Asheville Reporter

Mayor Esther Manheimer and City Manager Debra Campbell joined North Carolina Governor Josh Stein in welcoming U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) Secretary Adrianne Todman at the downtown offices of Mountain Bizworks.

The Secretary and Governor met with city staff, elected officials, and local business owners in Asheville to announce additional federal funds to aid North Carolina families recovering from Hurricanes Helene and Milton.

According to Todman, the Biden-Harris Administration has allocated an additional $225 million to the City of Asheville to support storm-related needs in the community. The funds are provided through the Community Development Block Grant – Disaster Relief (CDBG-DR) program and are intended to address critical unmet needs.

“After months of grappling with Hurricane Helene’s emergency response and the initial stages of recovery, this funding is a welcome and vital boost to our community’s ability to build back better,” said Asheville Mayor Esther Manheimer.

These funds will be eligible for use in several categories such as housing, infrastructure, economic revitalization, and hazard mitigation.

City staff must now develop an action plan detailing the types of programs and initiatives that will be carried out with the funding. Public engagement, set to occur before summer this year, will play an integral role in developing this plan. Sequencing projects to maximize costs that the city can recover will also be an important part of developing the plan.

City Council will have the opportunity to provide input and feedback on the plan. The council will then adopt the plan before it is submitted to HUD for approval. HUD requires that the action plan be submitted no later than summer 2025.