Latest news with #NorthCarolinaDepartmentof
Yahoo
22-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
How a disaster recovery firm pitched itself to North Carolina, years after losing prior contract
A storm-damaged home in western North Carolina. (Photo: North Carolina Department of Commerce HUD CDBG-DR Helene recovery Action Plan) The firm that will run North Carolina's Hurricane Helene recovery program in the western mountains, as it sought to win the critical contract, described itself as the only one up to the task. 'Only the HORNE Team has the system, expertise, and experience required to deliver this mission quickly and bring thousands of North Carolinians back home,' wrote one of the firm's partners to the state. Mississippi-based Horne LLP won the $81.5 million bid earlier this month. It will implement a $1.4 billion federal housing grant, overseeing an array of other contractors as western North Carolina looks to rebuild from the deadliest storm in state history. Horne's bid, which won out over four other firms, was first reported by Inside Climate News. Horne's successful application for the contract, obtained by NC Newsline through a public records request, details the company's extensive prior work and contracts: $31.5 million to rebuild in Florida in 2020, and $190 million in Mississippi after Hurricane Katrina. Mentioned just once in the redacted version of the 350-page plan is the N.C. Office of Recovery and Resiliency, the state office that tapped Horne as prime contractor from 2019 to 2022. The state did not renew the contract amid complaints of poor case management and communication across eastern North Carolina. Three years later, Horne will once again be at the helm of disaster recovery in the Tar Heel State. And the firm has pledged top-flight customer service, robust in-person staffing and expansive outreach to survivors. In a hearing Thursday morning, Republican lawmakers said Horne's return to North Carolina disaster work raised a red flag. 'This is a process that promised to learn from past failures, but it's already raising some serious concerns,' said House Majority Leader Brenden Jones (R-Columbus), who co-chairs the General Assembly's committee on hurricane recovery. A spokesperson for Horne declined to comment, saying the firm was not authorized to speak for the program. The NC Department of Commerce, which is overseeing the federal grant money and Helene recovery program, provided materials to NC Newsline showing that Horne scored the highest of all bidders in grading by the state's contract review committee. The state's offer with Horne is set to span three years. After that period, the state can choose to re-up the contract for one year, up to six years total. In the first year, the firm projects the largest cost to be assessing damage and conducting an environmental review. That will cost an estimated $15.6 million. Outreach and intake for survivors and homeowners in the first year is expected to cost around $11 million. Key to Horne's outreach plan is partnering with local nonprofits and organizations. Patriot Relief, a North Carolina-based hurricane relief nonprofit, is set to knock on doors and use data tracking to find survivors who may be eligible. And the firm plans to blast out materials online, in local media and even by mail in both English and Spanish. 'Outreach efforts will have intentional focus to reach the unreachable and offer aid to those most in need,' Horne writes in its application. Among the other local groups Horne has tapped as partners: Endeavors, a Christian crisis care organization with offices in Jacksonville and Fayetteville; and SWCA, an environmental consulting practice with offices in Cary and Charlotte. The firm plans to set up three offices in western North Carolina — in Boone, Weaverville and Marion. The Marion intake center would remain open for the entire recovery process; Boone and Weaverville offices would be open for at least six months. Horne plans to source staff locally — outlining a series of three job fairs, including in Buncombe and Watauga counties. The state has required the contractor to have at least 25% of their staff locally hired; Horne wrote that it aims to 'hit or surpass 75%.' Details on how exactly Horne will oversee construction are scant. Portions of its application outlining the timeline, inspections, diagrams, warranties and more have been redacted. But the firm has pledged to work quickly, 'without sacrificing the homeowner's experience in the process.' In the bid, Horne included photos of rebuilt homes in Florida that remained sturdy under two hurricanes. 'Speed is no longer a goal; it is an expectation,' the firm wrote. 'When it comes to housing programs, speed is service. We know your homeowners have one goal in mind, and that is to return home as quickly as possible.' Horne has recently faced legal action in other states over disaster recovery projects. Last month, the company paid $1.2 million in a settlement agreement with the federal government in West Virginia. A spokesperson told Inside Climate News the company had not admitted any wrongdoing. State officials said Thursday that they learned of the West Virginia settlement after the contract window had closed. Horne provided the state with a copy of the settlement agreement. Included in Horne's application were three top staffers it planned to deploy to lead the Helene project. Kelly Huck is set to be the program director. Huck, who will be based in Raleigh, is the firm's director of government services. He previously led a project in Florida using the same federal grant money, serving as construction director after Hurricanes Ian and Michael. Milena Caterino, who served as a senior manager and deputy construction manager on the Florida contract after Michael, is the proposed construction manager. And Bob Harland, who has served as Horne's tech director on a number of disaster projects, has been put forward as tech manager. Both would be based in North Carolina. Gov. Josh Stein's advisor for western North Carolina, Jonathan Krebs, worked for Horne until April 2024, Inside Climate News reported. Krebs was last paid by the firm in December, the governor's office said. He was not involved in the review committee and 'will not financially benefit from it,' a spokesperson said. 'I do not participate or particularly care who they picked to do the work,' Krebs told state lawmakers Thursday. Jones, the House majority leader, argued that Krebs' role in drafting the state solicitation was a 'blatant conflict.' Krebs pushed back on that accusation, saying that 'recusing myself from that activity would nullify my role.' Another lawmaker viewed his prior work for the firm as a plus. '[He could] understand some of their processes, identify red flags,' said Sen. Warren Daniel (R-Caldwell). Horne's bid earned 184 out of 200 possible points from the state's five-person committee, according to a recommendation memo provided to NC Newsline. The committee noted the firm's experience with single-family housing, as well as 'glowing references' from South Carolina, Florida and Mississippi. Its technical plan was 'well-researched and planned.' And Horne's recommended leaders were qualified, the committee noted, but lacked experience building housing 'in places with characteristics similar to western NC.' 'Horne was by far the best vendor selection,' said Stephanie McGarrah, who is leading the new Commerce division tasked with overseeing Helene operations, on Thursday. Horne's price for the contract fell in between the other two bidders, according to the state. Hunt, Guillot & Associates, LLC, another bidder, earned the next-highest score at 161 points. That firm offered the highest price, at $87.1 million. And it was docked for its lesser experience in specific services, as well as key leaders not relocating to North Carolina. A third bidder, Tidal Basin, provided the lowest price but had 'significant weaknesses' in qualifications. Its recommendations were also lacking — the city of Brunswick, Georgia told the committee 'they would not recommend' hiring the group. Tidal Basin earned 140 points. Two other bidders were deemed non-responsive. McGarrah said Thursday she was 'personally very disappointed' that one of those bidders, IEM, did not submit a qualifying offer. They did not provide required financial documents. 'You need to understand, this is a very small group of companies that do this kind of work,' McGarrah said. The state review committee for the contract included McGarrah, Tommy Clark, the executive director of the NC Pandemic Recovery Office; and Konrad Wisniewski, public information officer for the Department of Commerce. Allan Sandoval, who is CIO at Commerce, and Mark Poole, who leads the Commerce Finance Center, served as subject matter experts. They did not have voting power. Asked by Rep. Mark Pless (R-Haywood) whether she would redo the bidding process knowing what she knows now, McGarrah said she would not. The housing process is already expected to take three to four years, she estimated. 'I do think we made the right decision,' she said. 'I also think that it just slows the recovery down. It's slow already. It's so frustrating.' Horne LLP application
Yahoo
02-04-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
N.C. Commerce Secretary Lilley announces grants to support businesses impacted by Hurricane Helene
RALEIGH, N.C. (WNCT) — On Wednesday, April 2, 2025, N.C. Commerce Secretary Lee Lilley announced that the North Carolina Department of Commerce will be providing funds to minimize the damage of layoffs caused by Hurricane Helene. The Hurricane Helene Business Edge Fund will offer $500,000 in grant funding for local workforce boards serving the Western North Carolina counties that were most impacted by the storm, which will help communities retain jobs and businesses. 'This innovative grant program is one of numerous tools we are using to support long-term economic recovery for western North Carolina,' N.C. Commerce Secretary Lilley said. 'It is essential that we help employers, particularly small businesses, to save jobs, adapt and rebuild.' The Hurricane Helene Business Edge Fund is managed through the Governor's Rapid Response program at the North Carolina Department of Commerce's Division of Workforce Solutions (DWS). Business Edge hopes to engage with employers to lessen layoffs to help them through each stage of the business life cycle. Once workforce development boards in the region apply to DWS for funding, they may provide grants of up to $10,000 each to eligible businesses and community-based organizations. There are certain counties that will be eligible to apply for their local workforce board, which are Ashe, Avery, Burke, Buncombe, Caldwell, Haywood, Henderson, Madison, McDowell, Mitchell, Polk, Rutherford, Transylvania, Watauga, and Yancey. Businesses must have been in operation for at least two years, be current on Unemployment Insurance (UI) taxes, and be in good standing with the Internal Revenue Service to apply. The application should voice a need for layoff aversion support and outline reasonable uses for the funds. Local workforce development boards may add their own application requirements. Business cannot use the Business Edge Fund for products or services covered by insurance, hazard pay, rent, employee wages and benefits, certain support services for employees, and improvements, upgrades, or equipment that contribute to the capital assets of the business. To apply for the Hurricane Helene Business Edge Fund, businesses should contact their local workforce development board or NC Works Career Center. Contact information for local workforce boards is available at Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Axios
24-02-2025
- Business
- Axios
Apple makes multi-billion-dollar commitment to Phoenix manufacturing
Apple on Monday morning announced plans to invest more than $500 billion in the U.S. and hire 20,000 people over the next four years, with expansion and construction planned from coast to coast. Zoom in: This includes a multibillion-dollar commitment to produce advanced silicon at the Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company plant in north Phoenix and expanded operations at Apple's Mesa facility. The big picture: The new jobs will focus on research and development, silicon engineering, software development, and AI and machine learning. Apple plans to greatly expand chip and server manufacturing in the U.S., plus skills development for students and workers across the country. Apple CEO Tim Cook said in the announcement: "We are bullish on the future of American innovation, and we're proud to build on our longstanding U.S. investments with this $500 billion commitment to our country's future." "From doubling our Advanced Manufacturing Fund [from $5 billion to $10 billion], to building advanced technology in Texas, we're thrilled to expand our support for American manufacturing," Cook added. "And we'll keep working with people and companies across this country to help write an extraordinary new chapter in the history of American innovation." The backstory: President Trump met with Cook on Thursday in the Oval Office. Then Trump got so excited that he revealed the plans prematurely, saying on-camera while meeting with governors that Cook is "investing hundreds of billions of dollars. I hope he's announced it — I hope I didn't announce it, but what the hell? All I do is tell the truth — that's what he told me. Now he has to do it, right?" The big picture: Apple says it now supports nearly 3 million jobs across the U.S. through direct employment, work with suppliers and manufacturers, and developer jobs in the iOS app economy. Apple already works with thousands of suppliers across all 50 states, including 24 factories in 12 states. Apple's U.S. Advanced Manufacturing Fund has supported projects in 13 states, helping build local businesses and train workers. Reality check: Apple made a similar announcement four years ago. In 2021, Apple committed $430 billion in U.S. investments and 20,000 new jobs across the country over five years — including a new campus in Research Triangle Park, North Carolina, where development was paused last year. Apple says it has worked with North Carolina Gov. Josh Stein (D) and the North Carolina Department of Commerce to extend the project's timeline. Apple says it continues to grow its teams in the Tar Heel State — both at corporate offices in Raleigh and at a data center in Catawba, where the company has exceeded planned investments.
