Affordable housing coming to Howell Mill Road

BY CORY VAILLANCOURT POLITICS EDITOR

After the results of a Town of Waynesville Planning Board meeting on March 16, Haywood County will now move into an exciting new chapter in the story of attracting affordable housing developments for its residents.

“We are a completely non-profit developer,” said Adeline Wolfe, of Buncombe-based Mountain Housing Opportunities. “Any profit we do make is recycled back into the organization for other affordable housing developments. It’s always been a goal of ours to help bring affordable housing to the greater region.”

Planning Board members unanimously approved an 84-unit master site plan application submitted by MHO, a group that began with volunteers in 1988.

Located at the corner of Howell Mill Road and Calhoun Drive, the development will be called Balsam Edge and feature a mixture of 22 one-bedroom, 42 two-bedroom and 20 three-bedroom units — all within walking distance of Waynesville’s rec center, and the Ingles shopping center on Russ Avenue.

Rents for the units (utilities are also included) will be calculated on a sliding scale to ensure that people making from 40 to 80 percent of the area median income have to spend no more than 30 percent of their income each month.

According to data provided by MHO, the cheapest one-bedroom units will start at $388 a month, while the most expensive three-bedroom units will go for $963.

There are a few caveats, however. MHO still has to submit a final plan to town administrators that includes an engineered stormwater plan, bicycle parking and shade tree information. A driveway permit from the North Carolina Department of Transportation is also required.

There are also caveats in the project’s timeline. Wolfe said MHO submitted a preliminary application for low income housing tax credits to the North Carolina Housing Finance Agency. A final application is due May 14. If it’s successful, MHO will find out in August. If that happens, construction would begin in the summer of 2022, with completion projected by summer of 2023.

If the tax credit application is not successful, Wolfe said MHO would pursue “other strategies” for funding, including other subsidies, or even reapply for the NCHFA tax credits during the next cycle.

Either way, the development will end up as a customer of the town’s water and sewer services, however to do that, MHO will also need to submit an application for annexation into the town. Such a situation would also open up opportunities for town water, sewer and annexation for other property owners further up Howell Mill Road.

For more information on Mountain Housing Opportunities, visit www.mtnhousing.org.

Nonprofit seeks vaccine volunteers

NC-based nonprofit organization VacCorps is seeking to recruit local volunteers to help administer COVID-19 vaccinations at various vaccination sites and centers throughout Western North Carolina.

VacCorps wants to enroll 200 volunteers by April 1 and then pair those individuals with vaccination providers in need of additional workers to help speed vaccination efforts.

Volunteers are needed for on-site support roles such as greeting patients, checking them in and out of the facility, making sure facilities are clean and supplies are stocked, as well as for remote support roles such as scheduling patients and volunteer workers.

For more information or to volunteer, visit www.vaccorps.org.

Silver Bluff administrator looks back on 2020

BY HANNAH MCLEOD STAFF WRITER

Lisa Leatherwood, Administrator at Silver Bluff Village, has had a unique perspective of the mayhem that is the COVID-19 pandemic — health care worker, nursing home administrator, mother.

The first thing she remembers about COVID-19, the first time it really hit home, was learning about the outbreak at a longterm care facility in Washington State. It was one of the first places in the United States to experience an outbreak, in February 2020, and Leatherwood particularly remembers the press being hard on the facility.

“The press was not kind to the facility and not knowing what was going on, you think about, well, is this a fair assessment of what they were doing or are they being overly harsh for them?” Leatherwood said.

Before the shutdown began in North Carolina in early March, Leatherwood’s daughters were on spring break from UNC Chapel Hill, and the family took a trip to Savannah — the last one they’ve had in the year since.

“I remember being in that beautiful place, and with my family and then realizing ‘OK, I’ve got to get home and shut things down there.’”

Silver Bluff was already taking important precautions. The facility had restricted visitors other than immediate family members about one month prior. Then, on March 13, it stopped visitation completely. From that point forward it was the constant change that made running a long-term care facility so difficult during a pandemic, Leatherwood says.

“It’s just constant, constant worry,” she said. “Are we doing everything? Are we doing everything possible? Are we missing anything? Just constant concern for the staff, concern for the residents, physically, emotionally the whole bit.”

Not only was there the physical, mental and emotional stress of trying to make sure residents and staff are guarded against the virus, as a leader, Leatherwood had the added pressure of keeping a smile on her face regardless of circumstances, reassuring everyone that everything was going to be OK. Even when she wasn’t sure herself.

When Silver Bluff had its outbreak in July, the facility couldn’t get enough Personal Protective Equipment (PPE), testing mechanisms were not yet rapid and were difficult to come by, and it wasn’t yet clear what medications and treatments you could give someone suffering from the coronavirus. In addition to caring for an aging population, much of her workforce was older. Several people working at Silver Bluff were forced to leave the workforce for their own health and safety. She estimates that over 130 residents contracted COVID-19 and at least 80 staff members.

Leatherwood said it was support from the community that helped everyone, including herself, at Silver Bluff get through this difficult time. The encouragement from community members helped the staff that did stay, rally together and support one another. One letter, from the son of a woman who passed away of COVID-19 at Silver Bluff, laid it out particularly clear for Leatherwood. It read, “I don’t understand why, when the entire world has not been able to manage this virus, this pandemic, why would anyone think that you or any other nursing homes were going to be able to manage it when it got to your door?”

“I just sat at my desk and cried because it is true,” said Leatherwood. “And then anytime we had a survey or whatever, they would say, ‘Oh, you’re doing everything well,’ then why can’t we get this other control?”

According to Leatherwood, once the technology caught up with the problem, Silver Bluff has been able to keep cases under control. With enough PPE and available rapid testing, staff have been able to mitigate spread of COVID-19 within the facility.

Silver Bluff has vaccinated 92 percent of all residents and 77.5 percent of all staff. Some families of residents do not want their family members to be vaccinated, and Silver Bluff has had to defer to that wish.

The learning curve has been a steep one during this pandemic. Leatherwood and her Director of Nursing have been through several state-mandated trainings. Following the outbreak in July, staff sat down with Haywood County Health Department officials to walk through everything that happened at the facility from the very beginning of the outbreak. The result? Silver Bluff staff and health officials learned a lot about the real-life applications of the guidelines and procedures that were laid out early in the pandemic.

But, this far into the pandemic, with almost all residents vaccinated at Silver Bluff, visitation rules haven’t changed. Residents still cannot congregate together, something Leatherwood hopes will change soon.

“My residents are frustrated, you know, if they’ve all been vaccinated, why shouldn’t they be able to hang out together?” said Leatherwood. “I have four residents who, the only reason I got them to take the vaccine is they were used to being able to play poker every Friday night. And they had a doctor’s order, they could each have a beer while they played. They haven’t been able to do that for a year. How do you play poker when you have to wear a mask and you have to stay six feet apart? They’ve all been vaccinated, why should they not be able to sit at a four top table and play poker?”

A YEAR OF COVID-19

We offer a variety of storage types. Rent Boat, Climate Controlled, RV, and Self Storage from us today.

Conveniently located in Sylva, Franklin, Canton/Clyde, & Waynesville!

Sylva & Franklin: 828-586-3438 Canton/Clyde & Waynesville: 828-646-3981 a1storageamerica.com

ENSLEY TIRE SERVICE

MOBILE TIRE SERVICE - WE COME TO YOU!

We Specialize in Farm & Agriculture Tires & Repairs Farm Tires

Lee Ensley828.342.1796 Patty Ensley828.421.0146 548 STEPHENS ROAD, SYLVA NC

AUTO SALES CONSULTANT

Do you want to be a part of a family-owned and locally operated business that has served the area for over 65 years? Earning the trust of our customers, employees and community is what drives us to be better. Taylor Ford is proud to be a fast-paced, high-energy, forward-thinking company that is looking for experienced professionals with all of the same attributes!

What We're Looking For: Our growing Sales department is looking for ambitious and self-motivated people to join our team. Training available, no automotive experience needed. If you are looking for an opportunity to grow and develop your career, apply here!