Tag: RISE

RISE Nears Completion While New Homeowners Face Insurance Issues

West Virginia Department of Economic Development Community Advancement and Development Division updates Joint Legislative Committee on Flooding on RISE program.

Six years after the flooding disaster of 2016, West Virginia’s RISE flood relief program is finishing with its relief spending.

The West Virginia Department of Economic Development (DED) Community Advancement and Development (CAD) Division RISE program is funded by $149 million worth of Community Development Block Grants (CDBG) from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development.

As of June 1st, RISE has spent $3,921,506.69 of its $6.8 million block grant disaster recovery budget. The funding was used to complete projects on 367 houses through their Housing Restoration & Rental Program and 46 bridges through their Bridge Home Program. According to Jennifer Ferrell, director of the West Virginia DED CAD Division, they plan to complete 20 more housing projects and eight more bridges.

RISE also completed 54 demolition projects out of a total of 80 to 90, through their Clearance and Demolition Program.

“We have elevated 22 percent of the houses out of the floodplain and provided flood insurance for some of our applicants,” Ferrell said.

RISE received $106 million from HUD for their mitigation projects.

“HUD defines mitigation as those activities that increase resilience to disasters, lessen the impact of future disasters, and reduce or eliminate long term risk of life and injury, damage to or loss of property and suffering and hardship,” Ferrell said.

Over $65 million was awarded to 18 projects, including two water treatment plants, two dams, one sanitary sewer relocation, nine stormwater projects and four planning projects.

RISE is accepting their second group of applications for mitigation projects through June 30. Municipalities, counties, state agencies, nonprofits, and non governmental organizations are eligible to apply for mitigation funding.

When Del. Dean Jeffries, R-Kanawha, asked Ferrell whether or not RISE homeowners could afford flood insurance, she indicated that she doesn’t have the data, but she does “guesstimate” that the amount has tripled.

“If there’s ever another disaster, they cannot receive any type of federal dollars,” Ferrell said when Jeffries asked about the consequences of not paying flood insurance.

The West Virginia RISE plans to finish their disaster recovery projects by the end of September.

RISE’s disaster recovery projects, you can visit www.wvfloodrecovery.com. For more information on their mitigation projects, you can visit https://wvcad.org/infrastructure.

Federal Officials Investigate West Virginia Flood Program

A program that helps people rebuild homes that were damaged or destroyed in West Virginia’s 2016 flood has been under federal investigation, a state official told lawmakers.

As a result of the investigation by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, RISE West Virginia is on a corrective action plan, said Michelle Tharp Penaloza, who is program director for the Community Development Block Grant Disaster Recovery for the West Virginia Development Office.

Penaloza revealed the investigation to the Joint Legislative Committee on Monday in response to questions about the program, the Charleston Gazette-Mail reported.

Senate Minority Leader Stephen Baldwin asked why the program had paused work to demolish damaged properties.

Penaloza said federal officials found a need for corrective action in August due to a lack of a duplication of benefits analysis by the West Virginia National Guard, which has helped administer the program.

“It’s been 100% transparent on everything that we’ve discovered,” she said. “For us to walk away with only one finding, I know that it doesn’t feel like a success story, but it really is.”

Baldwin said he was concerned that the investigation had been ongoing but lawmakers were just learning about it.

“We’ve talked about this program for the last three meetings,” he said. “That has never been mentioned. So that’s the answer to the question, ‘Why has this program been paused?’ It’s been under federal investigation.”

Penaloza said state officials have complied with federal standards.

“We now have a program that meets the requirements for the federal HUD grant,” she said.

The state has received $6.8 million to demolish flood-damaged properties and $3.5 million has been spent on 46 projects, Penaloza said. She estimated that the state has enough funding to demolish a total of 91 properties.

Meanwhile, work continues on flood recovery and reconstruction, said Jennifer Farrell, director of community advancement at the West Virginia Development Office.

RISE had built 350 homes and 42 bridges as of the end of November, spending $82 million in federal funds. Officials hope to complete the construction of 37 more new homes by June 2022.

Outgoing W.Va. Lawmakers Gaunch and Upson to Head State Offices

A pair of West Virginia Republican lawmakers who lost reelection bids in November will fill two open cabinet positions.

Gov. Jim Justice appointed outgoing House of Delegates member Jill Upson to fill the position of executive director of the Herbert Henderson Office of Minority Affairs. That office was previously headed by Bill White, who said the governor fired him after he was accused of sexual harassment this fall.

Upson is from Jefferson County. She was the first Republican African-American woman to be elected to the House and was the Vice Chair of the House Banking committee. She also served on the Joint Select Committee on the Prevention and Treatment of Substance Abuse.

Justice also appointed outgoing state Senate member Ed Gaunch of Kanawha County to fill the position of state Secretary of Commerce. That office has had an interim leader since Woody Thrasher stepped down in June amid controversy about the RISE flood recovery program.

Gaunch chaired the Senate Government Organization committee and was Vice Chair on the Finance, Transportation and Infrastructure, and Pensions committees.

Both Upson and Gaunch were defeated in the November midterm election by Democrats. They will assume their new roles in January.

**Editor’s Note: The headline and story were edited to clarify Gaunch and Upson as “outgoing” state lawmakers. The story incorrectly stated they were “former” state lawmakers.

W.Va. National Guard Makes Progress in New Homes for 2016 Flood Victims

The West Virginia National Guard’s Quality Assurance and Control team have inspected and approved eight more new homes this week built for families affected by major flooding in June 2016.

In a press release, the Guard said the homes meet building standards.

This brings the total of completed homes by the RISE campaign to 15.

The release also says there are 51 homes under construction, and 99 other cases that have been approved for building replacements.

In total, there are 435 cases left for homes ranging from reconstruction, to rehabilitation, or replacement of a mobile home.

As a holistic approach to case management, VOAD has provided monetary coverage to families undergoing the RISE case management process with hotel rooms, apartment rental fees, pet and boarding fees.

The Guard has asked for families who still need assistance to call this number: 304-220-2570.

A fraud hotline has also been established for anyone needing to report fraud with regard to the RISE West Virginia program at 1-866-WVWATCH (1-866-989-2824).

Flood Relief Program Official Gets Job with its Contractor

A staffer who resigned from a housing program aimed at helping West Virginia flood victims now has a job with its largest contractor.

The Charleston Gazette-Mail reported Wednesday that Russell Tarry left his job in the state Department of Commerce administrating RISE West Virginia in June as scandal arose around the $150 million federally funded program.

Angel Moore, a lobbyist registered with Thompson Construction, forwarded a letter confirming that Tarry now manages construction projects for Allied Response LLC. Allied is a Thompson contractor that has a $49 million contract with RISE.

State Sen. Ed Gaunch chairs the Joint Legislative Committee on Flooding. He says Tarry’s hiring makes him uncomfortable.

The West Virginia National Guard took on oversight duties of RISE in June. The newspaper couldn’t reach the Guard for comment.

Lawmakers Discuss West Virginia Disaster Housing Rift

West Virginia lawmakers have met again to discuss an embattled housing program aimed at helping 2016 flood victims.

The meeting on the RISE West Virginia program was held Thursday, July 12, at the state Capitol, in Charleston.

The $150 million housing assistance program has been under fire following complaints about poor management and residents receiving no help.

Former RISE West Virginia senior official Mary Jo Thompson was among those to testify. She missed the previous meeting and it was learned that she had resigned. Thompson says when she left about two years after the floods, 11 families assisted by RISE were living in their homes.

Gov. Jim Justice last month named West Virginia Adjutant General James Hoyer to take control of the program which had been overseen by the state Commerce Department.

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