By executive order, NC expedites up to 1,000 temporary housing units in WNC

By Gerard Albert III

Under an executive order, North Carolina will be able to purchase up to 1,000 temporary housing units for victims of Hurricane Helene without going through a lengthy procurement process, newly-sworn-in Gov. Josh Stein announced Thursday in Asheville.

The executive order, one of five issued Thursday, is Stein’s first official act as governor after being sworn in on Jan. 1. That same day, his office announced the visit to Asheville with Stein saying during his swearing-in ceremony that North Carolina must “act with urgency” in Western North Carolina’s recovery from Hurricane Helene.

Stein’s first order addressed the need for more temporary housing in the area, and will temporarily waive procurement regulations for mobile housing units.

“When I have met with affected folks here in the mountains, the need for housing assistance and the repairing of private bridges and roads has come up in nearly every conversation. Western North Carolina, I want you to know that I hear you,” he said.

In response to questions from BPR on Thursday, the governor’s office said a third-party vendor will reach out directly to families who are eligible for temporary housing units. They must have applied for FEMA assistance and be approved, according to a spokesperson.

The state, Stein said, will be reimbursed fully by FEMA for the up to 1,000 units it purchases. This is in addition to the normal procurement process the state is using to find vendors for temporary housing units. This process takes at least a month to receive and analyze bids from these vendors.

“While we are not losing focus on our longer term rebuilding goals, I want to reiterate that people need temporary housing now,” Stein, a Democrat, said.

Hurricane Helene damaged or destroyed tens of thousands of housing units throughout the region, according to the governor. More than 12,000 people remain displaced in North Carolina.

Stein’s second order waived procurement regulations for the services of bridge and road builders.

“ We estimate that Hurricane Helene damaged more than 8,000 of these. Without these bridges or roads, people cannot access their properties. First responders, school buses, delivery trucks, private cars, cannot access affected properties,” he said.

Three additional executive orders will:

• Create the Governor’s Recovery Office for Western North Carolina (GROW NC), a dedicated recovery office for Western North Carolina within the office of the governor, and establish a Division of Community Revitalization within the Department of Commerce to address housing needs and community resilience.
• Establish a Governor’s Advisory Committee on Western North Carolina Recovery to advise GROW NC to meet the community’s needs quickly and cost-effectively.
• Direct the North Carolina Office of State Human Resources to authorize an additional 16 hours of Community Service Leave for state employees to volunteer for organized storm-related efforts.

The announcement comes on the heels of the Republican-controlled legislature overriding former Gov. Roy Cooper‘s veto on a bill that critics blasted for not including enough relief money for Western North Carolina. The legislation, which also strips many executive powers from the governor’s office, was initially opposed by Republican lawmakers from the region where Helene left widespread devastation in September. Later, only local Democrats in the General Assembly voted in opposition.

As governor, Cooper called the bill a “sham” and accused Republican lawmakers of playing politics in the midst of disaster recovery. GOP leaders in Raleigh defended the measure, saying broadly they expected more federal funding was in the pipeline to help in WNC’s recovery and that the state had already allocated millions in funding that was still available.

Stein succeeds Cooper, also a Democrat, who served two terms as governor. Newly elected Council of State leaders also sworn into office on Wednesday were Lt. Gov. Rachel Hunt, State Auditor Dave Boliek and Superintendent of Public Instruction Mo Green.