Soperton City Hosts Public Hearing for Disaster Relief Grant

The city of Soperton hosted a public hearing on July 30 in the Soperton City Hall in regards to a community development block grant for disaster relief (CDBG-DR).

“The funds are used to address infrastructure damage tied back to disasters to ensure communities can recover and maintain their essential services,” said Ginger Bruce of the Association of Local Government Auditors (ALGA), the organization the city is collaborating with for the grant application process. “So, it’s, ‘fix what’s wrong and prevent it from happening again.’”

According to Mayor John Koon, the city is seeking the grant for a $1.1 million project to repair infrastructure in the city damaged by Hurricane Helene in 2024. In particular, the project aims to reduce flooding, patch road damage and pave dirt roads which are difficult to traverse after rainfall.

“We knew that we still had some areas that still have not been fixed, and still are in need of repair or rehabilitation to be able to help what we are doing, and this fell right in line with what we wanted to do,” said Koon.

Bruce said the city’s application deadline will be Sept. 4, with decisions made on where to release funds in November. Funded projects must be aimed at helping low income residents and must be completed within two years.

As part of the application process, Bruce conducted field surveys earlier in the day on Sumner Place, Cardinal Drive, Manning Street, Second Street and Ennis Circle. The survey and the public hearing were aimed to gather resident input regarding the project.

“You’re required to have a certain number of public hearings for people’s input – citizens input – people who may live in the area we’re targeting to come in and ask questions, or people who don’t, you know, just to get information,” said Koon.

The project comes two years after Hurricane Helene’s landfall, a storm which hit the Soperton community particularly hard. However, Mayor Koon believes the project could bring the city “towards the tail end” of the cleanup efforts.

“There’s still individual people that, you know, are having some issues with the insurance companies or with, you know, the government or whatever,” said Koon. “But for the city itself, I think we’re getting really close now to be able to say that chapter is gone.”

He also likened the project to many other projects started during his term, such as the Tiger Creek project, the recreation department renovations and upgrades to the city’s water and sewer system. The city government sought out several grants to fund those projects, and Koon hopes to complete more projects before the end of his term in 2027.

“We’re working hard, and we continue to work hard to be able to make the city of Soperton better,” said Koon. “We’re leaving no stone unturned when it comes to trying to find financial help for the city that doesn’t burden the taxpayers.”