HUD approves North Carolina’s $1.4B Helene action plan
Following
the
devastation
wrought
by
Hurricane
Helene
last
year,
a
recovery
action
plan
needed
to
access
more
than
$1
billion
in
federal
assistance
has
been
approved
by
the
U.S.
Department
of
Housing
and
Urban
Development
(HUD),
the
office
of
North
Carolina
Gov.
Josh
Stein
(D)
announced
on
Friday.
The
outlook
for
fulfilling
the
$1.4
billion
commitment
—
struck
prior
to
the
inauguration
of
President
Donald
Trump
and
the
confirmation
of
Scott
Turner
as
HUD
secretary
—
looked
to
be
on
shaky
ground
as
recently
as
February.
The
new
White
House
leadership
been
focused
on
empowering
the
U.S.
DOGE
Service
to
make
sweeping
cuts
to
programs,
personnel
and
grants
across
the
federal
government.
The
state’s
commerce
department
in
February
published
an
action
plan
tied
to
the
$1.4
billion
in
the
form
of
a
Community
Development
Block
Grant
Disaster
Recovery
(CDBG-DR)
award,
a
necessary
step
in
the
process
for
receiving
the
funds.
Stein
announced
the
award
on
Jan.
7
in
Asheville
alongside
then-acting
HUD
Secretary
Adrianne
Todman,
after
taking
initial
steps
in
the
opening
days
of
his
administration
to
address
the
fallout
of
the
disaster.
Carolina
Gov.
Josh
Stein
The
next
step
is
for
HUD
to
certify
the
state’s
financial
controls
for
the
program.
At
that
point,
North
Carolina
“can
sign
the
grant
agreement
and
begin
committing
these
funds
with
a
focus
on
housing
and
economic
revitalization,”
according
to
the
governor’s
office.
Stein
praised
the
Trump
administration
for
giving
the
plan
the
proverbial
green
light.
“This
is
great
news
for
western
North
Carolina,”
he
said.
“I
thank
the
Trump
administration
for
moving
quickly
to
approve
this
plan
so
we
can
get
busy
rebuilding
people’s
homes.”
The
action
plan
also
included
a
comment
period
to
take
feedback
from
those
impacted
by
the
disaster
into
account
as
the
state
developed
and
submitted
its
plan
to
the
federal
government.
“We’ve
learned
so
much
from
the
many
people
and
organizations
that
have
taken
time
to
offer
their
suggestions,
and
I’m
grateful
for
everyone’s
participation
so
far,”
said
Stephanie
McGarrah,
deputy
secretary
for
the
North
Carolina
Department
of
Commerce.
“We
know
the
road
to
full
recovery
will
be
a
long
journey,
but
the
Department
of
Commerce
and
my
team
are
ready
to
get
to
work.”
The
funds
will
be
directed
toward
a
large-scale
homebuilding
effort
across
the
state,
according
to
reporting
from
NC
Newsline.
“We
need
you,
desperately,
to
build
those
homes
and
get
people
home,”
said
Angie
Dunaway,
the
director
of
contracting
for
the
commerce
department’s
new
team
that
will
be
in
charge
of
post-Helene
recovery
efforts.
These
remarks
were
made
to
contractors
who
are
preparing
to
bid
on
jobs
to
rebuild
housing
in
impacted
areas.
These
bids
will
begin
to
be
assessed
at
the
start
of
May,
and
the
western
portion
of
the
state
will
require
construction
with
“some
special
type
of
building,”
Dunaway
advised
the
contractors.
The
total
price
tag
of
the
recovery
is
immense
as
residential
damage
alone
is
estimated
at
$12.7
billion.
While
the
federal
funds
—
which
fall
under
the
CDBG-DR
program
—
don’t
cover
all
of
the
estimated
recovery
costs,
the
governor’s
office
said
in
February
that
“these
funds
will
serve
as
a
critical
cornerstone
for
the
revitalization
of
western
North
Carolina’s
homes
and
businesses.”
Still
unsettled,
however,
is
the
city
of
Asheville’s
own
$225
million
recovery
plan
it
submitted
to
HUD.
Initially
rejected
on
the
grounds
that
it
advanced
diversity,
equity
and
inclusion
(DEI)
criteria
—
something
the
Trump
administration
is
working
to
expunge
from
government
—
the
city
recently
submitted
an
updated
action
plan
but
has
not
offered
any
additional
details
on
its
progress.
The
revised
plan
was
submitted
to
HUD
on
April
8
and
the
department
has
45
days
to
review
and
request
changes
to
it,
putting
the
deadline
on
or
around
May
23.
