Woodfin – At the October monthly meeting, Woodfin Town Administrator Eric Hardy reported to the council that progress on the greenway and Silver-Line Park is moving forward.
He also said that he would be meeting with the Tourism Development Authority (TDA) Board on October 28th to update them on the greenway/blueway. He told the Woodfin Town Commissioners that he would be able to report construction was underway on the Silver-Line Park with grading and the replacement of the roof on the existing building on the property there.
Commissioner Debbie Giezentanner asked where the town was at about sending out final bids, which Hardy said that was still on his desk but was close to getting it sent out. “We’re close. I needed some documents and revise some things on that,” explained Hardy.
He then continued to what he characterized as the “best news of the month,” which was the release of funding for the greenway by the NC Department Of Transportation (DOT). “The DOT board voted to not only unfreeze and move our projects forward, [but] to combine all the greenway segments; so that Beaverdam Creek is considered the same as the French Broad River phases I and II,” he said. “So, we can move now into final design.”
However, there was a caveat given by Town Planner Michael Saunders who said that DOT warned that if the state were to “…go back in phases with this COVID stuff they would put a stop to this.”
Woodfin Mayor Jerry VeHaun asked if Buncombe County “said anything about when they might start the greenway?”
Hardy replied, “No, they didn’t.” He went on to say he thinks the process would include about a year of planning and design, a bidding period before construction, and another year of construction “if things go well.”