CHARLESTON —Two months after being named point man for long-term flood relief in West Virginia, Adjutant Gen. James Hoyer says he is seeing significant progress.
“I’m pleased with where we are at the 60-day point of us taking this on. By no means do I consider us to be in a position to pat ourselves on the back. We’ve got lots of work to do,” Hoyer told reporters Aug. 8.
Hoyer also said during an update Wednesday that so much housing progress has been made by volunteer organizations that West Virginia might be able to reallocate millions of federal dollars toward infrastructure and long-term economic development.
Hoyer began today’s news conference at the Capitol by describing 1,624 housing relief cases that have been closed through the efforts of West Virginia Volunteer Organizations Active in Disaster and other nonprofit efforts.
“A lot of people have put blood, sweat and tears and a lot of time and effort into making sure people are getting cared for,” Hoyer says.
That effort has provided tremendous help for victims of West Virginia’s 2016 flood — but it’s separate from the $150 million in long-term flood relief grants the state obtained from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development.
That effort has sputtered, with only 17 houses completed and considered habitable as of today, more than two years after the floods struck. One more house is expected to be complete by the end of the week.
Two months ago, Gov. Jim Justice promised to get long-term flood relief moving at “lightning speed.”
As of July 31, HUD continued to label West Virginia a “slow spender,” an official designation.
West Virginia had $149,875,000 available and had spent $147,802,990.
HUD says that pace averages out to $311,114 a month over the past three months.
An official action plan for long-term recovery from the 2016 floods estimated that housing repairs and replacement could exceed $300 million.
The action plan also estimated about 1,000 housing units for the most vulnerable residents still represent an unmet need.
At Wednesday’s press conference, Hoyer said the latest housing need tally through RISE West Virginia is 435 cases.
Of those,163 represent reconstruction, 157 are rehabilitations, 109 are mobile home replacements and 6 that still need to be categorized.
So the total housing need out of the HUD funds is a big difference from what West Virginia originally estimated.
West Virginia officials have been talking for months about the possibility of reallocating some of the federal flood relief money from housing relief toward infrastructure and economic development.
Hoyer elaborated Wednesday on that possibility.
“My gut instinct tells me right now, particularly in light of the number I gave you earlier — the 1,624 cases — that accounts for millions of dollars of donated dollars,” Hoyer said. “I don’t think we’re going to spend the housing number alloted in that $150 million.”
Reallocating the remaining money into a broader strategic plan for community development is a likely outcome, Hoyer said.
“I believe we’re going to have the opportunity to sit down with HUD and take the governor’s vision for the plan and what we develop and move some of those dollars into areas that will allow us to focus on community redevelopment,” Hoyer said.
Millions of dollars were already allocated toward community economic development in West Virginia’s original action plan approved by HUD.
Hoyer said the full $149 million from HUD should still be available for long-term flood relief, even if priorities are shuffled.
“Once we’ve identified and we, the state of West Virginia, and HUD have agreed that we’ve met the housing need we have the ability to work with them in the action plan to reallocate dollars into economic development and other pieces,” Hoyer said.
