State Seeks Public Comment on Proposed Plan to Administer American Rescue Plan Act’s Funding for Stormwater Projects

 PRESS RELEASE (05-04-2022)

NC DEPT of ENVIRONMENTAL QUALITY

RALEIGH- The North Carolina Department of Environmental Quality’s Division of Water Infrastructure is accepting comments until June 3, 2022 on the proposed plan to administer approximately $100.5 million in federal funds appropriated in the state budget for stormwater projects.

The Division will administer grants for stormwater projects through its competitive funding process from the Local Assistance for Stormwater Infrastructure Investments fund. Funds are available for cities and counties and their regional councils of government and nonprofit entity partners for projects that will improve or create infrastructure for controlling stormwater quantity and quality.

The proposed plan describes how the funds will be administered, eligibility requirements, and draft priority rating systems for both stormwater construction projects and stormwater planning projects. It is anticipated that applications for these funds will be accepted during the Division’s fall funding round, with a deadline of Sept. 30, 2022. Future application funding rounds will be used to award any remaining funds. The funds are subject to federal statutory and budgetary requirements and all funds must be expended by December 31, 2026.

The proposed administration plan is available here: https://deq.nc.gov/media/29093/download?attachment

Interested parties are invited to provide comments on the proposed plan by June 3, 2022 at 5:00 p.m.  Comments can be submitted:

• by email to dwi.publiccomments@ncdenr.gov with subject line Comments on Division of Water Infrastructure Proposed Plan for Stormwater Funding
• by mail to: Cathy Akroyd, Division of Water Infrastructure, 1633 Mail Service Center, Raleigh, NC 27603

The funding is part of the $1.69 billion appropriated by the North Carolina General Assembly from the state’s allocation of the American Rescue Plan Act for drinking water, wastewater, and stormwater investments in Sections 12.13 and 12.14 of the Current Operations Appropriations Act of 2021 (S.L. 2021-180).  

Information about the drinking water, wastewater and stormwater funding administered by the Division of Water Infrastructure is available at: https://deq.nc.gov/about/divisions/water-infrastructure

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Macon County Board of Commissioners - July 2021 Public Comment Period

Here is a segment from the July 2021 regular meeting of the Macon County Board of Commissioners. More will be added as they are completed. The full meeting can be seen at this link.

This segment is of the public comment period from the meeting. It lasted 15 minutes and 42 seconds. Three people raised concerns about a public display of material relating to Gay Pride Month targeted at minors in the public library. Two people spoke in favor of the public skatepark the Town of Franklin and JE Dunn are partnering to construct and the county was encouraged to find ways to contribute to the effort. One person, a reporter, spoke in favor of the Gay Pride Month display at the public library.

Public Comment

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Published at 10:12am on Wednesday, July 14, 2021

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April 2019 Regular Meeting of the Franklin Town Council

The Franklin Town Council will be having their regularly scheduled meeting for April 2019 at 6pm on Monday Night in the lower level of the town hall. The public agenda and the agenda packet are posted below. The agenda packet includes the new deed to the Nikwasi Mound. It is from page 32 to page 41 of the agenda packet.

VIDEO

Gavel to gavel video of the meeting.




The meeting was also streamed live on Facebook as an experiment.

Part One



Part Two




Roll Call
(Media outlets with representatives present at the meeting)

Macon Media
WNCC-FM/WFSC-AM
Smoky Mountain News
The Franklin Press

Macon County News and Shopping Guide
Cherokee One Feather (Macon Media notes this is the only outlet the Cherokee will allow to be in the tribal council chambers during their local government meetings all other news outlets banned from covering their meetings in person, as the tribe does not have Freedom of the Press)





Town of Franklin Council Meeting
Agenda
April 01, 2019 | 6:00 p.m.

1. Call to Order - Mayor Bob Scott
2. Pledge of Allegiance - Vice Mayor Barbara McRae
3. Adoption of the April 1, 2019 Town Council Agenda

4. Approval of Consent Agenda for April 1, 2019
A.) Approval of the March 4, 2019 Town Council Minutes
B.) Set Public Hearing for Re-Zoning Petition for Hedden Property
C.) Set Public Hearing for Driveway Standards Text Amendment
D.) Tax Releases
E.) Street Closing Request for Law Enforcement Memorial
F.) Street Closing Request for Brave Heart 5K
G.) Street Closing Request for 80’s Flashback Parade
H.) Resolution for Relocation of a portion of NC State Road 1434

5. Public Session

6. New Business
A.) Discussion on Nikwasi Initiative Proposal - Town Attorney John Henning Jr. and Town Council
B.) Town of Franklin Audit Contract - Town Manager Summer Woodard
C.) Water and Sanitary Sewer Allocation for Work Force Homestead - Town Manager Summer Woodard
D.) Update on Proposed Guardrail along South Patton Avenue - Town Manager Summer Woodard

7. Legal
A.) Closed session Pursuant to G.S. 143-318.11(a)(3), to consult with an attorney employed or retained by the public body in order to preserve the attorney-client privilege between the attorney and the public body, which privilege is hereby acknowledged.
8. Announcements
A.) Town of Franklin Budget Work Session Monday April 15, 2019 at 5:30 p.m. in the Town Hall Boardroom
B.) Town Hall Offices will be closed on Friday April 19, 2019 in observance of Good Friday
C.) First Friday Night Town Hall movie night will be Friday, May 3, 2019 and the movie will be Wreck It Ralph

9. Adjourn





Agenda Packet

Franklin Town Council Agenda Packet April 2019 by Bobby Coggins on Scribd

Nikwasi Deed Proposal Section (added at 6:45am on 03-29-2019)

Several people have indicated the original deed proposal document is an unsearchable image file and hard to read. In the public interest, Macon Media has converted that section into a searchable PDF file that can also be copied and the font size changed to accommodate members of the public.

Deed Proposal April 2019 Meeting of the Franklin Town Council by Bobby Coggins on Scribd

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Patreon Subscriber History May 2014 to Present




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Published at 12:25pm on Wednesday, April 3, 2019

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Pauline Avenue Resident Voices Concerns Over Blighted Properties at Town Council Meeting

During the public comment period of the February 4th meeting of the Franklin Town Council, a resident (accompanied by neighbors) of Pauline Avenue spoke about concerns about several properties on that street. 

Mayor Bob Scott shared with members of the council (but not the media or the public) printed photos he had taken on the street earlier that day. He and John Henning, Jr., the town attorney discussed the problem and methods that were available to the Town of Franklin to deal with what the mayor called urban blight. 

The mayor spoke about the broken windows theory and expressed a desire to handle problems like this as quickly as possible with the town taking summary action and clearing up the property on their own. He floated the idea that the Fire Chief could search the property without a search warrant, what he called an administrative search to discover if there were imminent dangers to the community on the property. The town attorney counseled the mayor against immediate action because it was 'legally perilous'. The mayor directed the Fire Chief to visit the property to inspect it to see if the property posed an imminent danger to the community. 

The gist of the discussion was that the timeline for addressing resident's concerns was months, not days, it would take perhaps something around 60 days or so.

Gavel-to-gavel video of the Feb 2019 meeting and supporting documents are posted on the blog. [LINK]


Terms and Concepts

Broken Windows Theory [LINK]
Administrative Search Warrants in North Carolina [LINK]
Urban Blight [LINK]

CROWDFUNDING OR DAY SPONSORSHIP OPPORTUNITIES


If you receive value from what Macon Media provides to the community, please consider becoming a supporter and contribute at least a dollar a month. Those who support Macon Media with at least a dollar a month receive early access to video of some events and meetings before they are made public on the website. Videos and news involving public safety are not subject to early access.

Patreon Subscriber History May 2014 to Present




Become a Patron!
If you have a business or event you are interested in sponsorship opportunities or underwriting coverage, send an email to editor@MaconMedia.com for more information. Serious inquiries only.

Thank You to the people who have been sending in donations and those businesses who are underwriting coverage of news and events. You have kept Macon Media online.

Published at 12:02 pm on February 5, 2019

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Macon County Board of Commissioners December 2018 Public Comment Period

During the December 2018 regular meeting of the Macon County Board of Commissioners, there was only one person who spoke during the public comment period. Video of that is posted below.

Gavel-to-gavel video and supporting documents are posted on the blog. [LINK]

Preserve Our Ambiance
Public Comment by Narelle Kirkland

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They can handle all your tree removal needs in good or bad weather.



CROWDFUNDING OR DAY SPONSORSHIP OPPORTUNITIES


If you receive value from what Macon Media provides to the community, please consider becoming a supporter and contribute at least a dollar a month. Those who support Macon Media with at least a dollar a month receive early access to video of some events and meetings before they are made public on the website. Videos and news involving public safety are not subject to early access.



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If you have a business or event you are interested in sponsorship opportunities or underwriting coverage, send an email to editor@MaconMedia.com for more information. Serious inquiries only. Macon Media rewards early sponsors/underwriters with lifetime guaranteed low rates while newer sponsors/underwriters pay higher rates based on the date they first support Macon Media.

Thank You to the people who have been sending in donations and those businesses who are underwriting coverage of news and events. You have kept Macon Media online.

Published at 4:55 am on December 13, 2018

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