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Buncombe seeks to end Helene state-of-emergency; recovery plan work emphasizes infrastructure and resilience
Summary
Staff asked the board to end the county state of emergency effective with the state on June 30 and previewed the Envision Buncombe recovery-planning survey results (2,600+ responses) prioritizing infrastructure, housing and preparedness.
Taylor (county staff) told commissioners the county declared a local state of emergency on Sept. 25, 2024, in anticipation of Tropical Storm Helene and that staff are asking the board to end the local declaration to align with the state of North Carolina on June 30, 2025. Taylor noted the action regarding the end of the declaration was included on the consent agenda for the board meeting.
Staff presented a seven-minute video summarizing storm impacts and recovery work to date. The video, and staff remarks, cited these figures: Helene destroyed 372 houses and damaged approximately 12,000 more; more than 48,000 showers and 62,000 laundry loads were provided at community care stations; roughly 3,000 private roads and bridges were damaged; more than 2,000 landslides occurred countywide; and 43 county residents died as a result of the storm. Staff said more than 3,000,000 cubic yards of debris had been collected from roadsides and rivers to date.
Jeremiah (recovery planning staff) presented results from the Envision Buncombe outreach and recovery-planning survey. He said staff held roughly 28 in-person events across 13 ZIP codes and received more than 2,600 responses. The public’s top priority was investing in infrastructure (water, roads, bridges and telecommunications), followed by housing and resilience measures (floodplain management, wildfire prevention) and community health and safety priorities.
Jeremiah said the recovery plan process will continue through summer community engagement, project submissions and subject-matter expert evaluation; staff expect to return to the board with a draft plan in the fall for review and public comment. He told the board that project pages in the plan will set expectations about likely timelines (near-term, medium, long-term) so the public understands which projects may take longer due to complexity or permitting.
Commissioners commented on the need to keep quality-of-life and economic revitalization visible in recovery priorities, to align recovery priorities with upcoming budget planning and to maintain transparency as the county spends and allocates recovery resources.
