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Avery County officials, recovery groups report housing progress and permit delays as debris cleanup continues
Summary
Recovery volunteers and county staff reported new home builds and substantial debris collection after recent flood damage, but community speakers and residents told commissioners that septic-permit backlogs and staffing shortages are slowing reconstruction.
Charles Dunn, a representative of the Avery County Long Term Recovery Group, told the Board of Commissioners that relief groups have begun rebuilding after recent flooding and have secured funding and volunteer labor for dozens of homes.
Dunn said Appalachia Service Project has broken ground on three homes, holds contracts on five more for a total of eight, and that the Red Cross has helped secure plans for 30 new homes in the county. “About 85% of that will go directly to victims in the county,” he said, describing a pending $1,000,000 Red Cross grant that the group has applied for to support recovery work.
The most frequent complaint from residents was a delay in permitting. Meg Hill, a resident whose family lost a home in flooding, said she applied for a septic permit in February and has not been scheduled for site work. “We could already be living in our home, but our county’s inspection department — we’re not the only full‑time residents in every county having this issue,” Hill said, urging the county to borrow inspectors from less-affected counties or hire temporary full‑time staff.
County staff confirmed permitting delays are a statewide issue and noted staff shortages. Commissioners did not adopt an immediate staffing solution at the meeting but directed staff to continue exploring options, including temporary hires or inter-county assistance.
County staff and the manager also provided updated recovery metrics. The county reported large-scale debris removal: staff initially cited 512 cubic yards, and then larger tallies were discussed; one corrected pickup figure reported to the board for May 1 was 633,352 cubic yards collected. Staff said FEMA individual-assistance registrations totaled 4,316 with an estimated $15,000,000 in claims registered.
The county manager thanked volunteer teams for rebuilding work and urged residents to register for assistance where appropriate. Officials also reminded residents about personal-property debris-removal processes and a dedicated call line for Helene-related debris assistance.
What’s next: county staff said recovery work and permitting will continue as priorities. Commissioners signaled interest in exploring short-term staffing options for inspections and declined to take immediate final action on new staffing at the meeting.
