Court selects ICE Consulting Engineers for colonia assessment; $500,000 grant covers four-year program

CORPUS CHRISTI — The commissioners approved selection of ICE Consulting Engineers to carry out a three-phase assessment and subsequent repair or improvement work for identified colonias under a state-administered grant.

A project representative outlined the phased approach: county-wide assessment, individual colonia assessments, and property-specific work authorizations for repairs. Staff said the grant provides $500,000 for the initial multi-year program (described in the meeting as a four-year allocation) and that the county could request additional funding (the speaker said an additional $1,000,000 might be sought if the initial allocation is expended rapidly).

Commissioners asked how the county will recruit and manage a tool-lending library and training partnerships; staff said the plan includes collaboration with Habitat for Humanity and local ISD partners to provide training classrooms and to help manage outreach. One county official emphasized the grant requirement for an environmental assessment/study and explained that the management group selected would handle public notification and targeted outreach to colonias.

The court voted to approve the selection, and staff said work authorizations and more detailed scopes will be brought back to the court for approval once defined.

What happens next: staff will finalize work authorizations, manage environmental reviews required by the grant, and return to the court with more detailed scopes and a plan for outreach and management of the tool-lending and training components.

Reported segments: selection of ICE Consulting Engineers (Item S) and related colonia funding discussion, July 12, 2023 Commissioners Court.