Tuesday, October 15, 2024
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Oct 15's Weather Clear HI: 48 LOW: 44 Full Forecast (powered by OpenWeather) |
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The city of Hendersonville will use a $77,250 from NCDOT to study the feasibility of a multimodal path connecting the Ecusta Trail and Oklawaha Greenway.
The city has also been awarded $3,418,165 in grant money that will help reduce flood risk and restore floodplains in Hendersonville’s southside and continue the development of a comprehensive stormwater master plan.
“By working with the French Broad River MPO, Land of Sky Regional Council, and community stakeholders, we obtained a grant to study the feasibility of connecting the Oklawaha Greenway with the Ecusta Trail,” said City Manager John Connet. “City Engineer Brent Detwiler has championed this grant application and the funding that will allow us to take the next step in planning this important connection.”
The grant will examine the feasibility of a new multi-modal path that connects the two longest multi-use paths in Henderson County — the Oklawaha Greenway and the Ecusta Trail, which is expected to break ground later this year. At the core of the “Above the Mud” project is the goal to complete a robust and reliable multimodal network connecting communities along several trail, greenway and sidewalk projects. Currently, there's a gap between the Ecusta trailhead, which will be around the meeting of King, Church and South Main streets, and the Oklawaha Greenway, which begins at Jackson Park.
“We are thrilled with the projects being tackled by our Stormwater Division and the grants obtained to fund them,” Connet said. “Mike Huffman has developed goals to improve our community, and he and other staff sought out the grant opportunities to make them a reality. These projects would not be within reach without his leadership and dedication.”
The Stormwater Division is part of the City’s Engineering Department and consists of Stormwater Division Manager Michael Huffman and Stormwater Technician Dustin Moffitt.
Hendersonville’s Stormwater Management Program works to preserve, protect, and restore the quality of water in the streams, rivers, and lakes within the city. The program was developed in compliance with the Federal Clean Water Act and the North Carolina Department of Environmental Quality (NC DEQ) to ensure that stormwater is effectively controlled to reduce pollution generated from stormwater runoff. To support the stormwater program goals, stormwater staff frequently pursue grants to implement projects that would otherwise not be possible with funding generated by stormwater utility fees.
In 2023, the following stormwater grants have been awarded:
In 2022, Hendersonville was awarded $405,000 in grant funding for water quality improvement projects, including $310,000 to restore Brooklyn Creek in Sullivan Park, $70,000 for a rainwater harvesting system and permeable pavers at the new Fire Station 1 and $25,000 is for water quality planning. In 2020, the city received $150,000 for the Seventh Avenue Streetscape project for green infrastructure like bioswales and landscaping to absorb and filter stormwater runoff from the 7th Avenue District.