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Waynesville council endorses student-led Helene Flood memorial and waives permit fees
Summary
Town council endorsed a student-led memorial to mark Hurricane Helene, agreed to provide limited town support and waived permit fees for the installation; students aim to raise roughly $20,000 and plan installation in spring 2026.
The Town of Waynesville on an otherwise busy council night voted to endorse a student-led memorial honoring the community response to Hurricane Helene, agreed to limited town support for installation and unanimously waived municipal permit fees for the project.
ImpactU students from Tuscola High School presented the proposal for an approximately 8-foot stainless-steel sculpture they described as a “pentagonal bipyramid” design to be sited at the Waynesville Fire Department. Josie Ostendorp, a senior at Tuscola, said the sculpture’s symbolic elements — hands, water, stars and rock — are intended to honor first responders and community resilience.
The students told the council the sculpture itself is estimated at $18,000 and they are seeking $20,000 to allow for contingency and finishing work. The Haywood High School Foundation will act as the project’s fiduciary agent and students said fundraising will be student-led and include online donations, a QR code, and sales of engraved walkway bricks. The presenters asked the council for endorsement, assistance from public works, and waivers for building, electrical and land-disturbing permit fees.
Council members moved to waive all permit fees for the installation and to grant the request for town support, including public-works assistance and endorsement; both motions passed unanimously. Council members also encouraged the students’ fundraising and discussed possible future council donations once the project progressed. Chief Mahaffey reviewed and approved the proposed site, according to the students and council discussion.
The students outlined an installation window of spring 2026 and said they plan a ground‑breaking ceremony on Sept. 27 (year not specified in the presentation). They said final design work and welding details are still in progress and that the commissioned artist — identified in the presentation as Grace Cathy — will complete the finished design and manage professional fabrication.
Council members and staff told the students they would help with the town newsletter and website to publicize fundraising links, and Town Manager Rob Hines was identified by council members as the point person for follow-up coordination.
Votes at the meeting were procedural and unanimous on the memorial item: the council waived permit fees and approved the requested town support and endorsement. No capital appropriation was made at the meeting; students said landscaping, lighting and the concrete base would be funded through separate grants and the student-led fundraising effort.
The council did not set a dedicated town funding amount at the meeting; members discussed the possibility of a future council donation after the students advance the project further.
Proponents emphasized the memorial’s intent to tell the story of the community’s response to Hurricane Helene and to honor first responders; no formal objections or legal constraints were raised during the council discussion that preceded the votes.
Plans and fundraising links: the students said the project website is registered at the domain helenefloodworld.com and includes donation options (presenters’ statement).
