Special City Council Meeting on PY 2026-27 Annual Action Plan – June 16, 2026
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Special City Council Meeting on PY 2026-27 Annual Action Plan – June 16, 2026
On June 16, 2026, the Killeen City Council held a special meeting at City Hall to discuss the proposed 30-day citizen comment period for the Program Year (PY) 2026-27 Annual Action Plan, which describes the use of Community Development Block Grant (CDBG), HOME Investment Partnerships (HOME), and HOME-American Rescue Plan (HOME-ARP) funds. Mayor Joseph Solomon called the meeting to order at 6:26 p.m. All council members were present except Councilmember Debbie Nash-King. The agenda was approved by a 6-0 vote.
Agenda Approval
- Councilmember Kimmel moved to approve the agenda, seconded by Councilmember Kendrick. The motion carried 6-0.
Public Hearing: PY 2026-27 Annual Action Plan
- Staff member Ms. McNeil presented an overview of the entitlement funds and the required citizen participation process.
- The city received 99 survey responses (up from just under 50 the previous year) during a public survey held February 11 – March 4, 2026.
- CDBG entitlement for PY 2026 (FY 2027) is $1,437,398, with $66,637.94 in reprogrammed funds. Public services are capped at 15% of the annual entitlement.
- HOME entitlement was reported as $585,207 (transcript reads "585,2077").
- Applications: 9 public service applications were received, 8 recommended for funding, and 1 was rescinded. For CDBG (housing, infrastructure, code enforcement, parks), 5 applications were received, 4 recommended, and there is one forward funding commitment for code enforcement officers. HOME received 4 applications with 1 recommended; HOME-ARP received 2 applications with 2 recommended.
- The proposed comment period is June 22 – July 28, 2026, extended by one week from the originally noticed July 21 end date. Comments may be submitted via public hearings, in writing, or by email to communitydevelopment@killeentexas.gov.
- The draft action plan will be available at five city facilities and online. Next steps: the public hearing and comment period conclude on July 28; council will vote to accept, reject, or modify funding recommendations; the plan is due to HUD by August 15; and the program year begins October 1.
- Council questions: Mayor Pro Tem asked about the $500,000 or 28% allocated for acquisition/development of non-congregate shelters. Ms. McNeil explained the difference between congregate and non-congregate shelters, noting the latter provide private rooms/bathrooms/kitchens to protect vulnerable populations during pandemics. Councilmember Brown sought a comparison to existing shelters, and Ms. McNeil noted similarities to family units in a domestic violence shelter, though without full kitchens.
Public Comments & Testimony
- Anna Luisa Carrillo Tapia, speaking on behalf of the League of United Latin American Citizens (LULAC), raised concerns about galvanized pipes containing lead in residents' homes. She said notices sent to residents lack proper addressing and are not provided in Spanish, causing confusion. She asked the city to use CDBG funds to assist needy families, particularly on the north side of Killeen, and to improve communication with non-English-speaking residents. She also urged the city to reach out to families proactively, not only when bills are due.
- In response, staff confirmed that written comments for the record would be accepted via email and that comments would be shared with the council before the July 28 meeting. Staff noted that the water notice does contain a reference to a Spanish translation resource.
Key Outcomes
- The agenda was approved 6-0.
- The public hearing was opened and closed. No formal vote was taken on the Annual Action Plan or the comment period dates.
- Staff will provide any written comments to council members a few days before the July 28 public hearing.
- The meeting adjourned after the hearing.
Meeting Transcript
Okay. We have recessed the previous meeting, and we are calling special city council meeting. And it is now six twenty-six. And I'll call this meeting to order. Okay. Let the record show that all council members are present with the exception of Councilmember Nash King. She is absent. I need a motion to approve the agenda. Councilmember Kimmel. Motion to approve. Councilmember Kendrick. Second. All in favor. Signify by saying yes. All opposed. No. Motion carries six to zero. It is now time for citizen comments. Citizens will have three minutes to speak. There are no citizen comments. We have one public hearing item after we have the remarks from staff. Okay. All right. We are madam secretary. All right. PH two six zero one seven. Hold a public hearing to receive citizen input on the citizen comment and participation process and open a 30-day comment period from June 22nd to July 28th, 2026 to receive citizen comment regarding the proposed activities under the program year PY 2026-27 annual action plan describing the use of community development block grant, CDBG, home investment partnerships, home and home American Rescue Plan. Program funds first of two public hearings. Hello again, Ms. McNeil. Hello again. Thank you. So I just want to be clear that this public hearing is only to discuss the proposed comment period. So as an entitlement community, the City of Clean is awarded funding from HUD through the Block Grant, uh Community Development Block Grant, also known as CDBG and Home Investment Partnership Act, also known as Home. And in 2021, the city received a one-time award of home art funds. What's unique with home ARP is even though it is designed for low to moderate income households, they have four qualified populations that must be targeted for this money, and they are listed here homeless at risk of homelessness, fleeing or attempting to flee, domestic violence, dating violence, sexual assault, stalking, or human trafficking. Other populations were providing supportive services or assistance to prevent homelessness. So that is to get into a space where those that are maybe at risk of homelessness through an eviction process. They can be qualified population for this, and then also veterans and families that include a veteran that meet one of the criteria. So the citizen participation and survey, according to our citizen participation plan, a citizen comment period of no less than 30 days is required prior to the submission of the draft annual action plan. Comments received on the draft will be included into the final submission to HUD. The city holds community planning meetings and public hearings to receive input from the community. Additionally, a public survey is open to gather citizen input on community needs. This year we did actually see more respondents to our survey. We had 99 respondents as opposed to last year. We were just shy of 50. I do give uh big compliments and uh thanks to the communications department who really worked with us to get that survey out there. The survey was available from February 11th to March 4th, and the detailed resort results are available on our website. So this is just a timeline. We started in February with the community planning meetings.
openpublica.com