Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Infrastructure Recovery topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
City staff give quarterly update on capital projects and FEMA recovery process
Summary
City staff reported progress on capital projects funded by bonds and recovery programs, outlined storm-damage project scoping with FEMA, and listed completed, ongoing and planned projects including Memorial Stadium, McCormick Field, municipal building repairs and Reed Creek Greenway.
City staff presented a quarterly capital-improvement program (CIP) update and reviewed the infrastructure recovery process following storm damage from Tropical Storm Helene, emphasizing that federal funding streams will shape project scope and timelines.
Walter Ear, the city's interim capital management director, summarized completed and ongoing work and highlighted a multi-pronged recovery approach that uses the FEMA Public Assistance (PA) program, FEMA Hazard Mitigation Grant Program (HMGP) and HUD Community Development Block Grant Disaster Recovery (CDBG‑DR). "We'll take a moment to celebrate the capital project wins of the year so far," Ear said as he reviewed completed projects and work in progress.
Completed and in-progress projects Staff noted completed or substantially complete items including the Memorial Stadium project (substantially complete late last year, with final completion earlier this year) and Roger Farmer Park sport courts (completed about a month ago). Ongoing projects listed were McCormick Field (work continuing through baseball season), municipal building structural repairs, and upcoming parking garage repairs for Wall Street and Rinken garages. Staff said roof replacements (Municipal Building and Thomas Wolfe Auditorium) and the Southside connectivity/Greenway Connectors project are underway or planned; Southside connectivity faces contractor-related issues but is expected to complete next year.
Recovery funding process and project scoping Staff said the city has delivered its damage inventory to FEMA and that FEMA is finalizing its review. The next formal step is project scoping, where individual damages are categorized as small or large projects and cost estimates are developed. Ear explained the approach to "design it twice": develop a baseline repair-in-kind estimate (including code updates such as raising to 2 feet above base flood elevation where required) and then design mitigation or "build back better" improvements that may be eligible for HMGP or CDBG‑DR funding.
Examples and timing Staff reported 31 smaller projects already identified (examples included 8 River Arts Place, Wanford Park storage building, communication-tower repairs and roof replacements at the Municipal Building and Thomas Wolfe Auditorium) and named large projects that will require integrated designs such as the French Broad River Parks Recovery Project, the Azalea Parks Infrastructure Recovery Project and the North Fork Water Treatment Facility. Staff said design contracts for large-project scoping will come to council later this fall.
Local concerns discussed Councilmembers raised concerns about downtown parking impacts during the planned parking-garage repairs and asked about solar-ready roof replacements. Staff said the municipal building is a good candidate for solar and that they are coordinating with sustainability staff to integrate battery backup and other resilience features where structurally feasible.
Ending Staff closed by reiterating that maximizing FEMA and other federal recovery funding is a priority, that funding sources and program rules will shape project scope and timing, and that the city will return with design contracts and more detailed scoping as projects move forward.
