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The Â鶹´«Ã½ City Council voted Monday night to hire Mobile Services of Â鶹´«Ã½ for demolition of existing concession stands, bathrooms and storage facilities damaged by the hurricane, and mold remediation in buildings that were submerged by floodwaters at Catawba Meadows, Shuey parks and the Catawba River Soccer Complex. Mobile Services also will pressure wash the exteriors of the buildings and adjacent areas.

The city will pay Mobile Services $62,530. It was the lowest of three bids submitted to the city.

Silt removal already started on the Catawba River Greenway after the council agreed to a contract with Butler Brothers Backhoe at its December meeting.

There still is no estimated reopening date for the parks, said Jonelle Sigmon, public information officer for the city of Â鶹´«Ã½.

In other Hurricane Helene news, the city’s insurance provider, the North Carolina League of Municipalities Risk Pool, gave the city a $2 million cash advance based on initial assessments of damage to the city water and wastewater facilities.

The city split the $2 million three ways, allocating $750,000 each to the water and wastewater funds and putting the remaining $500,000 in the general fund.

City Manager Sally Sandy said the city’s insurance provider believes the city will get more than $2 million in its final insurance settlement for hurricane damage.

Council opposes parts of disaster relief bill

A state hurricane relief bill vetoed by then-Gov. Roy Cooper but overridden by the North Carolina General Assembly in December had more in it than disaster recovery efforts, including changes limiting local governments’ ability to regulate land use.

The Â鶹´«Ã½ City Council voted Monday night to oppose parts of Senate Bill 382 that make changes to the zoning authority of local governments.

Before the bill became law, local governments were allowed to change property zoning to decrease the density of a development or reduce permitted uses for land.

But now, to make those changes, local governments need written consent from all affected property owners. It also included nonconformities, which is when changes to a regulation make an existing situation non-permitted in the future.

“The changes to the zoning ordinance affect the most basic tools communities have available to maintain land use compatibility, achieve desired density, and ensure orderly growth and development,� according to information city staff provided to council members before Monday night’s meeting. “The bill makes it practically impossible for local governments to approve important text amendments or rezonings that impact large groups of owners since written consent from every single parcel owner would be required.�

City staff said the changes made by SB382 becoming law could make the city’s latest future land-use plan, IMAGINE 2040, impossible to achieve. The plan called for zoning changes in multiple areas to better shape the city’s growth.

The city said there are advocacy groups seeking amendments to the law to permit zoning and land use changes.

Other actions taken by the city included:

• Awarding a contract worth $703,741 to Buckeye Bridge of Canton, North Carolina, for the installation of a new waterline on Vine Arden Road to support Western Piedmont Community College’s new emergency services training center. An additional $35,000 was approved as contingency. The city is paying 20% of the contract or $147,748, and WPCC will pay the remainder.
• Approving a contract for design and construction changes for the Silver Creek Pump Station project. Changes to the design are meant to make the station more resilient to any future floods. The contract is worth a maximum of $122,800.

The city council will meet again on Feb. 3 at 6 p.m. in the Council Chambers at Â鶹´«Ã½ City Hall, 305 E. Union St.