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Council approves budget moves to fund paving and reassign FEMA vehicle reimbursement
Summary
Montreat commissioners approved multiple budget amendments to add FEMA and donor funds to a hurricane recovery fund, allocate approximately $640,000 for paving several roads, increase engineering pre‑audit amounts and move a $13,697 FEMA vehicle reimbursement into the police budget.
The Montreat town council approved several budget amendments that direct FEMA receipts, donations and fund‑balance money to disaster recovery and local paving projects.
Town staff said budget amendment No. 9 will add a FEMA disbursement of $47,095.69 and donations totaling $9,335.16 into Fund 29 (the hurricane Helene fund). The amendment passed by voice vote.
Separately, staff proposed a paving appropriation that drew the most substantive discussion. Staff asked the council to appropriate $118,000 from Pal Bill funds, $300,000 from fund balance and $222,000 from Fund 29 to cover paving projects on Kentucky Road, Appalachian Way, Calvin Trail, Salem Road and Louisiana Road and to fund a stormwater upgrade on Woodland Road. Staff emphasized Graybeard and Lookout were not included in this round because both roads require substantial culvert and infrastructure repairs before paving. "Graybeard and Lookout will be, hopefully, on the next round of paving if we're able to get those big infrastructure projects done first," staff said. Commissioners discussed using town fund balance rather than borrowing to avoid interest costs; the motion to adopt the paving amendment carried by voice vote.
Budget amendment No. 11 reallocates money within Fund 29 to cover disaster recovery consultants and culvert engineering. Staff said the amendment moves an additional $30,000 for disaster relief consulting and raises the pre‑audit engineering amount from $79,654 to $132,654; staff expect these consultant and engineering costs to be reimbursed through FEMA. Later, staff asked the council to move a previous FEMA reimbursement of $13,697 (for a vehicle destroyed in Hurricane Helene) from Fund 29 to the police budget so the department could consider purchasing a replacement vehicle this fiscal year; the amendment was approved.
Public works staff described plans to store and manage slide material near Greybeard to mitigate future flooding and to consult engineers about culvert enlargement and drainage work before paving. Staff said the town expects to remain within required fund‑balance limits while using reserves for the paving program.
Next steps: staff will proceed with project prioritization, coordinate engineers and contractors for culvert work where required and continue FEMA reimbursement processes with consultant support.
