River dikes, affordable housing on to-do list for Haywood County’s $8M in grant funding

By Andrew James

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    HAYWOOD COUNTY, North Carolina (WLOS) — Haywood County is receiving nearly $8 million in grant funding to assist with ongoing recovery efforts from flooding associated with Tropical Storm Fred last August.

“We conducted damage survey reports post-Tropical Storm Fred, and each of these sites identified and a project estimate and cost developed at that time,” Soil and Water Conservation District Director Duane Vanhook said.

County commissioners voted this week to approve $379,400 in grant funding to address repairs to three dikes, or stream banks, in the Pigeon River. Work will include erosion control and stream bank repair to prevent flooding issues. One work site is in Bethel and the two others are in Cruso.

“One is near Hidden Valley, one is just below East Fork Baptist Church,” Vanhook said.

Haywood County is also receiving $7,975,000 in U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development Community Block Grant funding through the North Carolina Office of Recovery and Resiliency. That money will address affordable housing needs associated with the areas impacted by the floods last August.

“I think we have a real chance to do a lasting impact for our community,” said David Francis, program administrator for Community and Economic Development.

According to Francis, the county is facing a shortage of rental, workforce and affordable housing availability.

“We’ve never had this much funding at one time, to be able to do anything like this,” he said.

County leaders plan to work with community partners, including Mountain Projects, Habitat for Humanity and the Waynesville Housing Authority, to decide ways the money can be spent.

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