By:
Lorraine Bennett
About 40 people turned out for the first of two public hearings Tuesday night to discuss an application for a $500,000 community development block grant to renovate two old buildings in downtown Hayesville. Members of both the Clay County Commission and the Hayesville Town Council were unanimous in attendance to listen to community concerns.
The buildings in question are an old auto parts building and an abandoned butcher shop.
The evening was intended only to gather community input and gauge local support.
The hearing was held in the courthouse multipurpose room. A total of 16 people spoke on the matter, 14 of them for and two against.
“This first hearing is to receive public input on whether to submit a full grant application” for the abandoned buildings, Clay County Manager Paul Leek told the audience. He said the county learned last week that the application process should be conducted through the town of Hayesville, with the county functioning as a partner.
Since the town of Hayesville will be the lead agency on the grant application the next public hearing will be set by the town council.
Some arguments for moving ahead with the grant application included:
For the full story and exclusive web content, subscribe today.
Section:
