Replacing Carrboro Public Works Building Could Cost $10 Million

GOVERNMENT

CARRBORO—Tropical Storm Chantal was only a tropical depression when it hit Carrboro, but it still hit hard. Homes were flooded, businesses destroyed, and Carrboro’s Public Works facility is a write-off.

“The facility is located adjacent to a FEMA Zone AE floodplain and Morgan Creek, creating an ongoing flood risk,” Assistant Town Manager Marie Parker said in an email interview. “To ensure the safety of employees and responsibly manage Town assets, Public Works staff have vacated the site.”

When Chantal Came

Tropical Storm Chantal made landfall in South Carolina early in July. Moving north, it downgraded to a depression, but still dumped 8 to 10 inches of rain on the Triangle. More than 17 roads were closed in Orange County, thousands of residents lost power and the county had to open a shelter for residents displaced by storm damage.

The storm hit Carrboro’s town government harder than expected. When the potential peril became clear, Carrboro Public Works Director Kevin Belanger and his department relocated the vehicles parked in the Public Works facility to higher ground. It wasn’t high enough.

The last time the Public Works building had flooded, Belanger said at a post-Chantal press conference, the water had been one inch deep. In Chantal, “We had three and a half feet of water in the entire building.” As the facility handles maintenance and repairs for Carrboro’s town vehicles, the flooding also destroyed police cars, mowers, and trash-collection vehicles on the property. Other local governments loaned Carrboro vehicles so the town could keep providing services.

Replacing the building, though? That’s going to be tougher.

“We’re still assessing the damage and the dollar amount,” Town Manager Patrice Toney said at the time. “We don’t want to set a value yet.” Fortunately, she said, the budget for 2025-6 is conservative so the town has some wiggle room. “Maybe we tighten our belt in other areas.”

Zone AE

Allstate Insurance says any property classified as Zone A is high-risk by the federal government’s standards: it hasa 1 percent chance of annual flooding and a 26 percent chance of flooding over a 30 year period. When a Zone AE site floods, wave heights don’t normally rise above three feet.

“Even at 1% over time, this can translate into considerable risk,” Allstate’s website says, “and just one major flood can be potentially disastrous.”

Too disastrous after Chantal for Carrboro to want to rebuild on the same site, Parker said. “Due to the history of flooding, the town is evaluating alternative locations that would be more suitable and sustainability-focused.”

Parker said depending on the site the town finally selects, a new facility could cost $10 – 12 million. The town is collecting insurance for the flood damage and figuring out how to use the money.

“In North Carolina, when a municipality receives insurance proceeds, the funds are treated as municipal revenue and must be properly deposited and tracked,” Parker said. “The Town Council must authorize how the proceeds are spent, typically through approval of a plan or a budget amendment if the expenditure was not already included in the budget.”

That will have to wait until the Carrboro town council resumes its meetings in September, Parker said.

Loans for those trying to recover

Carrboro’s town government isn’t alone in having to rebuild after Chantal. If you’re a homeowner, you can apply to the federal Small Business Administration (SBA) for a loan of up to $500,000 for recovery costs. Business owners can apply for loans of up to $2 million.

The town website says the small business loans — including loans to agricultural cooperatives and nonprofits — can help meet working-capital needs caused by Chantal. Businesses can apply even if they didn’t suffer any damage to physical property. Homeowners can borrow up to $500,000 to repair or replace damaged real estate; homeowners and renters can borrow up to $100,000 to replace or repair personal property.

Applicants who want to borrow money to prevent future damage can ask for a 20 percent loan increase. They can use the added money to, for example, build a safe room, storm shelter or retaining wall or to install a sump pump or French drain.

The SBA says the interest rate on the loan ranges from 2.8 for a homeowner with no other sources of credit to 8 percent for a business that can borrow money elsewhere. Applicants must have an acceptable credit history and the ability to repay the money eventually. The SBA can give borrowers as much as 30 years to repay the loan, with monthly payments set according to the borrower’s circumstance.

The SBA will have a loan outreach center at the Drakeford Library Complex through Aug. 30 to help with the loan application process. The center runs 9:30 AM to 5 PM Monday through Friday, 10 AM to 2 PM Saturday and 10 AM to 1 PM Aug. 30, the final Saturday. The center takes walk-ins or you can schedule an appointment online. Center staff can help applicants complete their paperwork, accept documentation or provide updates. The SBA will accept online loan applications through Sept. 23 for physical damage and April 27 of next year for economic damages.

Fraser Sherman has worked for newspapers, including the Destin Log, the Pensacola News-Journal and the Raleigh Public Record. Born in England, he’d still live in Florida if he hadn’t met the perfect woman and moved to Durham to marry her. He’s the author of several film reference books and has published one novel and several short story collections. This reporter can be reached at: Information@TheLocalReporter.press