On Thursday, March 7, the Buncombe County Board of Commissioners will begin the application process for federal funds to provide temporary housing for those in recovery. As part of the initial step, commissioners will hold a public hearing to establish a citizen participation plan to ensure residents have an “opportunity for meaningful involvement on a continuing basis and for participating in the planning, implementation and assessment of the program,” according to the supporting resolution.
Part of the Recovery Housing Program, the funds are intended to help develop or maintain stable, temporary housing for individuals in recovery from a substance use disorder, according to a staff presentation.
The N.C. Department of Commerce’s Rural Economic Development Division has about $1.5 million set aside for the Appalachian region, with a maximum grant award of $1 million.
Only households with income at or below 80% area medium income are eligible to apply by the Friday, April 12 deadline.
In other news
Commissioners will consider approval of a contract with D.H. Griffin for the demolition of a vacant building on A-B Tech’s Enka campus. The demolition will cost about $650,000, according to county documents.
Commissioners will consider the appointment of Deputy Clerk Stacey Woody to serve as interim clerk to the board. Current clerk Lamar Joyner is resigning as of March 15, according to the resolution.
Consent agenda
The consent agenda for the meeting contains four items, including the routine approval of previous meeting minutes, a tax collection report from January and fireworks displays for Asheville Tourists games. Agenda items will be approved as a package unless singled out for separate discussion.
The full agenda and supporting documents for the regular meeting can be found at this link. There will be a briefing meeting proceeding the regular meeting at 3 pm. The briefing agenda was not posted as of press time.
In-person public comment will be taken at the start of the regular meeting, which begins at 5 p.m. in room 326 at 200 College St., Asheville; no voicemail or email comments will be permitted. Both the briefing and the regular meeting will be livestreamed on the county’s Facebook page and will subsequently be available via YouTube.
Before you comment
The comments section is here to provide a platform for civil dialogue on the issues we face together as a local community. Xpress is committed to offering this platform for all voices, but when the tone of the discussion gets nasty or strays off topic, we believe many people choose not to participate. Xpress editors are determined to moderate comments to ensure a constructive interchange is maintained. All comments judged not to be in keeping with the spirit of civil discourse will be removed and repeat violators will be banned. See here for our terms of service. Thank you for being part of this effort to promote respectful discussion.