Funding will boost 32 projects benefiting first responders, community centers and local civic groups in LCRA’s service area
The Lower Colorado River Authority recently awarded more than $730,000 in Community Development Partnership Program grants for a wide range of projects across LCRA’s wholesale electric, water and transmission service areas.
The grants will help fund 32 community projects, including the purchase of a new firetruck for the Wall Volunteer Fire Department in Tom Green County and renovation of the Wharton Civic Center in Wharton County. Other grants will help fund a new public park alongside the Colorado River in Smithville; the construction of a live-fire training facility in Coleman; and the completion of renovations to public art galleries in downtown Llano.
Fourteen of the projects will support first responders by providing new protective gear, emergency vehicles and other critical resources. One grant will help pay for a 40,000-gallon water tank firefighters can use in the Spicewood area, where the nearest fire hydrants are several miles away. Another will provide a new thermal imaging camera and smoke evacuation fans to aid firefighters in Kerr County.
LCRA General Manager Phil Wilson said providing these grants to volunteer fire departments and other first responders is important to help keep communities safe.
“By helping supply new protective gear and better, up-todate equipment, we can make it easier for first responders to get to emergencies quickly, with top-notch gear at their sides as they work to protect people who need help,” Wilson said.
Wilson said the grants are one way LCRA gives back to the communities it serves.
“LCRA is proud to contribute to these much-needed projects,” Wilson said. “Each individual project adds value to its community. We’re pleased to support these projects, and in turn, the economic development of communities in our service area.”
To date, LCRA and its wholesale electric customers have awarded 1,852 community grants totaling nearly $48 million. When combined with more than $228 million in community-raised matching funds, the program has invested more than $276 million in local communities.
CDPP grants are awarded twice a year for capital projects for volunteer fire departments, emergency responders, cities and counties, schools, libraries, civic groups, museums, and other tax-exempt non-profit organizations. Applications for the next round of grants will be available at lcra.org/cdpp on January 1 and are due by midnight on January 31.
Local grants awarded in the most recent grant cycle are:
• GOLDTHWAITE: A $5,000 grant from LCRA and the City of Goldthwaite to the Mills County Historical Museum for structural repairs to the museum building, which was built in 1893.
• GOLDTHWAITE: A $25,000 grant from LCRA to the City of Goldthwaite for the installation of an energyefficient heating and air conditioning system at the historic Mills County Theatre, a popular venue for community events.
• LLANO: A $24,090 grant from LCRA and the City of Llano to the Llano County Art Association for the completion of renovations to art galleries housed in two downtown buildings.
• McCULLOCH COUNTY: A $21,045 grant from LCRA to the Rochelle Study Club for exterior and interior renovations to the 109-year-old train depot that has served as the Rochelle Memorial Community Center since 1956.