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Dillsboro is denied flood recovery funds
By Derek Hodges
More than a year after Hurricanes Frances and Ivan forced Scotts Creek over its banks and into Dillsboro’s business district, town officials and residents are still working to find money to rebuild.
The town applied for grant money from the Rural Economic Development Center earlier this year. The center was given $5 million by state officials to help with economic recovery in small towns affected by the storms.
Dillsboro’s application, along with others from towns across the state, has gone through a review process and is currently being settled.
The application included restoration at the Applegate Inn and work on the Tuckaseigee River and Scotts Creek to minimize future flooding, town clerk Herb Nolan said.
The Applegate was a complete loss after floodwaters forced condemnation of the main inn and its outbuildings. John Faulk, who owned and operated the inn with his wife, said the condemnation was a considerable loss to the town.
“(The inn) was a very economically beneficial thing for the town of Dillsboro,” Faulk said. “People staying there would cross the creek and shop in town.”
The part of the application dealing with the inn requested a $300,000 loan for repairs and renovations. That loan would have been forgiven if Faulk continued to operate the inn for 10 years.
Faulk recently learned that the Rural Center would provide, at most, half of what he had requested. That $150,000 wouldn’t suffice, Faulk said.
“That would just not be enough to do the job,” Faulk said. “Because of that I decided to respectfully withdraw my request.”
Faulk said he is getting out of the innkeeping business and will pursue other opportunities. Those include the Burger Shack, which he owns and operates, and a new restaurant he plans to open next door to the Shack, as well as other possible ventures, he said.
While Faulk’s business was the only one mentioned in the application, it was also the only one totally shut down by the disaster, said Nolan, who personally took Federal Emergency Management Agency loan forms around to six other businesses in town. Only two businesses applied for the funds.
Faulk also requested FEMA’s help and received a small amount of money, Nolan said.
“John got very little from FEMA. They basically just gave him something to live on,” Nolan said.
Dillsboro Mayor Jean Hartbarger said she is upset at allegations and published reports that the town’s application only addressed Faulk’s situation. Other business owners have called that unfair. She sees the accusations as an attack on town officials and on Faulk personally, she said.
“John is down, and now they’re kicking him in the teeth. That just infuriates me,” the usually-reserved Hartbarger said.
Like Nolan, Hartbarger pointed out that affected business owners were offered the chance to apply for aid from other sources. Addressing Faulk’s needs in the application was just a way of dealing with the most damaged business, she said.
“It’s like if you’re a triage doctor, you’re going to help the people who are hurt the worst first,” she said.
Faulk wasn’t the only one to get cut in the funding; Dillsboro’s request for money to complete work to prevent future floods was completely rejected, Nolan said.
During the flooding, Scotts Creek backed up into town because its normal flow into the Tuckaseigee was impeded by the river’s high water.
Dillsboro officials proposed lining the northern bank of the Tuckaseigee with gravel to help prevent erosion, as well as installing diverters in the river. The diverters would direct floodwaters into the main stream of the river, which would increase the amount of water that could flow out of Scotts Creek into the river.
The town’s application also included the possible rerouting of the end of Scotts Creek to make its intersection with the river smoother. Currently the stream makes a T-junction with the river, while a Y-type entry would allow for water to flow into the river easier and decrease backup into the creek.
Despite the rejections from the Rural Center, one of Faulk’s ideas apparently caught the attention of one of the center’s administrators.
Faulk proposed building a covered bridge to allow access to both his business and Riverwood Shops from downtown. Accessing Riverwood now requires motorists to use U.S. 441, though the shops are only a short distance from the town’s main business district.
The bridge could have made both the inn and the shops more accessible by providing easier access.
“The Rural Center folks still want to do something for Dillsboro and they think the bridge is a really good idea,” Nolan said. “We’ll be thankful for anything they give us, frankly.”
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