Asheville outlines progress on storm recovery, cites roughly $400M in FEMA project estimates

Asheville — City staff told the Policy, Finance & Infrastructure Committee on Aug. 26 that teams have identified storm-damaged assets and are combining FEMA Public Assistance, the Hazard Mitigation Grant Program and the city's CDBG-DR allocation to rebuild infrastructure with resilience in mind. Interim Assistant City Manager Jake Dundas presented the update.

The city has inventoried damaged assets and grouped 135 damaged inventory items into 56 FEMA projects, Dundas said. "Project development work is being completed to ensure that cost recovery is maximized and that infrastructure is rebuilt to be more resilient," he said.

Why it matters: those packaged projects form the basis for federal reimbursements and for matching mitigation and recovery grants. City staff emphasized that differing program rules and timelines require coordinated packaging so a single site can access multiple funding sources without duplication of benefits.

Most important facts - FEMA Public Assistance (PA) is the core program for repairing storm-damaged public infrastructure; staff said PA reimburses repairs that restore infrastructure to its prior condition and includes separate categories (debris removal, emergency protective measures, management/administration). - The city reported receiving checks for PA work so far: $6,400,000 for Category A (debris removal), $3,400,000 for Category B (emergency protective measures), and about $300,000 for management and administration costs to date. Staff cautioned those are reimbursements received, not the total amount expended or yet submitted for reimbursement. - Finance staff reported the city has submitted an estimated $400,000,000 to FEMA for consideration; staff stressed this is an estimate of project cost submitted for review and not a final obligated amount.

Process and timing Dundas and other presenters reiterated that FEMA PA, HMGP and CDBG-DR each have distinctive eligibility rules and timelines — often five to six years for individual projects — and that the city is pursuing overlapping strategies to accelerate delivery when permissible. Staff said many FEMA projects are near the scoping-and-cost phase where the city and FEMA negotiate reimbursable costs.

Selected projects and strategy City presenters highlighted two park-area efforts that will seek layered funding: French Broad River park improvements and work at Azalea Park. The presenters described these as multi-block opportunities to rebuild damaged park infrastructure while improving resilience and user experience.

What was not decided Committee discussion was informational; no new funding commitments or ordinance actions were adopted at the work session. Staff said formal obligations and project approvals will follow program rules and as reimbursements or grant awards are finalized.

Next steps Staff will continue to refine project scopes and cost estimates, pursue reimbursements from FEMA, and coordinate HMGP and CDBG-DR packaging where those programs can add mitigation and resiliency to reconstruction. Councilmembers asked staff to provide a clearer, consolidated financial snapshot of total estimated recovery costs and progress in coming updates.

Ending: Staff asked the committee to direct further questions to the recovery team and said project-specific design contracts and grant applications will appear on future council agendas as required.