To: Pat Noonan, John Turner, Larry Selzer, Norm Christensen, Raiza McCutchan
Cc: Danyelle O’Hara, Mikki Sager, Dick Ludington, John Rogers
From: Heather Fisher
Date: June 6, 2001
Re: Kinston Visit and Basinwide Planning Meeting
I made my first visit to Kinston yesterday, to meet with Carla Kennedy and Waylan Humphrey of Lenoir County. We discussed the development of a GIS database to depict where flood victims have moved and to track the progress of buy-out property demolition. This information will help the city of Kinston and the county assess the degree of sprawl caused by flood victim displacement and help these governments plan community development.
I learned important details concerning the buy-out program. For example, some homes were appraised around $25,000. The county was able to provide more funding to these residents so that they could afford to buy another home on the condition that they relocate within Lenoir County. Thus, most of the bought-out residents relocated within Lenoir county.
Thomas Bottoms and Carla Kennedy also took me to several flood damaged areas. Within the floodplain, w saw homes to be demolished and some in which the residents were still living. As with the ECU conference, this visit gave me an important perspective on the real disaster as I attempt to depict its effects.
In the evening I attended the Neuse Basinwide Planning Meeting for Durham. The progress of Basinwide Water Quality Plan concerns Kinston because the plan includes run-off reduction in urban areas. Planners predict much increased development in the upper Neuse river basin, and such development could increase future flooding in downstream cities like Kinston. By January 2002, North Carolina’s Department of Natural Resources Water Quality Division will draft the next basinwide plan and hold meetings for public comment. I’m contacting the organizations involved to see how I can participate in this effort, representing Kinston and other downstream communities.
Please visit my project website for more information on my work: http://www.duke.edu/~hls4/tcf.htm