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Commissioners approve $20M debris cleanup estimate and a contract amendment with Southern Disaster Recovery; residents raise smoke and ash concerns
Summary
After staff outlined an expanded debris-removal cost estimate driven by revised state contract pricing, the Board approved a budget amendment and a contract amendment to Southern Disaster Recovery. Residents raised complaints about persistent smoke, ash fall and health effects from burn operations at a local disposal site.
The Rutherford County Board of Commissioners on Monday approved a budget amendment and a contract amendment to continue county debris removal following Hurricane Helene, after county staff outlined revised pricing from the state emergency contract.
Finance staff (Paula, finance director) told commissioners that contractors had removed about 550,000 cubic yards of debris as of Feb. 1 and projected total removal of roughly 650,000–675,000 cubic yards. "Our last 100 to 120,000 will be at this increased cost," Paula said, and staff revised the projected cleanup cost from about $15 million to approximately $20 million because the state allowed an expedited pricing escalation to keep haulers working in the region.
The budget amendment and contract amendment — described as Contract Amendment No. 1 with Southern Disaster Recovery (SDR) — were presented to ensure continued work and to keep the county eligible for FEMA and North Carolina Emergency Management reimbursement. Paula said most debris removal work is typically 100% FEMA-reimbursable for primary right-of-way items; some private-property or private-road removals may not qualify.
Multiple residents used public comment time to complain about smoke and ash from burn pits at a site referred to in testimony as the Hudson/Henson Road burn area. David Mullins and Barbara Smith described ashfall that settled on cars and fields and said family members experienced respiratory symptoms; Mullins said medical records documented treatment for smoke-related coughing. "It's on our cars. I got a $70,000 fifth wheel covered in ash," Mullins said. Another resident asked whether the county could monitor and require the contractor to mitigate smoke.
County staff said SDR is monitoring sites and that two of the sites are being chipped rather than burned; the county has made that mulch available at the landfill for public pickup. Commissioners voted to approve both the budget amendments and the SDR contract amendment, and directed staff to continue monitoring and to report back on mitigation measures for smoke complaints.
The board also approved temporary contract pricing to preserve debris operations with the hope of completing major cleanup within the original 180-day window; staff said the state has allowed a six-month extension but they do not plan to use the full extension.
What the board approved: the budget amendment appropriating additional funds for debris removal and a contract amendment to SDR updating unit pricing to match the revised emergency contract. FEMA reimbursement remains anticipated but final approvals for some waterway and site-specific work are still pending.
