Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Disaster Recovery Grants topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Buncombe County staff to seek state CDBG‑DR infrastructure grants for Helene recovery
Summary
County staff told commissioners they will apply to North Carolina's CDBG‑DR community infrastructure competition, targeting three projects (parks, Ferry Road infrastructure to enable housing, and resiliency upgrades at county facilities); applications are due Sept. 8 with preliminary awards expected weeks later.
County staff presented a plan to pursue the state's Community Development Block Grant for Disaster Recovery (CDBG‑DR) community infrastructure competition created following Tropical Storm Helene and identified three candidate projects for the first round.
"The first funding round makes approximately $55,000,000 available statewide with individual projects capped at $15,000,000," said Tyler, a county staff presenter, summarizing the state program and its focus on projects that are ready to implement and directly tied to storm recovery. He told commissioners the program requires a clear tie back to Helene, compliance with HUD's national objective, and eligibility under the state action plan.
Staff emphasized readiness and competitiveness: projects that can move quickly through environmental reviews and contracting will score higher. Tyler said the county has been using the state's prescreen process and expects the submission deadline for round one to be Sept. 8, with state review taking roughly one to two months and contracting work occurring between October and January if awarded.
Commissioners asked about scoring priorities and eligibility limits for sites inside Asheville; staff confirmed the state makes some project types and locations ineligible for this pot and that site readiness drove staff's prioritization. The board did not take a final vote on project selection during the update; staff plans to return with refined scopes and seek authorization to submit after the required public hearing sequence.
