Harvey aid draft proposal allocates $59 million for Galveston County

A reader submitted a photo showing the Waterford Harbor Marina League City promenade under water on Sunday, Aug. 27, 2017. Click through the gallery to see how Hurricane Harvey affected Galveston. A reader submitted a photo showing the Waterford Harbor Marina League City promenade under water on Sunday, Aug. 27, 2017. Click through the gallery to see how Hurricane Harvey affected Galveston. Photo: LCDR Joyce Zongrone USN (Ret.) Photo: LCDR Joyce Zongrone USN (Ret.) Image 1 of / 114 Caption Close Harvey aid draft proposal allocates $59 million for Galveston County 1 / 114 Back to Gallery

Galveston County is slated to receive $59 million in Hurricane Harvey aid for home buyouts and infrastructure repair projects, according to an internal draft allocation report from the Houston-Galveston Area Council.

The $59 million is a small portion of the $5 billion given to Texas by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development after Hurricane Harvey wreaked havoc on southeast Texas. The Texas General Land Office gave a direct allocation for $2.3 billion of that money to Harris County and Houston, which bore the brunt of the storm's impact.

For the other 12 Harvey-affected counties, which includes Galveston, the federal money will be made available through local area councils. Galveston officials had previously hoped to lobby HUD directly for more funding rather than divide a smaller pot 12 ways.

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"When you look at most metrics that are out there, Galveston is either in first place, second place or third place in all metrics of evaluating damage and impact of the storm and we're not getting anywhere near the help we should be getting from the federal government," said Ken Clark, a Galveston County commissioner, in April.

And yet, Galveston still comes out ahead compared to the other 12 affected counties. Dickinson, which had over 7,000 homes damaged by the storm, has the highest allocation of any affected city for infrastructure repair, at just over $9 million. Dickinson will also receive $9.2 million for home buyouts. League City had the next highest allocation, with $7.1 million for infrastructure repairs and just under $6.9 million for home buyouts.

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The rest of the $59 million will be divided among the cities of Friendswood, Galveston, Hitchcock, La Marque, Santa Fe and Texas City, as well as the county government.

The Houston-Galveston Area Council will hold several public meetings seeking feedback before the council board votes to approve the aid distribution on June 19. If the board approves the allocations, there will then be a 14-day public comment period. The HGAC will then submit the final distribution report to the General Land Office in July.

Nick Powell covers Galveston County for the Chronicle. Follow him on Twitter and send him tips at nick.powell@chron.com