker to watch as the city moves from procurement into the longer recovery process. If council signs off, Gatesville will be one step closer to the technical help needed to compete for and manage the funds that could shape the next round of repairs.