Decatur council approves resolution to seek $1 million downtown revitalization grant; staff to solicit additional RFPs

The Decatur City Council on March 23 voted to authorize the city to apply for the Texas Department of Agriculture’s 2026 Downtown Revitalization Community Development Block Grant, a program that could provide up to $1,000,000 for qualifying Main Street cities.

A staff member told the council that the grant requires a 5% local match — roughly $50,000 if awarded — and that the city already has planning in place that strengthens its application. "This particular grant is up to 1000000 dollars in funding if the city of Decatur would be awarded a 5% match," the staff member said.

Staff also raised a procurement concern. The city has proposed Kimley‑Horn as the professional services representative, but staff said that if only one RFP is submitted the grant reviewer may consider the application noncompetitive. "They've told us that historically on this type of grant, if there's only 1 RFP that was submitted, sometimes the grantee or the grant body sees that as a non competitive application," the staff member said.

Council approved a motion to adopt the resolution to apply for the grant and to delay action on the professional‑services selection so staff can solicit additional proposals. Staff said if the city receives only one RFP it will call a special meeting to authorize Kimley‑Horn to apply on behalf of the city.

The application deadline cited by staff is April 7. The resolution passed by voice vote with no opposing votes recorded.