Commissioners approve application to Texas Water Development Board for McNeil drainage loan
August 19, 2025 | Travis County, Texas
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Travis County commissioners voted unanimously on Aug. 19 to authorize staff to submit an application to the Texas Water Development Board (TWDB) under the Clean Water State Revolving Fund for the McNeil drainage improvement project after an executive‑session legal briefing.
Why it matters: the McNeil project, identified in the 2022 bond package, addresses flooding in a neighborhood with limited egress. TWDB prioritized the county’s project for state fiscal year 2023 and invited a full application; approval would provide subsidized financing and potential partial principal forgiveness.
Grants administration staff told the court the McNeil project had an estimated cost of about $34 million in earlier planning materials. If the TWDB board approves the county’s application, the loan would be subsidized (the staff memo described an interest rate roughly 40 percent below market) and approximately $4.6 million of principal might be forgiven as a green‑project subsidy. The application deadline to TWDB was Aug. 26 at 5 p.m. Grant administration staff and bond counsel briefed the court in executive session on legal questions tied to bond issuance and TWDB requirements; after that briefing the court voted to approve the resolution.
Commissioners framed the project as a critical infrastructure need for a neighborhood with only two exit points that floods during heavy storms, and said repeated applications to TWDB reflect the county’s persistence to secure funding.
Ending: the court authorized submittal of the TWDB application and directed staff and bond counsel to take the steps needed under the board’s timetable and to return to the court with any further action items.
Why it matters: the McNeil project, identified in the 2022 bond package, addresses flooding in a neighborhood with limited egress. TWDB prioritized the county’s project for state fiscal year 2023 and invited a full application; approval would provide subsidized financing and potential partial principal forgiveness.
Grants administration staff told the court the McNeil project had an estimated cost of about $34 million in earlier planning materials. If the TWDB board approves the county’s application, the loan would be subsidized (the staff memo described an interest rate roughly 40 percent below market) and approximately $4.6 million of principal might be forgiven as a green‑project subsidy. The application deadline to TWDB was Aug. 26 at 5 p.m. Grant administration staff and bond counsel briefed the court in executive session on legal questions tied to bond issuance and TWDB requirements; after that briefing the court voted to approve the resolution.
Commissioners framed the project as a critical infrastructure need for a neighborhood with only two exit points that floods during heavy storms, and said repeated applications to TWDB reflect the county’s persistence to secure funding.
Ending: the court authorized submittal of the TWDB application and directed staff and bond counsel to take the steps needed under the board’s timetable and to return to the court with any further action items.
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