ASHEVILLE – City Council’s second formal meeting since Tropical Storm Helene focused on recovery, with millions of dollars in contracts ratified for emergency services rendered in the wake of the storm.
These include emergency repairs to the city’s water system; provision of standby staff for vehicle repair; debris monitoring and collection; and food and housing for first responders and essential employees.
Staff have said the city expects to be reimbursed by FEMA for much of its recovery-related expenses.
It’s been more than six weeks since Helene wreaked havoc across areas of Western North Carolina. Thousands are left grappling with the fallout from historic flooding, high winds and record rainfall. The city’s system is still without drinkable water. There are 43 confirmed storm-related deaths in Buncombe County.
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Assistant City Manager Rachel Wood will head the recovery coordination, with the city’s sustainability director, Bridget Herring, acting as deputy coordinator, leading development and implementation goals around a long-term recovery plan.
Among the contracts approved Nov. 12, for an amount not to exceed $1 million, is a partnership with Illinois-based Hagerty Consulting Inc. for recovery management services. A request for proposals was issued in early October.
Ari Renoni, deputy director of recovery with Hagerty, said Nov. 7 the organization has more than 20 years of experience managing disaster recovery funds, and has been involved with “every major catastrophic disaster since 9/11,” including hurricanes Katrina and Sandy, wildfires in California and COVID-19.
Its scope of work in Asheville includes FEMA Public Assistance advisory and program implementation, FEMA Individual Assistance advisory support, hazard mitigation and resilience grant support, debris removal operational advisory support, housing plans and long-term recovery planning support.
What’s been accomplished by Hagerty and city staff?
In collaboration with Hagerty, through contracts with several different organizations, the city said about 70,300 cubic yards of debris have been hauled away since Oct. 9. The city secured $6.4 million of FEMA Public Assistance reimbursement for debris work.
The city said previously that it estimates there are more than 2.5 million cubic yards of debris citywide. Temporary debris processing sites have opened throughout the city. These are located at:
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Hardesty Lane (active)
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Enka Commerce Park (active)
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Julian Shoals (active)
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65 Ford St. (will only be used if needed)
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The front nine holes of the Asheville Municipal Golf Course (will only be used if needed)
The city has drafted two projects for submission to FEMA to cover initial, estimated temporary water repairs, at about $11.7 million, and other citywide emergency response costs, at $6.4 million.
The Asheville Regional Coalition for Home Repair has a single point of intake for low-income homeowners with storm damage and in need of disaster repairs: ashevillehabitat.org/housing-programs/disaster-repairs.
The city has designated $1 million for rental assistance and $1.47 million for home repairs, with initial funding for programs at Eblen Charities and ARCHR via Habitat for Humanity.
It has also approved $704,000 for business stabilization grants, which will be administered by Mountain BizWorks, with a program opening date to be announced soon.
Discussion lingered around needed rent support — more than a dozen people came to the night’s meeting to call for rental relief. Many of those in the service industry are out of work, speakers said, and left floundering without enough support. The Citizen Times has reported that after Helene, evictions have continued.
“We’ve got to get all the money out, to all the people, as fast as possible,” said Jen Hampton, a leader with Asheville Food and Beverage United. She is also the Housing and Wages Organizer with WNC Just Economics.
“We appreciate how hard you all are working, but without immediate intervention, hundreds will face homelessness. We thought it was bad before, it’s going to get really bad this winter if we don’t step in.”
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Most pressing immediate needs?
Steph Dahl, director of the city’s Planning and Urban Design department, said staff has attended and presented at more than 20 meetings with business owners and advocacy groups since Helene and used input to identify an immediate priorities list.
Potable water is the No. 1 need, she said, followed by debris pickup; funding sources, not just loans, but grants; permitting assistance for storm repairs and events to support the return of commerce; and messaging that supports reopening.
The department has waived fees for all storm-related permits and restarted early assistance meetings for those projects.
Want to follow the recovery conversation?
The city has recovery briefings planned for Nov. 19 and Dec. 5. A recovery work session is slated for Dec. 10. Another recovery briefing will be held mid-December.
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Sarah Honosky is the city government reporter for the Asheville Citizen Times, part of the USA TODAY Network. News Tips? Email shonosky@citizentimes.com or message on Twitter at @slhonosky. Please support local, daily journalism with a subscription to the Citizen Times.
This article originally appeared on Asheville Citizen Times: Asheville council talks post-Helene debris cleanup, rental assistance
