Business

Leaders in the state legislature are debating the next steps to help western North Carolina recover, months after Helene devastated the region. Just days into the new year, Gov. Josh Stein created a new office to coordinate those efforts and legislators are asking how it works. It’s called the “Governors Recovery Office for Western North Carolina,” or “Grow NC” for short. This organization is supposed to coordinate the response of multiple other agencies in rebuilding western North Carolina.”This entity will be responsible for consistent communication, accountability and transparency,” said Jonathan Krebs. “Their roles are to provide the day-to-day operational, technical guidance on the most minute detail.” At Thursdays hearing, Krebs and Stephanie McGarrah introduced the office to state legislators to the subcommittee on hurricane response and recovery.Both of them are a part of agencies associated with Grow NC and both said theyre committed to serving some of the most vulnerable people still reeling from the storm in rebuilding their homes and surrounding communities.”We’re going to be serving the poorest of the poorest of the poor in western North Carolina. First, we’re going to be serving those that are disabled or elderly have children in the home,” Krebs said. “This is not a part-time job. This is not something that someone can do when they get around to it. It has to be people’s critical mission.”McGarrah outlined to legislators that Grow NC is already pursuing federal funds through HUDs community development block grant and could receive roughly $1.2 billion, looking to submit those plans next week. However, the reality is fully rebuilding western NC could cost even more.Transparency about how federal and state funds are used was a major part of the hearing, with Krebs and McGarrah assuring legislators theyve learned from the problems other recovery agencies have faced. “One of the lessons learned from prior recovery is that we felt like there was a disconnect between clear, consistent executive direction and what was happening within the agencies. We cannot have that happen again,” Krebs said. “You can help us as we identify challenges, look for gaps in funding, and make sure we know that we’re all on the same page in terms of recovery,” McGarrah told the subcommittee. Grow NC advisors plan to come back to this committee once they understand what funds they need from the federal government, and the state.