2025: Henderson County Commissioners “Blasted” Jennifer Balkcom For Her Vote To Remove More Than $12 Million In Funding From An Edneyville Sewer Project Without Contacting Them

November 2025: Henderson County Commissioners Objected To A Decision By The North Carolina General Assembly To Transfer More Than $12 Million From An Edneyville Sewer Project To A Project In Etowah

November 2025: Henderson County Commissioners Objected To A Decision By The North Carolina General Assembly To Transfer $12.7 Million From A Project To Expand Sewers In Edneyville To A Project In Etowah. “Henderson County is set to lose out on $12.7 million in funding previously earmarked for a sewer expansion project in Edneyville. County Commissioners objected Nov. 3 to an Oct. 21 move by the North Carolina General Assembly to transfer the money to another project instead, one which they said cannot be completed before a strict deadline to spend the money. The specific pot of money, from the American Recovery Plan Act of 2021, will evaporate if it can’t all be used by the end of next year, and the wastewater treatment plant in Etowah, which the money is now committed to, can’t be finished by then, commissioners said.” [BlueRidgeNow, 11/5/25]

• BlueRidgeNow Headline: “‘Slapped Around’: Henderson County Board Decries Loss Of Edneyville

Sewer Funding.” [BlueRidgeNow, 11/5/25]

BlueRidgeNow: “Henderson County Is Set To Lose Out On $12.7 Million In Funding Previously Earmarked For A Sewer Expansion Project In Edneyville.” “Henderson County is set to lose out on $12.7 million in funding previously earmarked for a sewer expansion project in Edneyville. County Commissioners objected Nov. 3 to an Oct. 21 move by the North Carolina General Assembly to transfer the money to another project instead, one which they said cannot be completed before a strict deadline to spend the money. The specific pot of money, from the American Recovery Plan Act of 2021, will evaporate if it can’t all be used by the end of next year, and the wastewater treatment plant in Etowah, which the money is now committed to, can’t be finished by then, commissioners said.” [BlueRidgeNow, 11/5/25]

Commissioners Said The ARPA Funds Would Evaporate Before The Wastewater Treatment Plant In Etowah Would Be Finished

Henderson County Commissioners Said The American Recovery Plan Act (ARPA) Funds Would Evaporate Before The Wastewater Treatment Plant In Etowah Would Be Finished. “The specific pot of money, from the American Recovery Plan Act of 2021, will evaporate if it can’t all be used by the end of next year, and the wastewater treatment plant in Etowah, which the money is now committed to, can’t be finished by then, commissioners said. ‘(The General Assembly has) moved $12.7 million from a viable project to a project that it can’t be used on,’ County Engineer Marcus Jones told commissioners at a Nov. 3 meeting. ‘It’s gone, that $12.7 million. It’s not going to use for anything in Henderson County,’ Board Chair Bill Lapsley said.” [BlueRidgeNow, 11/5/25]

• BlueRidgeNews: The Etowah Project Was “One Which They Said Cannot Be Completed Before A Strict Deadline To Spend The Money.” “Henderson County is set to lose out on $12.7 million in funding previously earmarked for a sewer expansion project in Edneyville. County Commissioners objected Nov. 3 to an Oct. 21 move by the North Carolina General Assembly to transfer the money to another project instead, one which they said cannot be completed before a strict deadline to spend the money. The specific pot of money, from the American Recovery Plan Act of 2021, will evaporate if it can’t all be used by the end of next year, and the wastewater treatment plant in Etowah, which the money is now committed to, can’t be finished by then, commissioners said.” [BlueRidgeNow, 11/5/25]

County Engineer Marcus Jones: “(The General Assembly Has) Moved $12.7 Million From A Viable Project To A Project That It Can’t Be Used On.” “‘(The General Assembly has) moved $12.7 million from a viable project to a project that it can’t be used on,’ County Engineer Marcus Jones told commissioners at a Nov. 3 meeting.” [BlueRidgeNow, 11/5/25]

Board Chair Bill Lapsley: “It’s Gone, That $12.7 Million. It’s Not Going To Use For Anything In Henderson County.” “‘It’s gone, that $12.7 million. It’s not going to use for anything in Henderson County,’ Board Chair Bill Lapsley said.” [BlueRidgeNow, 11/5/25]

BlueRidgeNews: “Commissioners Blasted State Rep. Jennifer Balkcom” For Voting For S.B. 449

BlueRidgeNews: “Commissioners Blasted State Rep. Jennifer Balkcom” For Voting For S.B. 449. “NC Senate Bill 449 moved the money meant to fund the Clear Creek Sewer to the Etowah Sewer Wastewater Treatment Plant Oct. 22, for reasons commissioners say aren't entirely clear to them. Commissioners blasted state Rep. Jennifer Balkcom and state Sen. Tim Moffitt, who voted for it.” [BlueRidgeNow, 11/5/25]

One Commissioner Said State Legislators Did Not Contact Them And Another Said, “To Be Slapped Around Like This Is Uncalled For And Unnecessary”

Commissioner Rebecca McCall: “‘(There Was) No Phone Call, No Text, No Email, No Communication Whatsoever From Raleigh.” “Commissioners blasted state Rep. Jennifer Balkcom and state Sen. Tim Moffitt, who voted for it. ‘(There was) no phone call, no text, no email, no communication whatsoever from Raleigh’ before or after the bill passed, Commissioner Rebecca McCall said.” [BlueRidgeNow, 11/5/25]

Commissioner Bill Lapsley: “To Be Slapped Around Like This Is Uncalled For And Unnecessary.” ‘“It’s gone, that $12.7 million. It’s not going to use for anything in Henderson County,” Board Chair Bill Lapsley said. NC Senate Bill 449 moved the money meant to fund the Clear Creek Sewer to the Etowah Sewer Wastewater Treatment Plant Oct. 22, for reasons commissioners say aren't entirely clear to them. […] To be slapped around like this is uncalled for and unnecessary … unprecedented in my 10 years on the board,’ Lapsley said of the General Assembly's decision.” [BlueRidgeNow, 11/5/25]