Local communities receive federal funding

Congresswoman Garcia (center) presents $3 million water line and fire protection improvement check to GP Mayor Esmeralda Moya and Fire Chief Tom Ehlers. L-R: GP Fire Dept. Assist. Chief Kathy Kirkpatrick, Mayor Esmeralda Moya, Fire Chief Tom Ehlers, Paramedic Dimitirius Dollarhide, FF/EMT Micheal Richardson & Capt. Marcus Tunchez (Photo by Allan Jamail)
Congresswoman Garcia (center) presents $3 million water line and fire protection improvement check to GP Mayor Esmeralda Moya and Fire Chief Tom Ehlers. L-R: GP Fire Dept. Assist. Chief Kathy Kirkpatrick, Mayor Esmeralda Moya, Fire Chief Tom Ehlers, Paramedic Dimitirius Dollarhide, FF/EMT Micheal Richardson & Capt. Marcus Tunchez (Photo by Allan Jamail)

Rep. Sylvia Garcia present checks of $3 mil to Galena Park, $1 mil to Jacinto City for Infrastructure

By Allan Jamail

Galena Park/Jacinto City, TX. – On Tuesday April 12, 2022, Christmas came early for the communities of Galena Park and Jacinto City. Congresswoman Sylvia Garcia of the 29th Texas Congressional District presented $4 million to be used for community improvement projects. The funds are part of a larger $10 million nine Community Projects Funding request led and secured by Garcia, and will also include projects for Houston and South Houston.

The funding came from the historic $1.5 trillion Bipartisan Omnibus Appropriations Bill that President Joe Biden promoted and Rep. Garcia supported. It provides a substantial increase in spending for domestic and national security but also sends $13.6 billion in emergency aid to Ukraine in its defense against the Russian invasion. Both parties scored political victories in the spending bill.

Rep. Sylvia Garcia (left) of the 29th Congressional District presents JC Mayor Ana Diaz and City Manager Lon Squyres a $1 million dollar check for the city’s south side water main and fire hydrant replacement project. (Photo by Allan Jamail)

Garcia said in Galena Park, “You’ve heard of The Million Dollar Man? Well, I’m the Million Dollar Woman. I was proud to champion $3,000,000 for the City of Galena Park to replace and upgrade their aging water line and fire protection systems. The residents of Galena Park deserve premier public service, and these funds will aid the delivery of safe drinking water to residents and will provide for more than 100 new fire hydrants for our first responders to better protect and serve residents.”

The GP project would replace and upgrade the aging system and allow the city to guarantee delivery of potable drinking water to residents and provide adequate firewater pressure in case of fire. The project would replace over 52,000 linear feet of water mains.

In Jacinto City she said, “Securing nearly $1 million in federal funding for Jacinto City to replace some of their 80-year-old water mains is something I’m incredibly proud to announce. These funds will be used to upgrade the water main infrastructure from Market Street to Lane Street. It will provide more residents access to drinking water and additional water pressure for fire protection.”

The JC water infrastructure project will replace some existing 80-year-old water mains serving a region from south of Market Street to Lane Street. This will yield a significant increase in water flow and pressure to ensure access to potable water and required water pressure for fire protection.

Galena Park’s Mayor Esmeralda Moya said she was thankful for Congresswoman’s Garcia’s securing the funding she and the city has been wanting and needing for a good while to bring the city’s water infrastructure up to modern standards.

Jacinto City’s Mayor Ana Diaz said, “In behalf of the citizens I want to thank Congresswoman Garcia for helping secure the funds we need to make improvements to improve the quality of life we need and deserve. It’s good to see our citizens federal tax dollars come back from Washington to be used in their city.”