Notice of Statement of Activities for Public Comment
The City of Gladewater will be accepting public comment regarding the application for the USDA’s Housing Preservation Program (HPG). Public comment will be available from Tuesday, August 19, 2025 to Wednesday, September 3, 2025 online via social media through the City of Gladewater’s Facebook Page which can also be viewed online at the City of Gladewater’s website.
Statement of Activities Required:
If the City of Gladewater (The City) is selected to receive grant monies provided by this program, financial assistance may be provided to both homeowners and rental property owners to repair homes for low-income individuals and families. Homes within the city limits that require substantial repairs to provide for the safety of the individuals and families living there will be giving precedence over smaller, less necessary repairs. These substantial problems may include but are not limited to: Roofing, electrical, plumbing, structural integrity issues, or other repairs to ensure the safety of the persons within the home.
The City’s process for selecting recipients for the HPG will require the homeowner to fill out an application requesting inspection of their home by a licensed inspector and by The City’s code enforcement office. Recipients must have evidence of ownership and that they have lived in their homes for at least one year, home must be no less than fifteen years old or older with no significant repairs completed within that time, and the combined income of all adults residing in the home must fall below the income threshold outlined by the USDA Adjusted Income Limits for “very low income” and “low income” amounts on the RD SF Housing Direct Loan Program Eligibility table for the area. Necessary work will be assessed by licensed, insured, and bonded construction companies, inspectors, environmental reviewers, and historic place requirements, and monitoring of the progress will be performed by The City’s code enforcement office, in consultation with the above stated assessors.
In the identification of potential environmental impacts, The City will execute and adopt the “Grantee’s Process for Identifying Properties Requiring Rural Development Environmental Assessments,” determining floodplain and wetland locations, historic and archaeological properties, and other environmental considerations outlined by the program guide. The City will also develop a program in consultation with the State Historic Preservation Officer to determine National historic preservation objectives regarding historic buildings, create a mechanism for determining if buildings proposed for rehabilitation are “historic properties,” coordinate with public and private organizations to provide assistance for historic preservation, ensure that any restoration or rehabilitation of these historic properties are consistent with the requirements of the Secretary of the Interior’s Standards for Rehabilitation and Guidelines for Rehabilitating Historic Buildings, excepting those buildings determined by the Advisory Council on Historic Preservation to be in such disrepair that it would not be detrimental to the integrity of the building to follow those guidelines.
The City will also adopt the development standards outlined by the Rural Development office’s standards for existing dwellings.
A tentative time schedule is as follows:
- Applications for the public to be available within two months of program award. Some residents may be contacted by The City and invited to apply if their domiciles have been identified by the code enforcement office as hazardous or unsafe.
- Public applications will be due two months after applications are made available.
- Vetting of applications with consideration of family income, degree of need, and appropriate standards and guidelines for environmental and historic place assessments.
- Construction to begin within eight months of program award.
- End of construction will be approximately one year after program award, depending on amount of work to be done on each property.
The City has estimated approximately twenty homes in need of significant repair within the city limits. The City has recognized approximately sixty person currently living in those residences.
While The City recognizes that many in our community are in need of assistance, the geographical area for application acceptance will necessarily be constrained by the Gladewater city limits. Anyone within the city limits who meet the qualifications is able to apply for this program.
Estimated Budget:
Direct Costs:
Contract Fees: $50,000
Construction materials: $500,000
Equipment: $150,000
Construction Personnel: $250,000
Materials Testing: $20,000
Travel Fees for SHPO: $2,500
Permitting Fees: $75,000
Utility Service Fees: $30,000
Indirect Costs:
City administration/code enforcement: $130,000
Each of these costs will be drawn on HPG grant funds in one lump sum and disbursed to invoicing entities. Each entity requesting payment will include a detailed accounting of the materials, labor, and other costs associated with the work they have completed.
The City will not include other sources of federal funding for this program.
The City’s accounting system is a governmental multi-fund accounting maintained and overseen by the treasurer for the City of Gladewater, who will generate reports quarterly as specified for federal funding.
The method of evaluation used by the applicant to determine the effectiveness of the program to be included in required quarterly reports will include summaries of weekly reports on the timeliness of completion of projects, the evaluation of property tax rate of the improvements of the properties, and surveys of the individuals and families who reside in the homes as to quality of life enhancements.
At this time, The City has not determined the use of other entities to be obtained for assistance in funding or assistance in this program. However, other sources that The City may request assistance from are non-profit entities who provide labor to those who fall in the very low and low income brackets.
The City does not anticipate any income to be procured from this program.
The City does not hold any security instruments that would qualify for this program.
The City will provide this Statement of Activities to the Gladewater Mirror for publication on their website and social media accounts. These will be shared across the City of Gladewater’s websites and social media accounts as well to reach the largest possible audience. In addition, city leadership has been notified in regard to this outreach and will be prepared to take public comments and direct the public to those sites for questions, comments, and concerns.
Equal Opportunity Statement – All qualified applicants will receive consideration for assistance without regard to race, color, religion, sex (including pregnancy), sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, age (40 or older), disability, or genetic information.