A select number of residents in the City of Fairfield will be receiving a mailed survey seeking information about their income.

The surveys are related to the City’s application for a state government grant to refurbish the Love Street Water Tower. This Community Development Block Grant is offered through the Texas Department of Agriculture.

In order to qualify for this particular grant, the City must demonstrate that 51% of their population is low to moderate income households, as City Administrator Nate Smith explained to Fairfield Council members during their regular meeting on Tuesday, January 12, 2021.

According to Smith, this will be a “blind” survey sent to Fairfield water customers selected at random.

“The surveys will come from GrantWorks,” said City Administrator Smith. “The information is confidential, and will not be given to the City.”

NOTE:  The due date on these surveys has been extended and is not January 22, as stated in the letter.

These mailed surveys will include a self-addressed, stamped envelope to send back to Grantworks, an expert company in securing funding through government grants.

Grant applications are evaluated on a point system. The higher the City’s score, the more likely they are to receive the grant.

Obtaining information about household incomes in Fairfield will increase the opportunity for the City to secure funding for this much needed project.

In other business, Council approved renewing a three-year term for two Fairfield EDC board members: Don McLeod and Danny Wren.

“Time got away from us,” said EDC President David Fowler, who explained that these two terms actually ended in February of 2020.

Fowler further stated that, after discovering the issue and then consulting with an attorney, the EDC board went back and ratified actions from that time moving forward. “So, all actions taken is legal,” he said.

Also addressed during last week’s meeting include the following:

–Resignation accepted from police dispatcher Julie Lawrence

–Purchase approved for police rifles and shotguns at the cost of $11,378.91

–Purchase approved for police radios at the cost of $33,784.85 (to be reimbursed through grant from the Office of the Governor)

–Resolution approved to designated Hayter Engineering as the engineering service provider for the Community Development Block Grant for the Love Street Water Tower project

–Revised Resolution approved for Fairfield EDC to expend up to $621,000 in matching funds in the event they receive the U.S. Economic Development Grant (EDA) for road infrastructure at the Industrial Park. The amount was revised after receiving a preliminary engineering report with a higher cost estimate.

Next regular session of Fairfield City Council is set for January 26, 2021.