The Spruce Pine Town Council met last week for a short meeting considering routine business.
Police
Spruce Pine Chief of Police Kasey Cook reported to the council that he is continuing a crackdown on speeding in response to resident complaints.
Public Works
Travis Phillips, director of Public Works, told the council that progress has been made in cleaning up flood damage in Riverside Park, and that grass has been planted.
Council Member Beth Holmes noted that previously there was concern that the flood had left the park unfit to grow grass.
“Is the grass going to grow?” she asked.
“We’re hoping,” Phillips said.
Phillips noted that the infertile flood dirt has mostly been scraped off after testing.
Town Manager Daniel Stines said that the town is seeking contractors to rebuild both Riverside and Riverbend parks in the near future.
Disaster funding
Stines noted that a number of ideas for funding disaster repair have to floated that might actually cause the town to receive less reimbursement from the federal government for expenses.
“There’s been a lot of concerns and questions (about) grants,” he said.
Stines said that while applying for grants for reconstruction might be a good idea in the future, it would be better to wait until all possible funding from the Federal Emergency Management Agency is processed.
If the town receives outside funding before FEMA commits to specific expense reimbursements, the grant money will merely be deducted from the FEMA reimbursements, reducing the available FEMA funds overall.