Pryor Gibson, interim director of ReBuild NC, says western North Carolina would benefit from a more streamlined process than the one used by NCORR. (Photo: Screengrab from NCGA video)
“I want them to build houses bigger, better, nicer than they had before. At least they get something out of this disaster.”
So said President Donald Trump as he pledged a swift and upscale recovery for western North Carolina when he visited the region in late January.
But for homeowners who lost everything in Hurricane Helene’s flood waters, the reality is that recovery may be many months away. And bigger and better homes may not be in the offing.
Last week, members of the Joint Legislative Commission on Governmental Operations made clear that they do not want the recovery from Hurricane Helene to look anything like the recovery that followed Hurricanes Matthew and Florence.
The head of the NC Office of Recovery and Resiliency (NCORR or ReBuild NC) outlined a request last Thursday for $217 million in new funds, three months after the agency revealed it had run up a deficit of more than $221 million in its hurricane recovery work in eastern North Carolina.
Pryor Gibson, interim director of ReBuild NC, said with than 3,069 homes complete, another 659 remain in construction with still another 540 are waiting for construction to begin nearly a decade after Hurricane Matthew hit North Carolina.
Republicans and Democrats alike reject the notion that North Carolina might be struggling to rehome residents in western North Carolina from Helene a decade from now.
“What advice are you giving for NC GROW and others for how we do this project (Helene) differently in the future?” asked Sen. Ralph Hise.
“Western Recovery is going to have an amazingly unique set of criteria that you’re all going to have to figure out how to fix Senator,” Gibson answered. “What I’m trying to do is stay out of their way so they can stand up the western office with new criteria, offer whatever pieces of eastern recovery fit their plan and can add value, but my focus is to do the best we can for the 1100 families remaining eastern recovery and figure out how to get those done.”
The Mitchell County Republican pressed forward.
“Is this structure we currently have of bidding each individual home out to individual contractors and managing that system in and of itself flawed?”
Gibson said in hindsight, NCORR made many mistakes along the way.
Fewer choices, transparent communication needed
“We gave too many choices. We did exactly what everybody in this room wanted to do and the governor’s office and the communities and the homeowners,” Gibson said.
We gave them as many choices as we could, as many options as we could, as much time as we could. We gave them assistance for rental, for their home, while the project was going on. We gave them assistance with storing their items. We did everything we could to make it easier for them to get their home back.”
But every choice adds to the time, the expense, and the frustration of why they didn’t get back sooner, he said.
Sen. Julie Mayfield (D-Buncombe) asked Gibson to dig a bit deeper.
“If you had to pick three things that we could do differently in the west, not just NC GROW but we collectively (at the legislature) could do differently to make sure that the west starts out the way that NCORR has been for the last year. What would those three things be?”
Gibson said the state needs competent people on board to manage western recovery from the start. The communication between the federal government and the executive branch needs to be transparent with expectations clearly defined.
“And then the third thing, you have to get your local capacity ready. You’ve got to help your local governments and your infrastructure in the smaller communities get ready for this tidal wave of construction that we hope is coming,” Gibson said.
The need for clarity and simplicity in Helene recovery was also on the mind of Rep. Jimmy Dixon last week.
The Duplin County Republican, who is the senior chairman of the Agriculture and Environment committee, told members of the House Select Committee of Helene Recovery that it’s possible that many don’t recover economically.
“In other words, I think it’s obvious that we can’t make everybody whole. We want to help. To what degree have you discussed, a target of the extent to which we’re going to assist people, since we cannot make everybody whole?”
Jonathan Krebs, Gov. Josh Stein’s advisor for western North Carolina, said federal funding will dictate what is actually possible. And unlike with NCORR, the Stein administration is hoping to make decisions at a more appropriate pace.
“The last thing you want is someone who doesn’t qualify for assistance to be waiting around because we’re afraid to tell them no, and then we eventually tell them ‘No,’” Krebs said.
On Monday, Gov. Stein released a $1.07 billion budget request for immediate funding to get people back into homes faster, repair infrastructure, support farmers, fix private roads and bridges, remove debris, and help school children stay at grade level. It’s the opening salvo in what’s expected to be the top issue for lawmakers crafting a new state budget.