City Council Designates Downtown La Grange ‘Slum and Blighted’ Area

The La Grange City Council approved a resolution on Monday designating certain portions of downtown as “slum and blighted” areas.

This resolution will allow the City to pursue a downtown revitalization grant through the Texas Department of Agriculture. At Monday’s City Council meeting, La Grange Main Street Manager Caleb Parks said the City is pursuing the grant to pay for improvements in downtown, including street lights, crosswalks, curbing and other pedestrian enhancements.

Parks said the grant is available to cities under three conditions: 1) for projects designated as “immediate needs,” 2) for projects that benefit low to moderate income populations, or 3) for projects to improve “slum” or “blighted” areas.

Parks said the City does not qualify under the first two conditions. But he said the City could qualify for the grant if the Council designates downtown as a “slum” or “blighted” area.

To many, La Grange’s picturesque downtown with its historic courthouse square may not seem like a slum or blighted area.

Lindsay Moore of Grantworks, the firm administering the grant application on behalf of the City, was on hand for the meeting. Moore said the Council needed to officially designate the downtown area as a “slum” or “blighted” area in order to qualify for the grant.

“I know ‘blight’ may sound severe, but it’s really just a compliant use of words,” Moore said.

The Council voted to approve the resolution as presented without opposition.

Also on Monday, the Council approved the appointment of Nora Hunt to the Main Street Advisory Board as a youth representative. Hunt will be a junior at La Grange High School when school begins in the fall.