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Avery County redirects CDBG funds to establish local domestic violence shelter
Summary
Avery County commissioners voted unanimously to amend a 2022 CDBG Neighborhood Revitalization grant, creating $500,000 for property acquisition and $355,000 for rehabilitation to establish a domestic violence shelter operated by OASIS, Inc.; the original reentry-housing plan was abandoned after site issues and community concerns.
Avery County commissioners on Aug. 5 approved repurposing a $950,000 Community Development Block Grant Neighborhood Revitalization (CDBG‑NR) award to establish a local domestic violence shelter.
The Board voted unanimously to amend Project #21‑C‑4008, creating two new budget line items — Acquisition ($500,000) and Rehabilitation, Public ($355,000) — and deleting the prior Other Public Facilities allocation. The action also included an official project amendment to change the scope from a reentry housing facility to a domestic violence shelter that county officials said would be operated locally by OASIS, Inc. of Boone.
Why it matters: The original grant, awarded by the N.C. Department of Commerce in November 2022 for a 3,000‑square‑foot reentry housing facility, could not proceed because the intended site (an NCDOT property on Old Prison Camp Road) was unavailable and a proposed county site drew community opposition. Commerce then asked whether Avery County had another CDBG‑eligible need. County staff and the High Country Council of Governments recommended using the funds for a domestic violence shelter to allow victims to be housed inside the county rather than transported elsewhere.
Michelle Ball of the High Country Council of Governments said the county held two public input sessions in July with roughly 20 attendees each and that comments supported the new project scope. “There was a need for a domestic violence shelter in Avery County,” Ball said, and she noted the proposed budget structure to acquire an existing home in an undisclosed location and to fund necessary security and upgrades to meet federal and state guidelines.
OASIS, Inc. — which currently provides advocacy and an office in the county but cannot house clients in Avery — supported the change. Jenny Futrelle, OASIS executive director, thanked the commissioners for considering the organization to receive the grant funding. Jennifer Keirch, chair of the OASIS board, also expressed support.
During the hearing, public commenter Greg Jenkins urged officials to use the funds for a veterans shelter instead and questioned how the grant’s 10% administrative allowance was being used. Commissioner Robert Burleson responded during public comment, saying he did not take any funds from anyone.
The Board closed the public hearing at 6:50 p.m., amended the agenda to permit immediate action, and approved the budget and project amendments by unanimous vote. The county did not disclose the chosen property at the meeting; staff said the acquisition and rehabilitation line items will enable purchase and upgrades consistent with program rules that require a majority of beneficiaries be low‑ and moderate‑income (the shelter’s client population is treated as a special population assumed to meet that threshold).
Next steps: With the project amendment and budget changes approved, staff will proceed with acquisition and rehabilitation steps and necessary federal/state compliance actions; no site was announced at the Aug. 5 meeting.
