Prairie View council selects Strand Engineering, approves submission of disaster-recovery grant for wastewater

Prairie View — The city council voted to award RFQ26-002 for Disaster Recovery Reallocation Program engineering services to Strand Engineering and approved submitting a DRRP grant application to fund wastewater repairs, council members said at a special meeting.

Council members and staff told the council the DRRP program makes deobligated Community Development Block Grant Disaster Recovery (CDBG-DR) funds available through federal allocation channels and that applications must meet federal deadlines and documentation requirements. Staff said the application recovered by the city could bring approximately $9.7 million for wastewater work, with the city expected to provide a roughly 10% local match from sources such as American Rescue Plan funds or previous bonds.

"I move that we approve and take action on RFQ26-002 DRRP Engineering Services," Council Member Ducet said when introducing the motion to award the RFQ to Strand Engineering. An amendment to specify that the award go to Strand Engineering was added and seconded; the amendment and motion were approved on a voice vote.

Mr. Jones and other staff said the vote before the council was limited to approving engineering services; hiring a grant administrator will be a separate action returned to the council. Staff described the city engineer and hired contractors as responsible for project oversight and said federal requirements will require photo documentation and procurement records.

Council Member James thanked members of a working group and a staff member who assisted in recovering the application. "I want to thank Aidro Garza for all his efforts in saving this grant for the city of Prairie View," James said.

The council then voted to approve submission of the Disaster Recovery Reallocation Program application that would commit the city to pursue the wastewater grant. No detailed roll-call tallies are recorded in the transcript; leaders recorded the results by voice vote and stated that motions passed.

What happens next: staff said they will finalize paperwork and return to the council for any additional contract approvals or to hire a grant administrator as needed. The council adjourned following remaining agenda business.