The city participates in both entitlement and competitive grants and has recently received grant funding from:
- U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development
- U.S. Department of Education
- U.S. Department of Energy
- U.S. Department of Homeland Security
- U.S. Department of Justice
- Governor’s Division of Emergency Management
- Texas Department of Transportation
- Governor’s Advisory Council on Physical Fitness
- Texas State Library and Archives Commission
- Texas Parks and Wildlife Commission
- Federal Aviation Administration,
- U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
- Texas Commission on Environmental Quality
- National Safe Routes to School
- Railroad Commission of Texas
- State Energy Conservation Office
- ONCOR
Plus other Foundations and Agencies
Community Development Block Grant (CDBG)
The Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) program is a Federal program within the purview of Housing and Urban Development that provides communities with resources to address a wide range of community development needs.
The City of Temple is classified by HUD as an Entitlement Community. As such, the city is allocated annual grant funding to maintain and develop community services for city residents. The city uses the CDBG funds for projects that support access to decent housing, suitable living environments, and opportunities to expand economic opportunities, principally for low and moderate-income persons. In the past, the city has used CDBG funding to:
- Create pedestrian-friendly and safer streetscapes
- To demolish blighted structures
- To rehabilitate private residences for handicap accessibility
- Create or enhance Public Parks with greater resources for the community
- In partnership with non-profits, provided services to low and moderate-income people through access to child care for working families, workforce readiness training, meals for the elderly and disabled, and assistance to victims of domestic violence.
Partners include many homeowners, public services agencies, city department staff, and many local businesses.
Bend Of the River Master Plan
In 2015, the City received $150,000 from the Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry (ATSDR) to develop a Master Plan (and clean-up implementation plan) that has a focus on community engagement and education for improved health outcomes at the Bend of the River Brownfield site. This transformative project will result in the creation of a Botanical Garden, which will be a vibrant community asset that will drive environmental, social, and economic justice through remediation and development.
CNG Station
In December 2012, the city initiated the process of converting part of our Solid Waste fleet to operate on compressed natural gas (CNG). To cover the incremental cost difference between 14 CNG-powered trucks and diesel-powered trucks, the city applied for funding from Texas Commission on Environmental Quality, Texas Railroad Commission, and the State Energy Conservation Office. The city received funds from all agencies, totaling $662,184 in grant funds, of which the city will be reimbursed for $550,272 in project costs. CNG-powered Solid Waste trucks have saved the city $10,000 in fuel costs monthly, per vehicle.
Surface Transportation Enhancement Program (STEP)
In 2010, the city was awarded $2.155 million in funding from the Texas Department of Transportation as part of its Surface Transportation Enhancement program. The total project cost is $2.75 million and includes an approximately 3,000-foot-long, 10-foot wide pedestrian and bicycle trail, lighting, median improvements, landscaping, and streetscape as part of the critical interconnected network of trails within the Temple Medical and Education District (TMED).
The linear trail on South 5thStreet provides multi-modal connectivity between multiple entities including Scott and White Hospital, Temple College, the Central Texas Veterans Healthcare System, Temple Bioscience District, and A&M Health Science Center College of Medicine. The expected completion for this project is spring 2014.
Safe Routes to School
In 2010, the city was the recipient of 2 Safe Routes to School Grants from the Texas Department of Transportation. These grants allowed the city to construct more than 1 ½ miles of 10-foot wide, off-street pedestrian and bicycle trails. These funds were made possible through the Federal Safe Routes to School program. Objectives of the program were to enable and encourage children in grades K - 8 to walk and bike to school, as well as to make these modes of transportation safer and a more appealing alternative, encouraging a healthy and active lifestyle from an early age. Approximately $602,000 was awarded for trail improvements at Lakewood Elementary School and $605,000 for improvements at Bonham Middle School. This project was completed in fall 2013.
