BURGAW — A group of residents is signing a petition to present to the Pender County Commissioners on Monday, arguing against the board’s recent decision to forgo removal of hurricane debris along unpaved, private roads in the county.
Nearly 1,200 signatures have been collected, underlying a mounting frustration among many of the county’s residents over a perceived neglect of rural homes hit hard by floodwaters that swept much of the region after Hurricane Florence.
The county has spent more than $8 million on debris removal to date, but due to confusion surrounding FEMA requirements for reimbursements, the county has so far contracted Texas-based DRC Emergency Services to only haul debris from state and private, paved roads. Along with other costs associated with post-Florence relief efforts, the county’s crucial fund balance has been depleted to $909,000, according to commissioner David Piepmeyer.
RELATED: Pender County commissioners block plan to remove debris on private, unpaved roads
According to the North Carolina Department of Transportation (NCDOT), 562 of the county’s roads are dirt or gravel — or at least contain sections of dirt or gravel — making up 194 miles.
At the last Pender County board meeting, federal grant consultant Steve Clark clarified that FEMA had recently expanded their scope of reimbursements to include the removal of debris along unpaved roads.
Piepmeyer later joined Jackie Newton and Fred McCoy in holding back their support for a motion made by David Williams to spend an estimated $1 million to resolve the issue, using $800,000 earmarked for a future land acquisition to build a new county jail. He also argued that $4.9 million loaned to Pender County Schools would soon be repaid after the state announced it would make reimbursements for mold and mildew remediation.
‘They pay the same taxes I do’
Samantha Worrell, a 32-year old activist who lives on a paved road between Burgaw and Rocky Point, believes the community should rally behind its lower-income residents affected by the decision.
“They pay taxes just like everybody else, and the fact that they can’t afford to have their roads paved is no excuse for the debris to not be picked up,” Worrell said. “There are two separate realities for everything in this country: one if you have money and one if you don’t. And that goes all the way to little counties like ours.”
After living in Pender and New Hanover counties her entire life, she argued that a new county jail has been needed — and discussed — for more than a decade. She had little confidence it would be built anytime soon.
She also expressed frustration in a lack of evidence the county was correctly prioritizing its budget, especially after a raise on property taxes in 2015 by 17 cents per $100.
“A lot of people don’t see what’s going on in the first place, other than the sheriff and school superintendent getting raises. Our roads are terrible, especially after the hurricane — there are potholes everywhere. I’m not accusing them of any sort of shadiness, but I don’t think priorities are in the right place,” Worrell said.
Resident Katie Gallagher has been appealing to Williams and U.S. House Representative David Rouzer to advocate for the debris removal. She said Rouzer’s office confirmed to her that FEMA will reimburse those expenses.
When asked, Rouzer’s press secretary Danielle Smotkin said FEMA has certain requirements that must be met for counties to receive reimbursements following debris removal, but it is a case-by-case process.
“Ultimately, local officials must argue their case to FEMA as to why the locality should receive a reimbursement for the removal of debris along private, unpaved roads. After hearing the argument, FEMA will then make a decision,” Smotkin said.
“They’re afraid to front the money in case they don’t get it back,” Gallagher said. “It’s wrong. I live on a paved road and my debris was picked up. My fellow county citizens pay the same taxes I do.”
‘Lesser of two evils’
Before the motion was denied, commissioner George Brown expressed support for Williams’ motion but could not second it as acting chairman of the board. He also expressed an understanding of the other commissioners’ financial hesitations.
“It was a fair position for them to take, but Mr. Williams and I have been at this a little bit longer than the rest of them,” Brown later said. “We’re more confident that FEMA’s going to reimburse, it just takes a lot of time.”
He argued that it was not a cut-and-dry position, and still supports hauling the debris as much as avoiding the depletion of the fund balance — crucial now as a county audit approaches.
Brown issued a statement on the issue:
I think hauling the debris is the lesser of the evils. I’d rather pay the million now then later when we’re forced to do something about it because of health and safety issues, and then it costs us more than a million.
I think the other commissioners are so concerned about the financial aspect of it, they’re not thinking about the other fallout from this: I would prefer to treat all of our citizens the same, or as many as we can. Which means if we’re going down private roads we might as well go down all the private roads, for an extra million dollars.
I can’t force commissioners to vote a certain way. All they see is the fact that it will cost an extra million dollars and they just don’t think we’re in the position to take that chance. And I have to respect that decision.
These things have tendency to start off a powder keg: now you got some of the residents saying, ‘You’re going down paved private roads, why are they better than we are? Why are you looking out for them over us?’
For Gallagher, it is not so complicated of an issue.
“There should be no question, in my mind, it has to be picked up. It just has to be,” Gallagher said.
Mark Darrough can be reached at Mark@Localvoicemedia.com
