Resident urges Ashe County to update FEMA mitigation plan before CDBG-DR funds arrive

Sally Kinka, a resident of Todd in Ashe County, used the board's public-comment period on July 21 to ask commissioners to update the county's FEMA mitigation plan before the one-year anniversary of the hurricane that struck parts of the county. She said the county's 2022 mitigation plan likely did not address hurricanes and asked the board to complete an updated plan by Sept. 27, the anniversary date she cited.

Kinka told commissioners that the mitigation plan update would not cost Ashe County local funds, saying the anticipated Community Development Block Grant'Disaster Recovery (CDBG-DR) funds would cover mitigation planning and projects if the plan is in place before the state begins awarding disaster-recovery resources. She urged the board to act quickly and framed the request as an opportunity for the commissioners to show leadership.

Direct quote: "This is a chance to be a hero, and I know that you all have it in you," Kinka said.

Context: Kinka referred to storm damage in Lansing and the broader county recovery work; the county has been active in long-term recovery efforts since the storm and county staff later described planning for a Sept. 27 recovery event in public business.

What the transcript records and what it does not: Kinka asked for the mitigation plan to be updated by Sept. 27 and linked that work to forthcoming CDBG-DR funding. The transcript records her request and framing; the board did not take an immediate vote or produce a formal response during public comment in the excerpt provided. Any formal staff response, timeline or board direction would be in subsequent staff reports or future meetings, not in the public-comment excerpt.