Spruce Pine reminds western NC ‘we’re in this together’

Nine months after Hurricane Helene tore through the Southeast, the recovery process is just beginning. As communities rebuild their lives and towns, the Carolina Journal revisits some of the state’s hardest-hit areas to assess what recovery looks like, what’s still missing, and how far there is to go.

While much progress has been made in Spruce Pine, the city is still wading through bureaucratic red tape and navigating government processes that do not proceed quickly to tackle more than 70 significant projects in a post-Helene world. 

“We’ve come a long way for sure,” town manager Daniel Stines told the Carolina Journal. “After the first of the year, many of our projects were solidified and cleaned up within the FEMA grants portal system.”

Stines also said the town hired a full-time grants administrator to handle anything Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) related when it became apparent to him very early on that it would be a full-time job.  

Stines told CJ they have several FEMA projects rolling — encompassing everything from slide and culvert repairs to temporary repairs, local parks, and the wastewater treatment facility. The costs of these projects are estimated at $5 million. 

“We’ve still got numerous large projects that are still in the debate phase with FEMA on solidifying the final dollar amounts,” said Stines. “Our wastewater plant is back up at 100% functionality temporarily. We have some temporary measures in place, such as our belt press system is gone, so we’ve got a temporary screw press that’s in a shipping container, and we’ve got that all hooked up and working and running.” 

Town officials are working with FEMA to solidify plans to rebuild the water treatment facility completely. 

Stines said they have several Requests for Quotation (RFQs) out, including one for the wastewater treatment plant and another for Riverside Park, which Hurricane Helene washed away. Town officials are working to finalize the numbers for FEMA for the design and engineering needed to rebuild the park. The town has already secured an engineering firm to rebuild the pedestrian bridge that was washed away. The bridge connects the business district to the downtown area and Riverside Park, so the town is working on rebuilding connectivity.  

A few businesses have reopened since Helene, and at least two more are expected to reopen in the next three to four weeks. Stines also told CJ that a new restaurant, Mad Platter Pizza, would open soon.

“They’ve taken over one of the old buildings and will be reopening down there on the lower street,” said Stines. “So as far as businesses and commerce on Lower Street impacted in the flood district, we’re getting some really good success down there, people are getting back open, and we’ve got several things going down there.”

Spruce Pine has received some funding through cash-flow loans under legislation passed by the North Carolina General Assembly for disaster relief related to Hurricane Helene. The most recent package, the Disaster Recovery Package of 2025-Part II, was passed by the General Assembly on June 26 and signed into law by Gov. Josh Stein on June 27.

Relief funding from the General Assembly helps to carry some of the burden as towns wait for FEMA reimbursements. As noted in a previous interview with the Asheville mayor, there is often a lag in FEMA reimbursements. Stines said they are very grateful to local senators and congressmen for advocating for federal aid. 

“There are numerous grants that have been pushed to the General Assembly and approved, from state recurring funds to small business grant funds, DEQ funds, and the like,” said Stines. “Then most recently, some community development block grant funding; we’ve got our names on a couple of those grants, and we’re actively working on some other project planning to submit for more of those funds.” 

Stines stated that while they are grateful for all the extra grant opportunities and funding that have become available, one of the challenges that many towns in western North Carolina face is that they are working with everything through FEMA. 

“FEMA is an extremely slow organization to work with,” said Stines. “Particularly here in Spruce Pine, we have over 70 projects with FEMA, so the best way to look at that is 70 grants. Every single project is its’ own little animal, so until we work through all that, it’s hard to identify what supplemental funding and grant dollars can be applied to what projects. So what we’re having to do is juggle all the FEMA stuff.”

Stines said that while they have over 70 grant projects, their top four priorities are the wastewater treatment plant, Riverside Park, the pedestrian bridge, and the public works facility. The town has already moved to acquire a new land parcel to rebuild the public works facility, as the old site was in the flood zone. 

“I’m working with some engineering companies now to give us a little bit of assistance with site planning on that project where it’s just going to be a pre-engineered building,” said Stines. “It won’t be a very elaborate project, but getting that done and getting those dollars secured so we can try and get those guys in a permanent building we own. We’re leasing a building right now temporarily, getting that build done before winter would be ideal.” 

The pedestrian bridge is another high-priority project for the town because the community really needs “a little bit of tangible hope,” said Stines. “It’s almost symbolism toward bridging the community back and making that connectivity again.” 

Stines has emphasized patience as he knows that working through government processes can be really slow, and having worked in local government for many years, he can understand and sympathize with that. 

“Government is slow,” said Stines. “There are many reasons behind that. We have a lot of checks and balances we have to go through; we hold ourselves to a lot of standards. We’re in this thing together; we’re not the only community Helene impacted. We’re to help in any way we can, if there are communities out there that need any assistance from us, or there’s anything we can do.”

Stines welcomed communities in need to reach out, whether to ask for advice or share stories, saying he’s not afraid to pick up the phone and ask for advice. He extended the reminder that “we’re in this together.”  

“We’re here to help however we can,” said Stines. “And not just our community but our neighbors here in western North Carolina.”

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