Current through Reg. 50, No. 13; March 28, 2025
(a) Property
Eligibility. In order to be eligible for grants or loans under the courthouse
program, a historic courthouse owned by either a county or municipality must
be:
(1) listed in the National Register of
Historic Places;
(2) designated a
Recorded Texas Historic Landmark;
(3) designated a State Antiquities
Landmark;
(4) determined by the
commission to qualify as an eligible property under the designations noted
above;
(5) certified by the
commission as worthy of preservation; or,
(6) designated by an ordinance of a
municipality with a population of more than 1.5 million as
historic.
(b) Master plan
requirement. In order to be eligible for funding, a county or municipality must
have completed a current master preservation plan approved by the commission.
The commission may require an outdated master plan be updated prior to the date
of application or a before a grant or loan is approved.
(c) Types of Assistance. The commission may
provide financial assistance in the form of grants or loans. Grant or loan
recipients shall be required to follow the terms and conditions of the Texas
Historic Courthouse Preservation Program and other terms and conditions imposed
by the commission at the time of the grant award or loan.
(d) Match for grant or loan assistance.
Applicants eligible to receive grant or loan assistance should provide a
minimum of 15% of the total project cost or other match requirements as
determined by the commission. Credit toward the match may be given for a
county's or municipality's prior capital and in-kind contributions and prior
master planning costs, with not less than one half of the match derived from
current cash match and/or planning match. In exceptional circumstances, the
commission may, at its sole discretion, waive the match requirements and/or
approve a larger credit toward prior expenditures.
(e) Allowable use of grant or loan monies.
(1) A county or municipality that receives
money under the courthouse program must use the money only for preservation,
reconstruction, rehabilitation, restoration or other expenses that the
commission determines eligible.
(2)
All work must comply with the Secretary of the Interior's Standards for the
Treatment of Historic Properties (1995 edition, or as revised).
(3) Individual grants or loans may not exceed
$10 (ten) million and the cumulative total may not exceed $10 (ten) million to
any one county or municipality.
(4)
The commission may grant a different amount than requested in a courthouse
grant application.
(f)
Administration. The courthouse program shall be administered by the
commission.
(g) Advisory Committee.
(1) The commission may appoint Advisory
Committees or other working groups to advise the commission on matters related
to the Texas Historic Courthouse Preservation Program including courthouse
maintenance.
(2) The commission
should consider the following when selecting members of an advisory committee
or working group:
(A) geographic
diversity;
(C) area of expertise;
and/or
(D) representation of the
public interest.
(h) Procedures. The commission shall adopt
procedures, and revise them as necessary, to implement the Texas Historic
Courthouse Preservation Program.
(i) Compliance with current program grant
manual and all other rules, statutes, policies, procedures and directives is
mandatory for all historic courthouse projects unless written exception is
provided by the commission due to unforeseen circumstances beyond the control
of grantee or grantor.
(j) Grants
for Construction Plans and Specifications:
(1)
The commission may make grants for the purpose of completing construction plans
and specifications for courthouse construction projects.
(2) A county or municipality receiving a
grant for completing plans and specifications is encouraged to apply for a
construction grant from this program at the next grant program funding
opportunity following commission acceptance of the complete plans and
specifications. In the subsequent grant application, the county or municipality
should provide at least an equal level of commitment to program components as
provided in their previous funding applications.
(k) Grants for Construction Defects:
(1) The commission may make grants for the
purpose of remedying defects in construction quality from a previous
grant-funded project. Before applying for such a grant, a county or
municipality must first pursue repairs under warranty or administrative
remedies with their contractor, architect, or other party at fault for the
defect.
(2) If a county or
municipality that receives a grant to remedy a construction defect later
recovers funds related to the scope of the grant through litigation or a
settlement agreement, the net amount recovered, minus court costs and
attorney's fees, shall be ineligible for grant reimbursement. The commission
may recapture the grant, or if the net amount recovered is insufficient to
accomplish the full scope of work for the grant, the commission may revise the
grant budget to consider such funds as the cash match and recapture the excess
amount of the grant award. Further, the county or municipality must repay any
such funds that were previously reimbursed, proportionate to the state share of
the overall project costs.