(This story was updated to add new information.)
An offer to privately finance the costs to prepare a federal grant application for the Inner Harbor desalination project in Corpus Christi is off the table.
A local organization, Voices for Coastal Bend Energy, had proposed fronting the costs — estimated between $50,000 and $60,000 — to complete and finalize the application to the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation for potentially as much as $120 million in grants.
VCBE is described on its website as a “coalition of businesses, organizations, and community leaders dedicated to advancing policies and investments that strengthen the Coastal Bend’s energy reliability, water security, and economic competitiveness.”
The offer was turned down in a 5-4 vote on July 28, with City Council members Gil Hernandez, Carolyn Vaughn, Kaylynn Paxson, Eric Cantu and Sylvia Campos rejecting the offer, and Mayor Paulette Guajardo and City Councilmen Mark Scott, Roland Barrera and Everett Roy supporting it.
Had it been accepted, the funding was planned to cover the costs of staff time and professional services to complete the application, officials said.
The offer from VCBE was prompted by a 5-4 council vote on June 30 to pass on pursuing the federal grant funding for the Inner Harbor desalination plant, the facility itself estimated at $979 million for development.
The proposed Inner Harbor project had been deemed eligible for federal grant funding in May, according to officials; however, the application would require a council resolution to approve the project that would receive the funds.
The council has consistently voted 5-4 against progressing the project, largely citing cost concerns and disagreement over whether there has been sufficient study of potential effects of desalination operations on the bay system.
As they have previously, council members pointed out that although there is $120 million available, it may be split among several projects.
Several council members noted that the project has not been approved.
A June 2 vote that would have continued its design was pushed to Sept. 1, pending results of additional environmental studies.
“It doesn’t make sense to go out for a grant … for a project that we’re not going to have,” Hernandez said.
Some council members supporting acceptance of VCBE’s offer had hoped that the funding would be approved so work to complete the application — due Aug. 26 — could be underway while the council continues discussion on whether to approve the Inner Harbor project.
Guajardo said the item was “a gift, to have someone step up and say, ‘We’re going to pay for it.’”
“It’s not asking us to build a project, it’s not committing the city to future construction and it’s not obligating taxpayers in any way,” she said.
Some council members voiced concerns that the funding was being offered through an organization without specific names of individual donors.
Dolly Gonzales Trolley, executive director of VCBE, told the council after questions were raised that as a 501(c)(6), the organization isn’t required to disclose the names of those who contributed.
That’s problematic, Vaughn said.
“I appreciate the work that you do, I do,” she said. “But as for me, I think that whoever’s in this committee, the names should be out there. I don’t think the city should take money from someone you do not know.”
There’s a reason some donors didn’t want to be disclosed, Trolley said, because “it’s just not a friendly place.”
She described them as “respected business owners in the community that choose not to step in this situation.”
Kirsten Crow covers city government and water news. Have a story idea? Contact her at kirsten.crow@caller.com.
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This article originally appeared on Corpus Christi Caller Times: Federal grant funding for Inner Harbor desalination off the table
Reporting by Kirsten Crow, Corpus Christi Caller Times / Corpus Christi Caller Times
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By Kirsten Crow, Corpus Christi Caller Times | USA TODAY Network
