Carter County gets another $2 million in federal reimbursements for Helene

ELIZABETHTON — Repairs and renovations are still being made to Carter County roads and bridges that were damaged by Hurricane Helene. This week, the county has also received some major reimbursements from the federal government to cover some of the cost of those repairs. Carter County Finance Director Carolyn Watson said the county has just received a reimbursement of $1,165,692 from the Federal Emergency Management Agency. She said the funding was in two parts. The first part of the funding is for engineering services for the two bridges which will eventually replace two that were destroyed by the flooding of the Elk River after the storm in the Poga community. The second part of the funding was for the installation of the two temporary bridges that were put in place until the permanent bridges are completed. The latest FEMA reimbursement brings the total amount of reimbursements to the county from FEMA to $1,726,286. Watson said the reimbursement is good news for taxpayers because the county had covered the costs by using funds from the county's fund balance. The funds coming from FEMA will go directly back to the fund balance, improving the county's financial condition. Watson said the county got even more good news from the United States Department of Agriculture's National Resource Conservation Service. That good news was in the form of reimbursement payments of $940,507 for bank stabilization projects on roads in the mountainous sections of the county. These projects are important because they form the foundation for repairing storm-damaged roads. It is similar to constructing a foundation for a house before work on the rest of the house can proceed. The county has now received a total of $2,215,978 from such bank stabilization projects. Watson said these are especially important to the county because the NRSC reimbursements cover 100% of the cost of the project. The FEMA reimbursements require local matches from the county and from the Tennessee Emergency Management Agency. The county anticipates getting another $675,100 this week from the state. That is coming in the form of the State Helene Interest Payment Fund. This is part of a $5,497,650 grant that will help offset interest costs from bonds issued to fund road and bridge repairs. The county has also previously received $398,557 to cover administrative costs related to bonds. "We would not be at this point with the number of reimbursements received without Mayor Patty Woodby's efforts to push for these payments and the grants the county has been fortunate to receive," Watson said. "We're happy to see these reimbursements continuing to come in, as they are critical to keeping projects moving, getting the work done on county roadways, and helping to avoid placing additional burdens on local taxpayers. "The mayor's relationships at the state level, including the governor's office have also helped move these efforts forward. We are appreciative of the strong support from Gov. Bill Lee's office in securing needed funding to assist in the county's recovery." Watson had more good news for the county. She said all of the steps but one have been completed that are required before the work on the new permanent bridges in Poga can start. Once that final step is completed, the work can begin. Carter County Highway Superintendent Shannon Burchett said he was pleased to hear the good news. He said work on other county road projects have been continuing. He said Summer-Taylor Construction has been at work on Hampton Creek Road in the Roan Mountain area and has recently installed box culverts. He said more box culverts are expected to be installed very soon. County officials continue working with state and federal partners to secure funding and move recovery projects forward.