City of Pflugerville Proposes Plans for Community Development Federal Funding, Seeking Community Input

City Council Looks for Strategic Ways to Utilize Federal Funds

Source: HERE News Network

In a recent development, the City of Pflugerville has proposed a plan for how it will utilize the funds it will receive for community development from the federal government. The proposals were discussed at a council meeting where the council also spoke on the inputs it has received from the community.

CDBG Funding Strategy

Pflugerville City Council members received an update on the five-year strategic plan that is being developed to secure Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) funding for fiscal year 2024-25. The meeting also served as the first of two public hearings organized to receive community input.

Grant Project Details

The city of Pflugerville gets its annual grant from the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD). The grant is aimed to support sustainable living environments, affordable housing, and economic opportunities expansion, the city’s HUD grant consultant, WFN Consulting, conducted a survey earlier this year which revealed some of the residents’ biggest concerns. The issues raised included road and sidewalk improvements and inadequate public transportation.

Based on the survey feedback, WFN has suggested a list of main priorities for the city to handle over the next five years. Primarily, the efforts would revolve around improving public infrastructure and facilities, extending access to recreation and enrichment services for youth and seniors, improving workforce training, bettering access to transportation for senior and low-income residents, and covering Program administration costs.

Projects Proposed for Funding

The city is expected to receive $300,748 for FY 2024-25, and here is the breakdown of the proposed projects:

• Parkway Drive phase 1 construction: $270,748
• Recreation scholarships for youth and seniors: $10,000
• Workforce Solutions: $15,000
• Planning and administration costs: $5,000

Invite for Community Feedback

The city’s Planning Department is currently accepting written comments on the proposed plan until July 12. There will also be a final public hearing for community members to offer input on July 9 at the regular City Council meeting. Those interested in offering their input can email the relevant department. The Planning and Zoning Commission will consider the final draft of the CDBG strategic plan on August 5, with final approval needed from the City Council on August 13.

Struggles of Past Years

In previous years, the city has had trouble reaching the roughly 20% of the community that would qualify for these type programs, only awarding about 1% of the federal funding for FY 2023-24. The community development department was not able to use funds planned for workforce training because their partner, Workforce Solutions Capital Area, already had other funding available and there were additional limits for how the CDBG funding could be spent. Therefore, no dollars allocated for workforce training were expended in FY 2023-24.

Moving Forward

With the city’s public on-demand ride-share initiative beginning in 2022, there has been a reported 300% increase in rides taken since its inception. While it was seen as a success, residents in the survey noted its limitations respecting larger metro connections, such as the city of Austin. Council members have asked staff to look into previously unused CDBG funds for potential reallocation to address residents’ concerns.