The Town of Hot Springs will hold a public hearing on Monday, September 14, 2026, at 6:00 p.m. at 43 Andrews Ave N. The Mayor and Board of Aldermen want to hear from residents before the town finalizes two federal grant applications tied to recovery from Tropical Storm Helene.
Both applications would draw on Community Development Block Grant Disaster Recovery (CDBG-DR) funds through the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, administered in North Carolina by the Department of Commerce’s Division of Community Revitalization. One application would fund a new Volunteer Fire Department substation at 94 Forest Service Road, built to also serve as a community resilience hub for emergency preparedness, disaster response, and year-round community services. The other would fund the rehabilitation of the Community Center and Old Jail building downtown, turning the Community Center into a functional gathering space and restoring the Old Jail for use as small business or commercial space. The town also submitted a related application on August 4, 2026, for the rehabilitation of the second floor of Town Hall at 186 Bridge St., to create office and small business space.
A public comment period runs from September 14 through September 28, 2026. Residents can attend the hearing in person, submit written comments at Town Hall, or email Town Administrator Hassena Kassim. The full notice below covers every comment method, along with accommodations and language access.
Read the full notice:
TOWN OF HOT SPRINGS
Notice of Public Hearing to Solicit Input for Grant Applications
Community Development Block Grant Disaster Recovery (CDBG-DR)
Community Infrastructure (CI) and Commercial District Revitalization (CDR) Grant Programs
September 2, 2026NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN that the Town of Hot Springs will hold a Public Hearing on Monday, September 14, 2026, at 6:00 PM at 43 Andrews Ave N, Hot Springs, NC 28743. The Hearing will be held before the Town Mayor and Board of Aldermen to solicit citizen input in the development of grant applications for the Community Development Block Grant Disaster Recovery Community Infrastructure Grant Program (CDBG-CI) and Commercial District Revitalization Grant Program (CDBG-CDR).
CDBG-CI funds are provided by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), administered in North Carolina by the North Carolina Department of Commerce’s Division of Community Revitalization (DCR). The purpose of the CDBG-CI program is to help impacted communities in western North Carolina within State- and HUD-identified Most Impacted and Distressed (MID) counties become more resilient to current and future natural hazards. The minimum grant amount for each project is $500,000, and the maximum grant amount is $15,000,000. DCR has allocated a total of $193,500,000 to the first round of the CDBG-CI grant program in North Carolina.
The Town aims to submit a CDBG-CI application to support infrastructure improvements following damages from Tropical Storm Helene. The proposed project is the construction of a new Volunteer Fire Department substation at 94 Forest Service Road. The new facility will also serve as a community resilience hub to support emergency preparedness, disaster response, resource distribution, community recovery, and year-round community services that strengthen local resilience. The Town will seek the full grant amount of $15,000,000, subject to adjustment.
CDBG-CDR funds are provided by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), administered in North Carolina by the North Carolina Department of Commerce’s Division of Community Revitalization (DCR). The purpose of the CDBG-CDR program is to assist in the revitalization of impacted commercial areas located within State- and HUD-identified Most Impacted and Distressed (MID) counties. The minimum grant amount for each project is $500,000, and the maximum grant amount is $10,000,000. DCR has allocated a total of $40,000,000 to the first round of the CDBG-CDR grant program in North Carolina.
The Town aims to submit a CDBG-CDR application to support the revitalization of its primary commercial district following damages from Tropical Storm Helene. The proposed project is the rehabilitation of the Community Center and the Old Jail building in downtown Hot Springs. The project would renovate the Community Center into a functional community and event space for public gatherings, programming, and downtown activation, while the Old Jail would be restored for productive reuse as small business or commercial space to help reestablish economic activity downtown. The Town will seek the full grant amount of $10,000,000, subject to adjustment.
The Town has previously submitted a CDBG-CDR application on August 4th, 2026 for the renovation of the 2nd floor of Town Hall located at 186 Bridge St., Hot Springs, NC 28743. The scope of this project is for the rehabilitation and adaptive reuse of the 2nd floor of town hall to create office or small business spaces for local businesses. The Town is seeking grant funding in the amount of $2,207,909.00.
The Town will solicit community input and stakeholder feedback through an open public comment period. The public comment period will begin on September 14, 2026, and will end on September 28, 2026. Copies of the proposed applications are available, and comments may be directed to the Hot Springs Town Hall offices at 43 Andrews Ave N, Hot Springs, NC 28743; by email to Town Administrator Hassena Kassim at financeofficer@townofhotsprings.org; or by telephone at (828) 622-7591.
For special accommodations when attending the meeting and/or if this information is needed in an alternate format because of a disability, please email financeofficer@townofhotsprings.org or call (828) 622-7591.
This information is available in Spanish or any other language upon request. Please contact Brian White at brian@landofsky.org to accommodate a language request.
The full Notices of Funding Opportunity (NOFOs) are available at:
CDBG-CI: Community Infrastructure Program NOFO
CDBG-CDR: Commercial District Revitalization Program NOFO
If you’d like to weigh in before September 28, 2026, you can attend the hearing on September 14, submit written comments at Town Hall, or email Town Administrator Hassena Kassim at financeofficer@townofhotsprings.org. Both funding opportunity notices are linked above through the North Carolina Department of Commerce’s recovery site.