This coverage is made possible through a partnership between BPR and Grist, a nonprofit environmental media organization.
As next week’s municipal elections approach, many voters in Hot Springs, North Carolina find themselves worried about both old problems and new ones that have arisen since Hurricane Helene.
Those issues were at the forefront during a Board of Alderman candidate forum in late October. The forum took place at Pine Hall, a cozy building that looks like a cross between a tavern and a log cabin. As voters sipped hot coffee and wrote down questions for candidates to answer, 27-year-old raft guide Heather Paige considered what was most important to her as an outdoor worker.
For her, Helene recovery is personal because it impacts her life and livelihood. When she goes down the river, Paige said she still sees the devastation from the storm.
“I hope that the recovery efforts continue and that there are more groups that step forward and more people that get involved in cleaning up and rebuilding and making the space enchanting and beautiful because it is, and it deserves that,” she said.
Disasters are incredibly stressful for small communities like Hot Springs, an Appalachian Trail town of around 540 people and a municipal budget of $1.8 million. The damage taken by the town, and the costly, arduous process of rebuilding, means whoever serves in elected positions has an enormous task ahead of them.
Many in Hot Springs say they worry about the town’s worsening housing crunch, the long timeline of infrastructure repairs related to water and electricity services, and that new Board of Elections changes could leave the town further in the dust politically.
The Madison County Board of Elections voted to close the town’s early voting site starting with next year’s 2026 national and state primary election. The decision is not set in stone yet because it was not a unanimous vote.
Many of these concerns were on display at the recent forum, where seven candidates vying for three aldermanic seats made their case.
Incumbent Daniel Myers said that the vote to possibly close Hot Springs’ early voting polling place follows a pattern and a sense of the town being left behind on county decision-making. For instance, Hot Springs didn’t have an emergency shelter during Hurricane Helene. The only one open in the county during Helene was in Marshall.
“The decision to close an early voting site is a symptom of a deeper problem,” Myers told the assembled crowd.
County Board of Elections Director Ray Jacobs said leaders are committed to making sure everyone who wants to can vote.
“We're always looking to make sure that voting accessibility is not impacted by Helene, or any other natural disasters or inclement weather,” Jacobs told BPR.
There are currently three early voting locations countywide. The two satellite locations in Hot Springs and Mars Hill would be closed, with the one left in Marshall remaining. Board of Elections members who voted for the change told BPR they’re concerned about the county budget.
For voter Heather Paige, the main concern has been closer to home: housing. Paige only just moved to Hot Springs. Because of Helene damage and an ongoing housing crisis, she struggled to find her footing.
“Because of housing in the area I wasn’t able to work the season fully,” Paige said.
Voter Tim Arnette echoed this sentiment. “There seems to be a saturation of Airbnb and vacation rentals and very few places for people to live which makes it very difficult for the businesses in town to employ people because they can't find anywhere to stay,” he said.
But questions from voters about limiting Airbnbs sparked debate at the forum about the balance between serving locals and welcoming tourists.
Candidate Wendy Stancil suggested that short-term rental owners might need to look at renting longer-term, though she didn’t believe the town had authority to regulate Airbnbs.
“I feel like you could do a cost analysis, maybe to look at the short-term rentals, and then look at that for the owners,” Stancil said. Say, ‘Look, wow, if this was a long-term rental, here's what you could make out of that. Here's what, if you charge this, here's a consistent income for you.’”
Candidate Andrew Thomas was more wary of telling short-term rental owners what to do, worrying about the potential impact of any loss of tourism business.
“We're a tourist town,” Thomas said, to a chorus of nods in the room. “You get rid of the tourists and Airbnbs, you're just a little small town with nothing.”
For incumbent Daniel Myers, who also works as a firefighter, Helene recovery comes first.
“It's a very big issue right now because we're a year in, but we are still nowhere near done with all of the financial implications that have happened through all this,” Myers said.
Hot Springs’ wastewater treatment plant was destroyed by Helene’s floods. The town received $10 million so far from the Environmental Protection Agency for improvements to its drinking water and sewer system, but there’s still more to be done.
Incumbent Wendy Stancil, who’s joined the national American Flood Coalition, wants to have better relationships up the chain so the Hot Springs can get what it needs more quickly.
“Whatever happens next, I think furthering those relationships between residents and local officials, between local officials and county officials, tightening up those ties, I think could be really great in future preparedness,” Stancil told BPR.
Another candidate for the board is Lisa Gahagan who is new to politics, but not leadership. She founded a local storm recovery group called Rebuild Hot Springs Area, which gives flood recovery grants to residents, small businesses and emergency personnel. Gahagan watched the town jump through a lot of costly and difficult recovery hurdles in the past year and said it seemed chaotic.
“That old saying that you have when you are flying the plane as you're building it. I think that that's what happened,” Gahagan said. She’s hoping to bring more money in for recovery if elected.
Regardless of what happens, for voter Tim Arnette, it’s continuity that’s most important. After the forum, Arnette, owner of Spring Creek Tavern, just said he wants stability for Hot Springs. He believes the town did a great job cleaning up after the storm.
“I just hope that whatever comes out of this election, the people who are in charge follow that lead and continue to do what is best for the town and not personal agenda,” he said.
He said whoever takes charge, they need to keep the recovery work going at a fast clip so everything can get back to normal.
Early voting is happening through tomorrow, with polls open for Election Day on November 4th. You can find more, including a sample ballot and your local polling place here. On Election Day, polling places will be open from 6:30 am to 7:30 PM.
