BUNCOMBE COUNTY, N.C. (WLOS) — Critical aid for permanent repairs after Hurricane Helene may still be months away for both homeowners and businesses.
News 13 Investigates explains what is causing the delays, who may qualify, and who could still be left out in the latest round of recovery funding.
SWANNANOA'S CONTINUED RECOVERY
Sept. 27, 2024, altered more than the view beyond the Dunning's Swannanoa patio.
“There’s a lot of emotion for everyone here,” said Jody Dunning, co-owner of Okie Dokies Smokehouse on US-70.
“You see the house behind us being rebuilt and a new roof going on and it’s[...] progress. Another one, the foundation is going up but then, you look one house one street over and it’s just pure devastation. Six months ago is still there," said Steve Dunning, co-owner of Okie Dokies Smokehouse.
What has happened in the neighborhood is mirrored inside the barbeque restaurant – eight feet of water and mud proved catastrophic for their smoker.
“That had to be sent back to Texas to be refurbished,” Steve said.
He explained that the insulation was ruined in the water that rushed through the back of the property. It now sits at the ready.
“Here, you can see the water level,” said Steve as he pointed to the side of the building above his head.
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He is now waiting on the main kitchen overhaul, which has been stripped down to the studs in the wake of Helene.
“All of the electrics had to be replaced down here, as well as the HVAC system,” he explained as he walked around what used to be the heart of his restaurant.
“I've been here doing the hands-on [work], while she's [Jody] been trying to find funding resources and make that happen," said Steve.
“I would spend hours online searching for grants, for funds, for anything that would help us,” Jody said. “There's been times when I just wanted to hang up, and I don’t because I can’t.”
“Right,” echoed Steve as the two sat in the booth of their restaurant, which has not seen a customer since Sept. 27, 2024.
BUSINESS GRANTS/LOANS
Their perseverance netted a grant from Mountain Bizworks. It was one of 695 approved, pumping $40 million into struggling businesses.
The WNC Small Business Initiative has also awarded $47 million of the $55 million set aside to 1,842 businesses.
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GROW NC
"We know that small businesses, the longer they are out of commission, the harder it is for them to reopen,” said Matt Calabria.
Calabria is the director of the Governor's Recovery Office for Western North Carolina or GROW NC, which coordinates and accelerates the state's recovery response.
“Candidly, we explored opportunities to draw down federal small business grants, but the reality was, even where they were available, it was going to take a year before the first check hit the ground,” he said.
GROW NC faces similar delays, drawing in $1.4 billion in funding from the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD). While the state was the first to submit its action plan at the end of March, HUD gets 45 days to review it.
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“We’re trying to stitch together funding streams. We’re trying to take federal funds and for the overages – for anything that would qualify. We’re now using state funds for the first time,” said Calabria.
House Bill 47, signed by Governor Josh Stein in March, provides $120 million for single-family homes to get the process rolling.
Stephanie McGarrah confirmed that just because the legislature has approved the funding does not mean it is available immediately.
McGarrah heads the newly created Community Revitalization Division of the North Carolina Department of Commerce and is working on the application process.
“We anticipate trying to take applications from homeowners at the end of June, beginning of July,” said McGarrah.
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Here's why it is a slow process: Even when using state funds, the program must follow federal guidelines since the money will eventually be reimbursed when the federal funds become available. Federal guidelines prevent the duplication of assistance, so if you've already received insurance help or FEMA assistance, that has to be applied to your total if you are approved for further help. Applicants also face an inspection and study process before the funds are allocated and work begins.
"This money is really meant to be to help the poorest of the poor, the funding of last resort, for people who have no other way to repair or replace their homes," said McGarrah.
This means those who don't meet income guidelines and land in the gaps News 13 has exposed between insurance and FEMA likely won't qualify for this funding either.
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Six months after applying, Jody got approval for a new low-interest loan.
“We’d worked so hard to pay everything off to be a completely debt-free business; a loan was just not in our plans for the future,” said Steve Dunning.
The duo is grateful but hopes other small business grants become available as they work toward a mid-to-late summer 2025 reopening.
“Everybody’s busy. You have to wait your turn,” Dunning said.
The Dunnings will push to restore their swine dining sooner with unemployment aid expired for staff.
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“There’s a lot of pressure we feel to get open for them and then the community also, but mostly for them, it’s kind of heartbreaking,” said Dunning.
“We want to be here for our community, and Swannanoa right now needs places to celebrate, and we need reasons to celebrate and so just being able to help other people and whether it's employees or community members, that’s our goal,” said Jody Dunning.
RECOVERY FUNDS APPROPRIATED BUT UNSPENT
There are still state funds approved in October that haven't been spent.
According to GROW NC's most recent data as of Feb. 10, 2025, the following agencies had not fully expended recovery funds allocated shortly after the storm:
FEMA FUNDS SPENT IN WNC THROUGH APRIL 15, 2025