By Erin Smith
The damage assessment is still under way in Bladen County from Hurricane Florence. Reports of property damage are still being received from various county departments and organizations.
Bladen County Emergency Management Director Bradley Kinlaw lead a discussion of the recovery efforts on Monday afternoon.
“We are still in the process of collecting and analyzing this data,” said Kinlaw.
He said the county has just recently received the numbers for the American Red Cross. Kinlaw also said they have compiled information from fire departments, building inspections, and FEMA representatives.
Kinlaw shared some statics with the Bladen County Commissioners and others gathered at the Powell-Melvin Agricultural Center in Elizabethtown. They are as follows:
*1,002 homes are reported to have minor damage;
*581 homes are reported to have moderate damage;
*153 homes either have major damage or were destroyed.
Kinlaw said he anticipates once all of the data has been analyzed that the numbers will change only slightly. He said the county could see as many as 300 structures that will eventually be classified as having major damage or destroyed.
“I feel like some of those with moderate damage will turn into major damage especially with this mold as it continues to grow,” said Kinlaw.
Kinlaw said county staff have also begun the first steps in the process of recouping the funds spent thus far.
Bladen County General Services Manager Kip McClarey updated everyone on county-owned properties and clean up.
“We received a considerable amount of damage on several of our buildings. The worst of which was at the courthouse. We have had our insurance carrier out, he has been with men a couple fo days surveying all of the damage on the buildings,” said McClarey.
He explained county staff are performing mold treatment, replacing wall surfaces that were damaged on north end of the building, and performing remediation in the courthouse.
“This building sustained some damage in the rear, wet floors , some ceilings leaked,” said McClarey,
He said a roofing contractor has been out and inspected the roofs of the county buildings and data is still being gathered on roof damage.
McClarey also said the Rowan Solid Waste site was completely destroyed in Hurricane Florence. He said the office building was destroyed but has since been replaced with a temporary structure and the site is back up and running.
In Kelly, the rescue building was completely flooded and the county communications tower located on Natmore Road in Kelly was completely under water. McClarey explained the radio equipment and a generator that were housed in the building at the tower sight were damaged when the building was completely inundated with flood water. He estimated repairs to it to be $30,000 which includes a county-owned generator that was destroyed.
“We had a couple of fences, one of which was on the new jail at the LEC damaged by trees falling,” said McClarey. Those fences have been repaired.
Commissioner Ophelia Munn-Goins was recognized and asked, “What are you doing to protect those employees when you are talking about mold in the courthouse?” 
“We’ve already done some air testing in there. There was only two locations that were found to be of significance. One was the district court room and one was the B17 room. We have gone in and spot cleaned and removed visible mold that was in that location and are working on getting the equipment inhere not to actually go in and do a fog treatment in those rooms to ensure there is no more health hazard in there,” said McClarey.
“Meanwhile, they are working there and they have been,” said Commissioner Munn-Goins.
McClarey said that the County has been working to reduce the humidity levels in those rooms and elevation levels for mold should only have an impact on someone who is severely allergic.
Captain Jeff Singletary with the Bladen County Sheriff’s Office gave more details regarding the communications tower in Kelly. He said the equipment in the building that was last consisted of paging equipment and receivers and the generator which provides back up power to the system.
“We’ve got (radio) coverage. We can perform necessary operations,” said Captain Singletary.
Commissioner Michael Cogdell asked about the costs to repair the tower and McClarey said the county is waiting to receive quotes.
McClarey also discussed the amount of debris that has been disposed of through Bladen County Solid Waste Transfer Station. There have been 302 tons of brown goods and 178 tons of construction debris.
He said the NC Department of Transportation was ordered by Governor Roy Cooper to assist with picking up debris along the roadsides. McClarey encouraged residents to separate debris into leaf and limb, construction debris, and metal and appliances.
Commissioner Munn-Goins asked when NC DOT would be picking up in various areas and Chairman Ray Britt said it is his understanding there is a 45-day bidding process for contracts to pick up the debris.
“To me, it becomes a safety issue on the highway. It bothered me it (debris) has to sit there that long,” said Commissioner Munn-Goins.
Bladen County Disaster Relief Coordinator Kelly Robeson said the County is currently operating one disaster distribution center at the Paul H. Sessoms building on Cypress Street in Elizabethtown. She said the distribution center at Centerville Church in Kelly has closed.
She added they are trying to get supplies housed at Natmore Baptist Church moved to the Community Building in Kelly.
Robeson said they are also working to develop an application for those impacted buy the disaster to determine their exact needs.
The NC Emergency Management has assisted with supplying water, MREs, and tarps. Kinlaw said the County has received 1,000 tarps in the past week.
When the discussion turned to FEMA’s role. Chairman Ray Britt said there have been issues with the response.
“When we had a disaster and the storm hit, somehow or another, we (Bladen County) got off the (disaster declaration) list at the very beginning. That was corrected,” said Chairman Britt.
He explained that Bladen County Emergency Management Director Bradley Kinlaw reported he was running into “issues” where FEMA was concerned. Chairman Britt did not itemize the issues. Chairman Britt did say he contacted Bob Nadeau, Acting Director of FEMA, and he was assured the issues would be handled and things would change. Chairman Britt said he learned this week that nothing has changed.
“I called the White House and Spoke with Brittany Carter. I explained the situation. I don’t know where the break down is but there is a gap of misunderstanding,” said Chairman Britt.
A representative with the NC Emergency Management said she was not sure why Bladen County had not been approved for temporary disaster housing. She said when she inquired about the reason, she was told there are 31 rental properties that are being shown as available. She added officials do not feel those numbers are accurate and they are attempting to get a more accurate accounting of how many rental properties are available.
Kinlaw said there is a program through FEMA called Direct Housing Program and that will provide FEMA campers.
Alicia Roper with FEMA was present and stated their teams are trying to get out to everyone in the county who has suffered damage. She emphasized that if you received a rejection letter not to throw it away but to read it in its entirety and follow the process. In some instances, people have been referred to the Small Business Administration. If they are rejected by the SBA, they will be referred back to FEMA to be reconsidered.
Roper also said they can come go to a FEMA Disaster Recovery Center and let the FEMA representative look over their application and see if there is a missing document or file an appeal.
Commissioner Ashley Trivette asked, “Why does it (the process of filing for aid) have be so complicated?”
Roper explained that many people see the word denied and assume they have rejected without reading the entire letter when in reality that is not the case. She emphasized it is very important to read the entire letter and follow any instructions contained in the letter.
A resident from Kelly, asked if FEMA felt $158.68 or $201 was sufficient to repair flood damaged homes?
He explained that he had no insurance and was not given any other information and he has no where else to go. He explained the duct work was damaged, his car was flooded and he lost the heating and air conditioning unit.
“You need to contact the Disaster Assistance Center,” said Roper.
He said he applied for an SBA loan but is unsure if he will qualify. Roper explained if he is denied an SBA loan he can reapply to FEMA.
Commissioner Arthur Bullock asked, “If the apply for SBA loan and then don’t want it, what then?”
The response was if a person turns down an SBA loan, that could potentially end the process for receiving assistance.
Roper reminded everyone the first call should be to the insurance company and then contact FEMA for disaster assistance. She also said people who had a claim in Hurricane Matthew and have damage again in Florence are still eligible to apply for disaster relief. Roper siad each disaster is looked at separately.
FEMA Disaster Survival Assistance have also been out in the county. they have been to Bladenboro, Clarkton, White Oak and Kelly areas. Until this week, they had not been to East Arcadia and Carvers Creek. An email from Rebecca Kelly with FEMA on Thursday morning stated teams are now visiting East Arcadia and Carvers Creek.
FEMA said as of Monday, they have visited 1,600 homes and have received 2,750 registrations for FEMA assistance in the county.
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