Ten months after Tropical Storm Helene, City of Asheville officials detailed recovery updates, new projects and additional plans for the city’s water system at the Aug. 1 meeting of the Council of Independent Business Owners (CIBO). Presenters included Asheville City Council member Bo Hess, Assistant City Manager Ben Woody and Clay Chandler, Water Resources Department public information officer.
Hess addressed the enormity of the tasks facing Asheville in improving its water system and expressed appreciation for federal cooperation thus far, stating that “[t]he current administration in Washington is working well behind the scenes” to assist the city. He urged CIBO members to directly contact U.S. Sens. Thom Tillis and Ted Budd, as well as 11th District U.S. Rep. Chuck Edwards, to lobby for more financial aid, stating that the need would be “hundreds of millions of dollars.”
Woody introduced Chandler and recognized Bridget Herring, the recovery coordinator for the city, as well as Bill Hart, the new interim Water Resources director…