By Lorraine Bennett
Staff Writer
Historic Hayesville Inc. is preparing to make a donation of more than $6,000 for Hurricane Helene recovery efforts, the Hayesville Town Council learned Monday.
At the regular council meeting, HHI Board Chair Sandy Zimmerman said the HHI board will vote for exactly where the money will go and it likely will be to one of the smaller towns badly in need of it.
The funds were generated during the Hayesville Steins & Wine event and at a fundraising concert at the Beal Center in addition to other fundraising efforts, Zimmerman told the council.
Zimmerman said the $20,000 Digital Opportunity Grant from the Dogwood Trust is in hand. The unrestricted funds likely will be used to upgrade Internet service in the building HHI uses on Sanderson Street.
Michael Castellano, the former New Orleans resident spearheading efforts to stage the Moonshine Mardi Gras parade in Hayesville, said parade plans are being accepted by the community and the parade is on target for Saturday, March 1.
“My goal is to make money for the city,” Castellano told the council. The parade, he said, is “for the kids.”
The parade will begin by circling the Hayesville square at 6 p.m. with a party following at 8 p.m. at the Clay County Courthouse/Beal Center, Castellano said.
“We won’t throw candy,” he said. “There will be marching groups and we’ll have a creole food truck. I hope to get the bands involved. Everybody is ready to have a party.”
In other action at Monday’s meeting, the council voted to adopt a procurement policy and acknowledged the town has received the $10,000 VW grant payment.
The procurement policy is required when funds are received from the American Rescue Plan Act. ARPA was signed into law in 2021 to provide additional financial relief in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic.
The VW grant, which helped fund the town’s new EV (electric vehicle) charging station behind Town Hall, was awarded after Volkswagen settled with federal authorities in a suit charging violation of emission laws in vehicles previously advertised as having low emissions.
That settlement included funds for Environmental Mitigation Trust distributed to states where offending vehicles were sold. The funds were targeted for projects that reduce pollution.
Mayor Joe Slaton said the trails in Mayor’s Park and along Town Creek are complete and ready for hikers in favorable weather.
The council held a brief discussion on leftover candy that littered streets around the square following the Christmas Parade. Several options were discussed but no action was taken.
Councilman Harry Baughn was absent from the meeting.