Avery County held its first required public hearing on Jan. 5 to notify the public about Community Development Block Grant Disaster Recovery (CDBG-DR) funding available through the North Carolina Department of Commerce for counties affected by Hurricane Helene.

Michelle Bauer told the board the department of commerce has approximately $495,000,000 in CDBG-DR funds statewide. She outlined three funding categories: $191,000,000 for multifamily housing developments; $101,400,000 for commercial district revitalization (streetscapes, sidewalks and related work); and $193,000,000 for infrastructure including water, sewer, internet, parks and public facilities. Bauer said that 51% of beneficiaries must be low- and moderate-income or qualify as special populations; the transcript cites an illustrative two-person county-median household threshold of about $52,000.

Bauer said the county has not yet selected a specific project and that a second, more detailed public hearing will be held before any applications are submitted. County Manager reiterated the county intends to pursue the funding once guidance is released and credited the High Country Council of Governments for technical help.

Next steps: staff will monitor Department of Commerce guidance, hold the required second public hearing and then present specific project proposals to the board for approval prior to application submission.