Home Care In Swannanoa, NC

CLYDE, N.C. (WLOS) — In September, Haywood County Commissioners voted to give land previously bought with federal money following storms like Ivan and Frances in 2004 and Fred in 2021 to the Town of Clyde. However, two months later, the deeds are still pending.

"The town reached out to the county and said we would like to take on ownership of these properties if that was in their best interest," said Dann Jesse, Town of Clyde alderman.

As previously reported, for nearly 15 years, the county has maintained the land or leased it to residents for $1 per year to garden on, but that will soon change.

In the September vote, the town acquired 36 parcels of land from Haywood County that are located in the floodplain, but that process is being held up.

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"As I understand it, the deeds have not been transferred to the town, so they are still in that limbo stage between the county and FEMA, and at this point we're still waiting to hear back on that," Jesse said.

Jesse says getting the town's ownership of the land would help them decide what to do with the property and pursue grant funding.

"Once we have that, we will know what the properties' uses can be going forward. The primary reason for the town wishing to secure those properties was that when we reach out to get grant funding, to have the properties in our ownership makes those grant funds a little simpler to secure," he said.

But with land in the floodplain that's been flooded multiple times in different storms, there are restrictions on what can go on the property. According to the deed restrictions of the properties, no new structures, except a public open space facility, public restrooms or recreation, can be built on the land.

Commissioner Kevin Ensley, who also has a history in the land surveying business, says anything the town decides to build on the land needs to take into account future flood risks.

"If they want to do, like, a ball field, then they'll design it to where any dirt that they move they have to leave it on the site, so they can't increase it. They can probably decrease a little bit, but they can't increase it," Ensley said. "So a survey, they would show the topography that's there, so they'll make sure that they don't disturb the ground in such a way that it'll add to the flooding."

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In addition to the properties acquired from Ivan, Frances and Fred, there are more buyouts from Helene happening. According to Cody Grasty, the Haywood County recovery and resiliency manager, there are 88 buyouts from Helene in the county. Of those, 25 buyouts are in round one, with 22 moving forward through the acquisition process and three opting out.

With those properties, Ensley says the county will eventually receive them and would potentially deed the ones in Clyde to the town as well.

Ensley says boundary surveys on the 36 parcels were completed when the county bought them nearly 15 years ago; the land now needs a topography survey. He said topography surveys help to understand what the elevation differences are and if the land will need minor grading.

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As for the 36 parcels, Jesse says the town has yet to make an official decision on what to do with the properties, but many ideas circle recreation.

"One of the things that we talked about is, you know, green space," he said. "We've got the river[...] so you've got a river there that is a recreational spot if you will look at it that way, and so some walking trails, green space, park-type arrangements."

Although discussions are still beginning, the town first needs the deeds to be handed over, something Jesse says the town has not received a timeline on yet, and he doesn't expect it will be resolved by the end of the year.

SWANNANOA, N.C. — More than two years after Hurricane Helene, people in some western North Carolina communities still need to drive to other towns to drop off packages or check their P.O. box.

A report from the U.S. Postal Service inspector general said 21 post offices in the state temporarily closed after Helene hit as a tropical storm in October 2024.

Six have not reopened.

The Postal Service plans to reopen the Swannanoa post office next year, but not with a traditional retail counter, which has some residents concerned.

A spokesperson with the Postal Service said that the new Swannanoa office will include 24-hour access to the post office. There will also be P.O. boxes and retail technology such as self-service kiosks (SSKs), a rapid drop-off station and smart parcel lockers for customer convenience.

“There will be an employee available during normal business hours at the wicket door to assist customers with hold mail pickup, package pickup and additional customer needs,” mail officials said.

But the plan does not include a traditional retail counter, which concerns Carol Groben, who has lived in the Buncombe County town for 27 years. She said the post office was more to her than just a place to send and pick up packages.

“It was really kind of an important place in our community,” she said. “It was a place where people ran into friends. You’d stand in the line and start talking to people. You’d make new friends.”

She added that the people behind the counter were part of the reason it was so special.

“People who work behind the counter were amazing, wonderful, just so helpful and kind,” Groben said as she read from a postcard she was writing to decision-makers on the issue at a postcard-writing event on Wednesday.

Groben and others gathered at the event say they’re grateful a post office will come back, but they’re proposing more of a human connection to their mail.

Dan Slagle lives in Swannanoa and worked for the Postal Service for 25 years. He’s concerned that not having a retail counter will leave lower-income and older populations behind.

“Our customers came in, and they bought postal money orders to pay their bills. And we don’t have a bank here now. Some of these folks, even younger folks, don’t have transportation to go to another office to buy our postal money order. And it’s a cash transaction. Postal money order can only be bought two ways — cash or a debit card,” Slagle said.

The Postal Service said people who need full-service retail assistance can continue to go to the Oteen and Black Mountain locations. But residents say this isn’t an option for everyone, like those without reliable transportation. The distance between Swannanoa’s location and Black Mountain’s USPS location is about a 10-minute drive.

“It’s really important if we look at it through the lens of equity. We want to make sure that all of our neighbors have access to a full-service post office,” Tonia Allen, a Swannanoa resident, said.

As each postcard is mailed, individuals like Allen wish that those in power recognize the vital role the post office plays in the community.

“I always define us as scrappy. And, you know, we deserve to have back what we lost,” Allen said.

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