Mitchell County explores storage options for donated supplies
Mariel Williams
editor@mitchellnews.com
Mitchell County is struggling to find space for donated hurricane relief supplies.
The Board of Commissioners discussed the problem of not having enough space to store donated food, water and emergency items at a recent meeting.
“Folks have brought an outpouring to our mountains in general — our mountain region — have you ever seen so much bottled water?” County Manger Allen Cook said. “We’re abundantly blessed, and our warehouses are full. We have huge storages of supplies.”
Duplications is a problem, Cook said. Also, there is concern that food and water supplies could be damaged either by freezing weather or sitting in the sun too long, because plastic degrades in extreme temperatures.
“It’ll cost us at some point to store this,” Cook said.
Some of the volunteers who have been helping distribute supplies suggested that the county should ask would-be donors for more specific items related to recovery, such as mold cleanup and prevention kits, respirators for safe cleanup, and volunteers to help with the cleanup.
Alan English, a Mitchell County Schools board member in the audience at the time, suggested that shovels and chainsaws and related supplies — chains, sharpeners — are a bigger need than bottled water and canned food. A number of school district properties have been used as distribution centers for donated supplies.
“I’ve got a guy that’s coming in this weekend from Ohio with a tractor-trailer,” commissioner Jeff Harding said. “They want to make sure that they put on that tractor-trailer what we need.”
FEMA seizure rumors
Harding noted that he has heard rumors in the community that the donated supplies might be threatened by outside interference, and he asked County Attorney Four Eggers to clarify whether or not that could be a problem.
“There are concerns with our distribution centers that if FEMA [Federal Emergency Management Agency] so chooses they can come in and take our distribution center over and take that product out of distribution,” Harding said.
FEMA liaison officer Josh Green said that there is no regulation that allows this to happen.
“There are no grounds for FEMA to take over or commandeer or have really much interaction with any of the state-led or county-led donation centers,” Green said.
Harding said that people hear rumors and start to panic sometimes, and that he appreciates Green being at meetings to clarify these issues.
Donated space in Lenoir
Cook said that Donald Duncan Jr., the county manager of Caldwell County, has offered warehouse space to store donated items.
Cook expressed concern that storing supplies outside the county could cause extra difficulties in shipping and retrieving the items when they are needed. Board chair Harley Masters said that will not be a problem.
“So, it was presented to me that if it was to be put there, it would be palletized, shrink-wrapped, and given a list to the county so we would know what was there,” Masters said. “Then once a week, if we needed something, the National Guard would bring it up to us.”
“See, now that would be a good set-up,” Cook said.
Harding noted that it is nice to have so much free stuff that there’s nowhere to put it.
“We’re sitting here having this conversation, but it’s a good conversation to have,” Harding said.