FY26 Community Project Funding Requests
Project Name: Waterloo Greenway Creek Restoration and Water Quality Improvements
Proposed Recipient: City of Austin
Address of the Recipient: 301 W. Second Street Second Floor, Austin, Texas, 78701
Requested Amount: $3,000,000.00
Description of the request, including the purpose and justification for use of taxpayer funds: This funding would be used to improve water quality and restores multiple segments of Waller Creek. The scope of work includes restoration and reconstruction of eroded creek banks; and improvements to end of pipe stormwater treatment devices–providing numerous environmental benefits and user connectivity. Planned improvements include stormwater retrofits for inline treatment at multiple outfall locations; end of pipe treatments, allowing the stormwater to soak in and improve water quality before entering the creek; the repair and restoration of creek bank, including revegetation of the riparian slopes and reconstruction of low, retaining walls to stabilize the slopes. This Waterloo Greenway project will use nature-based solutions and green infrastructure to create a thriving ecosystem and resilient landscape to further manage stormwater flows. The project is an appropriate use of taxpayer funds because these improvements will enhance water quality in lower Waller Creek, which is currently listed in the 2024 Texas Integrated Report for impaired waterways 303(d) (Category 5) under the federal Clean Water Act and Waller Creek has been on the list of impaired waterways for over 20 years.
Project Name: Emergency Disaster Energy Hub Project
Proposed Recipient: City of Austin
Address of the Recipient: 301 W. Second Street Second Floor, Austin, Texas, 78701
Requested Amount: $3,750,000.00
Description of the request, including the purpose and justification for use of taxpayer funds: This funding would be used to install and upgrade battery backup systems at two City of Austin community centers to improve community disaster preparedness and response. The project is an appropriate use of taxpayer funds because critical city functions can be compromised as extreme weather events increase in frequency and intensity in Austin, creating additional health and safety emergencies. For example, during the extreme winter weather event of February 2021, hundreds of thousands of Austin homes lacked water and electricity. This investment supports current initiatives to maintain power supply during outages and decreases dependence on the grid. This initiative secures continuous power at trusted locations delivering aid to Austin’s residents when they need it most.
Project Name: Austin Community Violence Intervention
Proposed Recipient: City of Austin, Texas
Address of the Recipient: 301 West Second Street Second Floor, Austin, Texas, 78701
Requested Amount: $3,450,000.00
Description of the request, including the purpose and justification for use of taxpayer funds: This funding would be used to Austin Public Health (APH) will use the requested funds to continue our Community Violence Intervention programming to individuals who are at highest risk of being impacted by community violence in crime hotspot locations. This program uses street outreach, conflict mediation, wraparound services, and community engagement to provide much needed support and services to individuals and neighborhoods promoting equity and positively impacting the community to reduce acts of violence, enhance cohesion, and actualize peace. This project is an appropriate use of taxpayer funds because, like other cities in the United States, Austin experienced a sharp increase in homicides since the COVID-19 pandemic, with the current homicide rate far exceeding pre-pandemic numbers. These incidents of gun violence are disproportionally impacting communities who have historically experience segregation and divestment.
Project Name: Central Texas Health Information Exchange Maternal Health Research
Proposed Recipient: Connxus
Address of the Recipient: 1401 Lavaca St. PMB 40115, Austin, Texas, 78701
Requested Amount: $1,750,000.00
Description of the request, including the purpose and justification for use of taxpayer funds: This funding would be used to support research that studies the impact of federal policies to improve access to maternal health services in health professional shortage areas by academic researchers. The funding will help build the necessary enhancements to improve the quality and completeness of data for such policy-relevant studies as well as test cutting-edge data analytic technologies like machine learning and large language models to allow the research to be optimized. This project is an appropriate use of taxpayer funds because conducting rigorous population health research will provide advancements for Central Texas by identifying the needs and methods to improve the health and well-being of taxpayers while also decreasing government spending on health and social issues that otherwise might costs the state of Texas millions of dollars. This research can also be scaled as cutting-edge findings that can be utilized through the United States.
Project Name: McNeil Drive Drainage Improvements
Proposed Recipient: Travis, County of
Address of the Recipient: 700 Lavaca Street, Austin, Texas, 78701
Requested Amount: $2,000,000.00
Description of the request, including the purpose and justification for use of taxpayer funds: This project prevents flooding of McNeil Drive and the surrounding subdivision caused by storm events. The scope of this work includes pond and channel improvements to relieve McNeil Drive between Howard Lane and Ashton Wood Drive from flooding during hazardous events. The project is an appropriate use of taxpayer funds because these improvements will address the safety issues associated with water overtopping the road and prevent local flooding.
Project Name: Career and Technical Education at Austin ISD
Proposed Recipient: City of Austin
Address of the Recipient: 301 W. Second Street Second Floor, Austin, Texas, 78701
Requested Amount: $3,000,000.00
Description of the request, including the purpose and justification for use of taxpayer funds: The project will provide equipment that increases student awareness of and exposure through Career and Technical Education coursework for in-demand industries in Central Texas. Funds will be used to acquire and install business, marketing, finance; heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC), and advanced manufacturing training equipment at ten Austin Independent School District (ISD) high schools. The project is an appropriate use of taxpayer funds because the identified equipment and tools for these CTE programs would enhance offerings, giving students the opportunity to obtain four industry-recognized certifications, and positioning students to enter the workforce, an apprenticeship program, or continue to postsecondary education upon completion.
Project Name: SAFE Rathgeber Village Safety and Security Infrastructure Upgrade
Proposed Recipient: Travis, County of
Address of the Recipient: 700 Lavaca Street, Austin, Texas, 78701
Requested Amount: $2,000,000.00
Description of the request, including the purpose and justification for use of taxpayer funds: This project would allow the repurposing of buildings at Rathgeber Village (RV), run by The SAFE Alliance (SAFE), a Central Texas nonprofit committed to providing safety, stability, and healing to anyone who has experienced violence and abuse. The RV campus is in dire need of safety and security infrastructure upgrades, and this funding would allow improved safety and security measures suitable for the multipurpose use of this site. The site will continue to house older youth transitioning out of foster care, and site usage will also include: a temporary, 10-unit community shelter for domestic violence survivors with a lower risk of lethality; additional space for Eloise House, SAFE's forensic exam clinic; and a building rented to Integral Care to serve youth dealing with mental health crises. The project is an appropriate use of taxpayer funds because, in response to changes in the child welfare system in Texas, SAFE has reduced the number of youth living at RV and will be using the rest of the campus to provide shelter and support to youth and adults who have been impacted by domestic violence, sexual assault, child abuse, and/or sex trafficking. The SAFE Rathgeber Village Safety and Security Infrastructure Upgrade is consistent with the primary objective of the EDI community development program and meets a compelling local need consistent with the statutory purposes.
Project Name: Cool Corridors: Tree Planting and Workforce Development to Reduce Extreme Heat in Austin’s Hottest Corridors
Proposed Recipient: City of Austin
Address of the Recipient: 301 W. Second Street Second Floor, Austin, Texas, 78701
Requested Amount: $1,970,000.00
Description of the request, including the purpose and justification for use of taxpayer funds: The City of Austin will partner with local non-profits to plant and care for trees along Austin’s hottest corridors and those with the lowest existing tree canopy. This project will reduce exposure to extreme heat, create economic opportunities through workforce development, improve public health, and lower utility costs in these areas. The project will help the highest-need areas of Austin adapt to climate change and equip low-income youth with skills and training for future careers in green jobs. The project is an appropriate use of taxpayer funds because it will improve public health and safety while offering the City and its taxpayers long-term environmental and economic benefits.
Project Name: Zilker Sunken Garden
Proposed Recipient: City of Austin
Address of the Recipient: 301 W. Second Street Second Floor, Austin, Texas, 78701
Requested Amount: $2,000,000.00
Description of the request, including the purpose and justification for use of taxpayer funds: This project will fix ongoing erosion and bank stabilization problems, rehabilitate historic masonry walls, improve critical habitat for federally endangered salamanders, and improve interpretation through educational signage. It includes an expansion of the spring-fed stream channel to a new outfall on Barton Creek, as well as stabilization of the existing channel and modification to the stone wall to improve the outlet from the spring pool. It provides improvements to the recreational trail and the replacement of an existing pedestrian bridge for safe public access. The project is an appropriate use of taxpayer funds because, by establishing a stable spring-fed stream channel that significantly reduces erosion risk for the spring, the pedestrian bridge, and park facilities (trails, parking, and historic structures), enhancing and expanding the federal endangered salamander habitat as required by the 2013 Habitat Conservation Plan specified in the City’s permit to operate Barton Springs Pool, and preserving the adjacent historic structures and increase public interaction with them through interpretive signs and viewpoints, it will benefit the park's more than 1.3 million annual visitors, including residents of Austin and elsewhere, as well as the federally endangered Barton Springs and Austin Blind Salamanders. Sunken Garden Springs is located within the Zilker Park National Register Historic District. The proposed improvements allow the City to preserve this historic site as outlined in the adopted 2008 Barton Springs Master Plan.
Project Name: Foundation Communities/Mary Lee Campus – “Lamar Square”
Proposed Recipient: City of Austin
Address of the Recipient: 301 W. Second Street Second Floor, Austin, Texas, 78701
Requested Amount: $5,089,230.00
Description of the request, including the purpose and justification for use of taxpayer funds: Foundation Communities is partnering with the Mary Lee Foundation (MLF) to redevelop their eight-acre campus. This redevelopment of Lamar Square will result in new housing and community services for over 600 residents, including people with disabilities, those at risk for homelessness, and families with children. Lamar Square will increase affordable housing in an area where there are good schools and employment opportunities, where working families cannot afford to reside. The project is an appropriate use of taxpayer funds because the construction of rehabilitation and day hab spaces to serve intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD) residents and clients in Phase 1 (of three phases) of the Lamar Square project, focusing on the construction of affordable housing for people with disabilities, low-income workers, and those at risk for homelessness, will implement Foundation Communities’ proven housing-plus-services model and, in partnership with MLF, will integrate individuals with IDD into the surrounding community. Rehabilitation and therapy will continue in new buildings providing for the entire community, in addition to those social services, education, financial literacy, and health initiatives for which FC is known, and which are in short supply in the rapidly gentrifying South Lamar area.
Project Name:West Bouldin Creek Trail Extension
Proposed Recipient: City of Austin
Address of the Recipient: 301 W. Second Street Second Floor, Austin, Texas, 78701
Requested Amount: $6,000,000.00
Description of the request, including the purpose and justification for use of taxpayer funds: The requested funding will be used to extend the West Bouldin Creek Trail north to connect with the existing Ann and Roy Butler Trail. The Butler Trail encircles Lady Bird Lake in central Austin and connects with several other major trails, serving as a hub for the City of Austin trail system. The project is an appropriate use of taxpayer funds because the connection to the Butler Trail will also encourage residents in the area to bike to Butler Trail for recreation purposes, contributing to the overall health of residents, improving air quality, and reducing the need for parking and impervious surfaces in the parks along Lady Bird Lake. Separating bicycle traffic from motor vehicle traffic will increase safety for all road users by reducing points of potential conflict and interaction between them.
Project Name: Connecting Windsor Park: Belfast Bridge & Trail
Proposed Recipient: City of Austin
Address of the Recipient: 301 W. Second Street Second Floor, Austin, Texas, 78701
Requested Amount: $4,000,000.00
Description of the request, including the purpose and justification for use of taxpayer funds: The requested funding will be used to construct a bridge over Tannehill Branch Creek providing a safe pedestrian and bicycle route from the Windsor Park neighborhood to the Mueller area and neighborhood schools. The project is part of a broader plan to provide improved pedestrian and bicycle connections in Windsor Park and between Windsor Park and adjacent neighborhoods and Austin’s citywide trail system. The project is an appropriate use of taxpayer funds because it is part of a broader plan to provide improved pedestrian and bicycle connections in Windsor Park and between Windsor Park and adjacent neighborhoods and Austin’s citywide trail system.