Asheville City Council approves multiple Helene recovery measures, state grants

Asheville City Council approved a multi-part plan to advance recovery and resilience after Tropical Storm Helene, authorizing grant applications, federal funding requests and a major small-business allocation that will affect parks, water infrastructure and local merchants.

At its Jan. 27, 2026 meeting the council authorized the City Manager to apply for Parks and Recreation Trust Fund (PARTF) grants under the Helene Recovery Fund for the 2025-2026 cycle and to accept and manage any awarded funds. The PARTF request is intended to repair or replace storm-damaged parks, trails and recreation facilities; BlueRidgeTimes noted the item was listed as Consent Item D and marked approved. Helene Recovery Coordinator Bridget Herring framed those state grants as central to ongoing recovery: “These state funds will continue to play an essential role in our community’s recovery from Helene. The ability to have these grants proactively identified and approved affords us the maximum opportunity to address gaps in funding for our community’s continued Helene recovery and resilience efforts.”

Council also authorized staff to pursue federal funding for a comprehensive water system resiliency and capacity enhancement project. Fox Carolina reported that council documents outline a requested federal authorization of $87,000,000 for the initiative and that the city would need a 25% local match - about $21,750,000 - if that request proceeds. City documents quoted in Fox Carolina say the storm “exposed system-wide vulnerabilities that resulted in prolonged potable water service disruptions and demonstrated the risks posed by watershed instability, sediment mobilization, and limited operational redundancy.” The water initiative aims to strengthen redundancy, expand reliability and reduce the risk of future service disruptions.

On the housing and recovery front, council authorized a formal request to Congressional leadership and the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development for additional Community Development Block Grant–Disaster Recovery funding. Fox Carolina reported the application deadline for that request as Jan. 30, 2026, and noted the CDBG-DR program in this case carries a dollar-for-dollar match requirement and an anticipated project period of May 2026 to April 2029. HUD previously approved a city draft action plan for $225,000,000 in May 2025 after rejecting an earlier draft over language related to DEI and MWBE prioritization, as reported by WLOS.

Council approved $15,500,000 for the city’s Small Business Support Program funded through CDBG-DR. WLOS reported the allocation and noted a Chamber of Commerce survey finding that one-third of small businesses in Western North Carolina have operated without profit since Helene. CDBG-DR Program Manager Elma King said in a Jan. 17 news release, “This funding is a critical step in helping Asheville’s small business sector recover for the long term. We are grateful to be able to allocate these resources to trusted community partners who are deeply connected to local businesses, versed in regulatory compliance, and able to deliver support quickly and effectively. Together, this investment will help strengthen and diversify our local economy and support the long-term resilience of Asheville’s small business community.” WLOS reported that four organizations were selected through a competitive process to deliver the SBSP funds; names and award amounts have not been released in the excerpts available.

Mayor Esther Manheimer emphasized the importance of federal support as the city completes essential recovery work. Many of the approved measures require sizeable local matching funds or upfront expenditures followed by reimbursement, so council and city staff will need to identify funding sources and timing. Residents should expect follow-up council actions and budget work as staff submits the WRDA-style water request and the formal CDBG-DR application, and as the city develops specific park and small-business projects for implementation.