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$2.2M FEMA grant to raise homes in Erath is on hold

Erath Council meeting.PNG
Posted at 10:19 PM, Mar 08, 2021
and last updated 2021-03-09 00:33:05-05

A FEMA grant to raise 13 houses operated by the Housing Authority in Erath is on hold, for now.

On Monday , the town council decided to hold off on accepting the $2,232,261 grant. According to Mayor Taylor Mencacci, FEMA is only covering 98 percent of the total cost of the project, HUD is responsible for the rest.

He says he cannot accept the grant until HUD agrees.

"The town is the signer of this grant. So were doing our due diligence, to make sure the money is there, and the project is done correctly. We requested HUD to send us a letter on their perspective, and we haven't heard back yet," Mencacci said.

The grant would be used to raise 13 houses on Lahasky road to prevent future flooding.

During Monday's town council meeting, Mencacci told council members, the Housing Authority has $40,000.00 for the project, but those funds cannot be used without HUD's approval

"As soon as that clears up, we'll be in a better position," Mencacci said.

Council did agree to apply for another grant to help with flooding issues on Lahasky road.

"Every time we have any storm, any rain event we have to evacuate everyone out of these housing projects. ultimately the bigger goal would be to rebuild these homes in another location, but that's hard these days," Mencacci said.

That grant cannot be applied for until the fall.

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