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Avery County ups storm debris spending caps to $29.15 million, increases vendor cap to $3 million amid recovery
Summary
The Avery County Board of Commissioners approved a countywide Not-to-Exceed (NTE) of $29,149,012.20 for Southern Disaster Recovery and raised DebrisTech’s cap to $3,000,000 as the county continues recovery work after Tropical Storm Helene. Officials said permitting and inspection delays remain a constraint on rebuilding.
The Avery County Board of Commissioners on May 5 approved increasing disaster-recovery spending caps for Tropical Storm Helene cleanup and debris removal, voting unanimously to raise the overall NTE for Southern Disaster Recovery (SDR) to $29,149,012.20 and to raise DebrisTech’s Not-to-Exceed from $2,000,000 to $3,000,000.
Chip Patterson, president of Southern Disaster Recovery, told the board his firm revised its cost methodology to account for added waterway extensions and estimated that, "With extensions, on average, we are doing approximately 4.3 million dollars in billable work per week in the waterway." Patterson said the revised estimate produced the proposed $29,149,012.20 cap and that SDR recommended reducing the NTE pending agreement with the state.
The board approved the SDR NTE increase (motion by Dennis Aldridge; second by Robert Burleson) and later approved DebrisTech’s cap increase (motion by Dennis Aldridge; second by Robert Burleson). Both motions passed with the four members present voting in favor.
The votes follow public-comment updates on long-term recovery work. Charles Dunn of the Long Term Recovery Group said Appalachia Service Project (ASP) has broken ground on three homes, has contracts and pending permits for five more, and has "secured funding for a total of 30 homes in Avery County." He also said Chief Cares has broken ground on a Newland community and that case managers initially identified 185 families with destroyed or severely damaged homes; that list now includes about 65 families with continuing unmet needs for housing, driveways, culverts and yards.
Dunn also told the board that Toe River Health is "overwhelmed," and said the county "need[s] at least two inspectors," noting septic permits are taking six to eight weeks and are delaying building projects. Commissioners and staff discussed coordination with state agencies and the need to balance contract costs with ongoing operational bottlenecks.
County Manager Phillip Barrier reported recovery metrics elsewhere on the agenda: 512,000 cubic yards of debris collected as of April 1, FEMA Individual Assistance had 4,316 applicants with about $15 million distributed, and the State DOT estimated roughly $106 million in infrastructure damage.
What happens next: the county will continue to administer contracts under the new NTE limits while staff pursue any needed state agreements and monitor permitting and inspection backlogs affecting reconstruction.
