I lived in Whitney for years. West was a regular kolache stop when I was headed south. Still is when I am down that way. I heard about your towns difficulties. Terrible thing.
My husband and I are currently building an earthship of rammed earth and old tires. It is a labor of love, and do able by the average individual. If you think small simple
shelter and build with add-on in mind, these would be a possibility, and used tires are plentiful, especially so close to Waco. They are labor intensive self-sustaining structures. A creative person with a willingness ro repurpose other folks discarded materials could build one inexpensively.
Google Earthship...lots of info out there.