SPECIAL REPORT. BOONE, N.C. — In its first meeting since Watauga County was deeply impacted by the remnants of Hurricane Helene, Senator Ralph Hise (NC-47) presented recovery updates and took questions from a full audience of local officials and business leaders at the Watauga County Economic Development Commission meeting held on October 17, 2024.
Senator Hise was scheduled to attend the meeting prior to the storm, to provide updates from the North Carolina General Assembly, but instead used the majority of his time focusing on the impacts of Helene on Western North Carolina.
“Because the legislature has been successful in its goal of building key reserves, we are in a good position financially for issues like this,” said Senator Hise. “We consider the initial $273 million approved by the General Assembly to be a down payment on storm recovery.”
Senator Hise, who was in Mitchell County during the storm, shared additional recovery details:
- Damages to homes, roads, bridges, and core power and communications infrastructure were found throughout Western North Carolina. 35% of homes in Mitchell County were reported as damaged.
- Several municipalities in the region lost their water plants and some are even beyond repair.
- State officials are still gathering data from impacted counties to measure the financial amount of storm related loss. This task has been made more difficult in some areas because nothing remains of structures or businesses that existed prior to the storm. Hise expects the final cost of damages to surpass $2 billion.
- Many rail lines in the region are a complete loss and may not be rebuilt.
- A $273 million aid package was passed unanimously by the General Assembly and signed by Governor Roy Cooper. This initial package includes many of the required local and state match dollars for FEMA assistance.
- Hise expects legislators to consider forgivable loans as part of future storm related aid packages.
- The General Assembly resumes its current legislative session on Thursday, October 24, 2024.
Senator Hise urged local government officials in the room to be diligent in gathering time-stamped documentation for reimbursement purposes and echoed the same plea for individuals and business owners. He then answered questions about future storm preparation and highlighted the need for communication and emergency supply redundancies to be evaluated by each community as they review their own storm response.
Senator Hise did spend time discussing other key legislative items such as early childhood stabilization grants, health care and long-term care, and the state’s housing crisis. Other than consideration of storm related aid and small bills already out for discussion, he expects most other business to be carried forward to the beginning of 2025.
Following Senator Hise’s comments, the Watauga EDC members discussed its role in disaster recovery.
The following suggestions and comments were made.
- Determine how the EDC could best help local businesses.
- Contact EDC’s in surrounding areas to explore cooperative efforts.
- Review current messaging toward tourist and visitor traffic.
- Members should use their collective voice for advocacy as needed.
- Gather information from impacted businesses to aid in future preparedness conversations.
Joe Furman, Director of Economic Development for the Boone Area Chamber of Commerce, closed the meeting with a report on ongoing EDC activities, mentioning the fundraising work of the Chamber Foundation as well as the establishment of SBA Business Recovery Center and FEMA Disaster Recovery Center at the Appalachian Enterprise Center.
The next meeting of the Watauga EDC is scheduled for November 21st at Seven Devils.
