Hurricane property acquisition meeting set
By Steve Herring
Published in News on August 5, 2018 3:05 AM
An informational meeting will be held at 6 p.m. Tuesday for property owners whose property was flooded during Hurricane Matthew and who have been approved for the federal buyout program.
It will be held in Hall C at the Maxwell Center, 3114 Wayne Memorial Drive.
Wayne County has been awarded nearly $9 million in federal Hazard Mitigation Grant Program disaster aid to buy out the properties flooded during Hurricane Matthew in October 2016.
The county has signed the grant agreement with the state of North Carolina, which administers the program. County officials are now able to move forward with the acquisition process.
Once the structures are removed, the sites will be left open as green space in perpetuity.
A letter was mailed to property owners last week from David Harris whose company, RSM Harris Associates Inc., is managing the grant program for the county.
"As you are probably aware, your application for acquisition of your flooded property under the Hurricane Matthew N.C. Hazard Mitigation Grant Program has been approved," Harris said in his letter.
The company has managed Hazard Mitigation Grant Program acquisition projects for more than 20 years and is ready to provide the assistance needed to complete the acquisition project, Harris said in the letter.
"It is very important that you attend the meeting," he wrote. "We will discuss the complete acquisition process, including appraisals, closings, schedules, responsibilities of the owners, required documents to be executed, etc.
"We will provide written information that you can take home and review. You do not need to bring any paperwork or documents to the meeting. You will be able to listen to the presentation, take notes and ask questions."
Harris said he understands that some of the applicants have considered withdrawing from the acquisition project.
"Before you officially withdraw, we encourage you to attend the meeting and receive information that will help you decide if withdrawing is the right decision for you," he wrote.
For any homeowner unable to attend the meeting, the acquisition information handouts will be mailed to them, he said.
Also, an individual meeting will be scheduled with them at a later date.
The Tuesday meeting is not mandatory but is being provided as a convenience to the homeowners, Harris said.
"We understand that everyone's patience is nearly exhausted, considering the time that has transpired since Hurricane Matthew," he said.
"However, now you will have more control in this process and your decisions/actions will affect how quickly we can complete the acquisition of your property."
The acquisitions are expected to begin in the fall and the intent is to close on properties before the end of the year, Harris told Wayne County commissioners at their July 17 board meeting.
Hurricane Matthew caused an estimated $4.8 billion in damage to North Carolina, damaging nearly 100,000 homes.
Wayne County applied for $35 million in disaster aid. It was awarded approximately $9 million.
The $35 million was for 331 applications that included 24 for elevation, none of which were accepted, and 307 for acquisition of which only 84 were accepted.
N.C. Emergency Management announced in July that the federal funding had been awarded -- nearly two years after historic flooding left parts of Wayne County under water.
Of the 84 properties approved, 22 are in Seven Springs. Of that total, 13 have been approved, while the other nine are pending historical clearance, according to a state press release. The release did not specify what the nine properties are or exactly what the review entails.
The funding announcement came as county residents had grown more vocal about their frustrations with the slow pace of the recovery.
Several hundred of them gathered at the Maxwell Center on June 15 to air their grievances, ask questions and tell their stories to N.C. Emergency Management Director Michael Sprayberry.
Tuesday's meeting will not include Wayne County's efforts under the state's Community Development Block Grant-Disaster Recovery program.
That is a separate project funded by the federal government through the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development to help with housing repairs, homeowner reimbursement and other housing-related issues. Applications for the fund are being accepted through ReBuild N.C. Application Centers.
The Wayne County regional application intake center is located in the former Farm Service Agency Building, 209 W. Spruce St. It is open from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday.
More staff has been hired in an effort to speed up the process and accept walk-ins, as well as those who register by calling 2-1-1.