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Black Mountain pursues flood, water and resilience grants; council approves consent agenda with multiple grant applications
Summary
Assistant Town Manager Jessica Trotter outlined a new Office of Recovery & Resiliency and a broad slate of grant and loan applications tied to post‑Helene mitigation. Council approved a lengthy consent agenda that included numerous hazard‑mitigation and water‑system funding submissions.
Assistant Town Manager Jessica Trotter told the Town Council on Aug. 11 that the town has created an Office of Recovery & Resiliency to lead long-term recovery from Hurricane Helene, strengthen infrastructure and align emergency preparedness with resiliency goals. Trotter said staff is pursuing a range of federal and state opportunities, including Hazard Mitigation Grant Program (HMGP) applications, Drinking Water State Revolving Fund applications and other mitigation grants.
Trotter said the town submitted nine letters of interest for HMGP and was asked to advance seven. She described projects under consideration that are intended to reduce future risk rather than repair storm damage: water-line relocations where lines run in stream banks or floodways, waterline crossing hardening, generators for pump stations and town buildings, SCADA (supervisory control and data acquisition) panels and diesel pumps for booster stations. She said the state is offering to cover the normal 25% local match on some HMGP awards, so those projects would have no local match requirement.
Trotter also described other funding avenues: a North Carolina Department of Commerce small business infrastructure program (up to $1 million) for downtown inlet improvements; a Disaster Mitigation Fund tied to recent state legislation; and a Drinking Water State Revolving Fund opportunity offering principal forgiveness and $5 million in available principal forgiveness for well drilling and waterline relocation projects. She said Western Carolina University will produce an inundation map for the town at no cost, and that DEQ technical assistance will fund an assessment inventory (AIA) of the water system.
Council action: At 8:20 p.m. the council voted to accept the consent agenda, which consolidated many routine and grant-submission actions including multiple resolutions authorizing HMGP and SRF applications and an award of grant-writing and consulting services. The motion to accept the consent agenda passed unanimously.
Votes at a glance (consent agenda, adopted): - Adoption of meeting minutes (June dates): approved (unanimous) - Acceptance of donations and community garden support: approved (unanimous) - Resolution to apply for NC Commerce Small Business Infrastructure Program (up to $1,000,000) for downtown stormwater inlet improvements: approved (unanimous) - Multiple resolutions supporting HMGP applications: diesel pump at booster station; generators at town facilities; SCADA panel installations; standby generators at water pump stations; reducing and hardening waterline stream crossings; relocating aging water lines in streambanks/floodways (amounts specified in consent documents): all approved (unanimous) - Resolution to apply for Drinking Water SRF funding for drilling and connecting up to 10 municipal wells ($2.5M) and for water-line relocation ($2.5M): both approved (unanimous) - Award of professional services (grant writing/consulting) to support submissions: approved (unanimous)
Why this matters: Trotter said the town aims to convert short-term recovery into long-term resilience, reduce the town’s exposure to future hazard events, and capture a wave of federal and state funding currently available. Several of the proposed projects — notably stream‑bank waterline relocations and pump station generators — are intended to prevent future service interruptions.
Implementation and next steps: Staff will complete application packets (many due by Oct. 31) and pursue SRF and HMGP opportunities with engineering support. Trotter said some applications require engineer-backed scopes; the council approved a separate recommendation to begin contract negotiations with engineering firms to accelerate FEMA and SRF projects. Western Carolina University’s inundation mapping and DEQ technical assistance are expected to support later regulatory or funding decisions.
Ending: Council counseled staff to keep applicants and neighborhood stakeholders informed as projects progress. Trotter said the town will continue pursuing all eligible grants and will return with contract awards and any additional required approvals.
