Politics

Balkcom calls out county in war of words over sewer grant

By Bill Moss, Published: November 19, 2025

Declaring that Henderson County commissioners had made "incorrect statements" about the status of a $12.7 million sewer system grant, state Rep. Jennifer Balkcom on Tuesday night asked commissioners to correct the record.

“Given that the article’s language — including ‘lost,’ ‘defunded,’ ‘slapped around,’ and warnings that the county ‘will have to give the money back’ originated from public statements made by county leadership — Senator Moffitt and I respectfully request that the Board correct the record for the public,” Balkcom said in an email sent to all five commissioners at 9:51 p.m. Tuesday. County Manager John Mitchell, County Engineer Marcus Jones, state Sen. Tim Moffitt and the Lightning were copied in the email.

Balkcom referenced the Lightning’s coverage on Nov. 3 ahead of a meeting that night and then coverage of the Board of Commissioners meeting in which board chair Bill Lapsley and others criticized Balkcom for failing to communicate the Legislature’s action to shift the $12.7 million sewer grant from the Clear Creek project in Edneyville to the county-owned Etowah sewer system, which needs major repairs. During the Nov. 3 meeting, Lapsley expressed his frustration with the lawmakers’ action and declared that it appeared the grant money would be lost because it could not be spent in time to meet a funding deadline of Dec. 31, 2026.

“This repurposing of funds came as a complete and utter surprise to not only the board but the staff as well,” Lapsley said during the meeting. “There was absolutely no advance communication from Rep. Balkcom or Sen. (Tim) Moffitt to us about this change. … In my 10 years on this board I don’t believe anything like this has ever happened to the county commission. We’ve always had the support of our legislative delegation. To be slapped around like this is just uncalled for and unnecessary.”

Balkcom’s letter to the commissioners, which came after a meeting last Thursday in which a state Department of Environmental Quality official clarified that $12.7 million in state funds would be allocated for the Etowah sewer repairs and that the county could still move ahead with the Clear Creek project using American Rescue Plan grant — the pot of money with the December 2026 spending deadline.

Shadi Eskaf, director of DEQ’s Division of Water Infrastructure, summarized "what was discussed (on Nov. 13) and the next steps" for grant funding of the two sewer projects. 

“Since the federal obligation deadline for ARPA State Fiscal Recovery Fund has already passed (December 31, 2024), we cannot commit ARPA funding towards the Etowah wastewater project,” Eskaf wrote in an email sent at 5:51 p.m. Tuesday (Nov. 18). “The Etowah project will be funded out of State dollars that are not ARPA. Thus, ARPA expenditure deadlines (and the ARPA funding conditions) will not apply to the Etowah wastewater project. A project timeline will be communicated in the Letter of Intent to Fund, as well as information about requirements for state-funded projects. 

“The Clear Creek Sewer Project (SRP-W-ARP-0085), if it continues forward, will remain funded out of ARPA dollars and must continue to comply with the timelines associated with the project,’ Eskaf added. "If the project scope will need to be reduced as a result of the funding shift, please communicate the intended plan with the Division, keeping in mind the overall goal of completing the ARPA project expenditures by the federal expenditure deadline of December 2026.”

The public feud notwithstanding, the results of the meeting on Nov. 13 appears to be a path to salvage grant money for both the Clear Creek project and Etowah sewer repairs.

“Senator Moffitt and I are requesting that the Board clarify the public record regarding the status of the state appropriated  $12.7 million. Hendersonville Lightning article repeatedly stated that Henderson County ‘lost a $12.7 million grant,’ that the county ‘would have to give the money back,’ and that the project ‘cannot meet the deadline,’ resulting in the county ‘losing the grant money entirely,’” Balkcom wrote. “These statements are incorrect.”

Commissioners are expected to discuss the sewer projects when they convene for their regular mid-month meeting at 9:30 a.m. today.