Buncombe County Commissioners approved $3.1 million dollars for post-Helene relief at a special meeting on Friday.
The money is meant to help fill in the gaps that insurance, FEMA and other individual assistance programs are unable to bridge. It will be split evenly, with roughly $1.6 million slated for both household assistance and small business grants.
“As we all know, many of the individuals impacted by Helene will not be able to recover with insurance and FEMA assistance alone,” Evie Odersall said.
“And while programs exist to support businesses, many of our local businesses are still recovering from Covid-19 and cannot sustain operations without grants in the aftermath of Helene,” she said.
The funds come from a reallocation of American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) money and will be used for housing and small business assistance. The money was originally slated for a broadband expansion project.
The county will choose a nonprofit partner to administer the household assistance funds. An RFP process to select the administrator is open until Nov. 8.
Small business grants will have to go through a request for proposals process. Businesses with 25 or fewer employees can qualify for a grant of up to $5,000.
Qualifying businesses will need to submit an application. In order to get funds, the applications will need to be reviewed, go through a public hearing and voted on by commissioners. With this timeline, funds would be distributed as early as mid-December.
Tetra Tech hired as disaster consultant
Commissioners also voted to hire a consulting firm to help it manage the fallout of Helene.
Tetra Tech, a global consulting firm, was selected out of 20 applicants. The price of the contract has not been announced or finalized. The scope of work will include a public and individual assistance program, debris management, shelter and housing support services and other community outreach initiatives.
Commissioners will meet again on Thursday, Nov. 7. See the agenda.
