The Spruce Pine Town Council met for its last June meeting last week.
Stormwater plan
Alisha Goldstein of WithersRavenel gave a presentation on the town’s Stormwater Master Plan.
WithersRavenel is a Cary-based civil engineering firm with offices in Asheville. Spruce Pine has contracted with the firm for a number of projects.
WithersRavenel engineers began working on a plan to improve drainage in Spruce Pine before the flooding in 2024, and have resumed work on the plan during the recovery period.
Significant portions of Spruce Pine flooded during Hurricane Helene (downgraded to a tropical storm after slowing down over land) in September 2024, filling some storm drains with river mud.
The Stormwater Master Plan is receiving funding from the North Carolina Department of Natural Resources Division of Environmental Quality (DEQ). Goldstein explained that her firm has been analyzing the current stormwater drainage system in Spruce Pine and trying to decide if the pipes currently in use likely to fail during heavy rains owing to age or being the wrong size for the quantity of rainwater flowing in their particular location.
“So, the first project is Summit Avenue, south of downtown across the river,” Goldstein said. “Currently, it goes from 18 to 12 inches to 24, and it goes back and forth from different pipes.”
Goldstein indicated that this variation in pipe size is a problem for drainage.
“It also has vitrified clay, which is some of the oldest pipes you can find,” she said. “So, this was an area that we identified of upsizing those pipes to have more transition to that minimum 24 (inches).”
On Lower Street (Locust Avenue), the stormwater plan also faces difficulty in that drainage pipes will need to go under the railroad, limiting the types of pipes that can be used.
Helene Project Ordinance
The council voted to approve a project ordinance modifying the fiscal year 2027 budget for projects related to Hurricane Helene recovery, with anticipated expenditures of $87,705,000.
Grant project ordinance
The council voted to approve a Spruce Pine Grant Project Ordinance “for projects related to Spruce Pine Water System Resiliency.”
These projects are receiving funding from the state DEQ and the N.C. Office of State Budget and Management in the amount of approximately $6 million.