The wheels of government were designed to move slow. They often move their slowest when it comes to getting money to help people. But, it's not like the city fathers in the Town of Erath aren't working as fast as they can to keep the ball moving.

Last night Erath's town council voted to "pump the brakes" on a $2.23 federal grant from the Federal Emergency Management Agency, FEMA, until they could get clarification from another federal department, Housing and Urban Development, that their part of the funding was approved as well.

It breaks down like this. The Housing Authority in Erath has plans to raise 13 homes on Lahasky Road to mitigate future flooding risks. The money from FEMA, $2,232,261.00 has been approved. However, that's not the total cost of the project. The FEMA money will only cover 98% of the funding necessary. Housing and Urban Development is on the hook for the final 2% or about $45,000.

City Fathers say that without HUD's commitment the project will be on hold. Now, a letter has been sent to Housing and Urban Development regarding the project but so far there has not been a response received. Currently, the Erath Housing Authority has about $40,000 available for the project but the monies cannot be spent without approval from the federal agency.

At last night's meeting of the Erath City Council members did vote to apply for yet another federal grant to help mitigate flooding issues in the town. But that grant cannot be actually applied for until the fall of this year. In the meantime, city officials will put the project on hold pending notification from HUD.

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