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    • Water turbidity, free vaccines, subsidies
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    Water turbidity, free vaccines, subsidies

    Pabio Posted on

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    On Wednesday, November 13, Helene’s Recovery Briefing from Buncombe County covered the water system and recovery grants for homeowners and small businesses.

    Also included are daily updates on food and water distribution and the location of community health centers where showers, laundry and other essentials are available.

    Briefings go live on the Buncombe County Facebook page at 11 a.m. weekdays. You can also find recordings of past briefings on the page. Here’s what was covered during Wednesday’s briefing.

    Homeowner Grant Program

    Applications for the 2024 Homeowner Grant Program are now reopened to give the community impacted by Hurricane Helen more time to complete and submit applications, with new eligibility requirements. Mobile home owners can also now apply.

    Applications can be submitted until this Friday, November 15 and can be obtained at buncombecounty.org/homeownergrant or by calling 828-250-5500.

    To apply in person, visit the Asheville Mall through this Friday from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Staff will be on hand to answer questions and accept applications. No appointment is necessary.

    More: Buncombe County homeowners can seek help from Helene through 2 other programs

    Risk Mitigation Program

    NC Emergency Management hazard mitigation personnel will be available this week in Buncombe County to assist Asheville Mall owners from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.

    This program helps protect against further damage and loss following a disaster with options such as repurchasing homes for what they were worth before the storm, raising homes above the estimated level of a 100-year storm and counting.

    Community care stations

    Community Care Centers are open Monday through Friday from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. with showers, laundry and more. All Community Care Centers now have ADA accessible showers and bathrooms. Laundry drop-off and pick-up is available at Swannanoa Ingles.

    The locations of the community health posts are:

    • At Home store parking lot
    • Big Lots Shopping Center/Innsbrook
    • Buncombe County Sports Park
    • Bethel United Methodist
    • Fairview English
    • Swannanoa English
    • Owen Pool
    • Morgan Hill Baptist Church

    Where to Find Food and Water in Buncombe County

    Water and ready-to-eat meals are available daily at distribution sites at:

    • Sky Lanes Bowling Alley
    • Black Mountain English
    • Swannanoa English
    • Linwood Crump Shiloh Community Center
    • Pack Square Park
    • Buncombe County Sports Park
    • Fairview English

    Free Vaccines in Buncombe County

    Free vaccines are available through the Buncombe County Mobile Team. These are available:

    • Tuesday and Friday: 12 p.m. to 6 p.m. at Swannanoa Ingles and Tunnel Road community care stations
    • Wednesday: 11 a.m.-4 p.m. at the Big Ivy Community Center
    • Thursday: 2-5 p.m. at the Bounty and Soul Market at the former BI-LO in Black Mountain

    FCC Environment jobs

    FCC Environmental is hosting recruiting events next week, Tuesday and Wednesday, November 19-20, at the Hilton Garden Inn, 309 College St.

    Where to deposit household waste

    A bagged household waste drop-off site is open today, November 13 at Hearts with Hands 850 Warren Wilson Road in Swannanoa, tomorrow, November 14 at Ingles Fairview and Friday at North Buncombe Pool from 8:30 a.m. to 3 a.m. : 30 hours

    Debris collection

    Starting today, November 13, debris collection trucks will be in all areas of the county, collecting approximately 12,000 to 15,000 cubic yards per day.

    As of November 11, contractors had collected 56,000 cubic yards of storm debris, or more than 11,000 truckloads. The focus remains on cleaning public rights-of-way, and residents are encouraged to sort storm debris and move it to the curb.

    In Asheville, trucks will be in the following areas:

    • Zone 1: 1 truck
    • Zone 3: 6 trucks
    • Zones 4-5: 8 trucks
    • Zone 6: 5 trucks
    • Zones 7-8: 7 trucks

    Asheville Water Updates

    Clay Chaney, city water systems representative, provided a water update. Turbidity levels at North Fork Reservoir are below 15 this morning. Levels peaked at 15.8 on Tuesday afternoon, possibly due to wind. To pass through the treatment plant, turbidity levels will need to reach between 1 and 2.

    The third phase of treatment in the reservoir will begin today, November 13. The North Fork’s capacity to push treated water through the system totaled just over 20 million gallons per day.

    The U.S. Corps of Engineers and private contractors working to set up an interim pretreatment system conducted a site visit Monday afternoon, and equipment and materials began arriving on November 12. Nothing has changed in the schedule, with an estimated completion date between November and December.

    All City of Asheville Water customers remain under a boil water advisory.

    Small Business Recovery Grants

    The City of Asheville has made approximately $700,000 available for small business recovery grants, which will be distributed by Mountain BizWorks as part of the Asheville Buncombe Rebuilding Together Grant Fund.

    Businesses located within city limits affected by the storm and that employ fewer than 200 full-time workers will be able to apply for grants of up to $25,000. Visit mountainbizworks.org/abgrants to apply and find more information.

    More: Biltmore Estate, Asheville Businesses Welcome Tourism Again After Tropical Storm Helene

    Hagerty Consulting helps organize storm response

    At the Nov. 12 City Council meeting, as part of the director’s report, staff presented information on an organizational structure designed to align federal and state funding resources to initiate both a rapid response and a long-term recovery process.

    This structure includes axes around:

    • Accommodation
    • Storm Debris
    • Economic recovery
    • Water recovery
    • Infrastructure
    • Artistic and cultural resources
    • Functional support, including cost recovery, community capacity building, and administrative and data reporting.

    Hagerty Consulting Inc. has been engaged to provide support throughout the recovery process in these priority areas. Staff have scheduled a number of meetings with council on:

    More information about these meetings and the organizational structure is available on the city’s website at ashevillenc.gov.

    Iris Seaton is the trending reporter for the Asheville Citizen Times, part of the USA TODAY Network. Contact her at [email protected].

    Pabio
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