Nov. 29 – Haywood County Commissioner Terry Ramey is on a crusade to find warm places where flood survivors can stay this winter, even if it means suspending housing rules meant to ensure safety.
It is a thorny issue, but he is determined that something must be done quickly.
“I just want people to be warm. I don’t care what it takes,” Ramey said in an interview Wednesday. “We’ve never had anything like this (Helene) before, and I’m trying to work with the state to make this happen. I was chosen to take care of these people. FEMA had two months to get trailers here, and they didn’t do it.”
“There is a man and his two boys, one eight years old and one ten year old, sleeping under a tarp next to their flooded house,” Ramey said. ‘We’re better than this. I’m really worried about the children and the old people.’
The problem is about to worsen.
Federal Emergency Management Agency temporary housing vouchers for rentals and motel stays are running low.
At a recent meeting, county commissioners were told that 150 Haywood families were participating in the program — one that would give them time to figure out a longer-term solution. That program was supposed to end on December 3, but has been postponed to December 12.
In cases like these, FEMA has temporary housing units it can bring into an area, but it has been two months since the flood and Haywood has received two units.
Ramey was part of a video released by Tennessee social media influencer John Ward with the Appalachian Channel, titled, “Tiny Homes for Helene Victims NOT ALLOWED in Haywood: Will County Commissioners Be Heroes or Zeroes?” The video urges viewers to call county commissioners and the county manager’s office and demand action.
As of Friday afternoon, the video had been viewed more than 165,000 times on YouTube. Ramey said he planned to blast it from the State House to the White House.
While the title of the video indicated that the focus was on the isolated storage units built by volunteers, midway through Ward switched to another idea that he apparently came up with on the spot.
The idea was to bring campers to the fair arena for the winter. Ward urged the others in the video, including Ramey, to agree. Ramey stated that he agreed, pointing out that he only had one of the five votes and is pursuing multiple avenues to help flood survivors get out of the cold this winter.
He has worked with Canton Wesleyan Church, where members and volunteers worked with a contractor who searched state building codes and came up with a temporary building design called the “Rustic Cabin.”
The units had a door, window, an external heating source, safety features and were insulated. Five units were created primarily as sleeping units where people could still stay on their property, Pastor Amanda Fowler explained. The structures were intended to house beds where people could stay warm at night in the cold and when temperatures became too low for comfort.
“We saw the need for housing for some people in tents who literally had nothing,” Fowler said. “We were trying to meet the immediate need.”
Some tent residents were offered FEMA housing vouchers but discovered the nearest available motel was out of state, she said.
“How can people who work do that?” she asked.
Those who built the rustic cabins expected the structures to fall under “primitive shelter” codes. Instead, the small buildings would be classified as homes and all homes would have to comply with housing regulations.
Before receiving the province’s support, the group had built five units, but is now unable to use them for their intended purpose.
Garron Bradish, director of Haywood County Development Services, said he had never seen the design or structure, but said building codes require small homes to have a bathroom.
Ramey wants the rules suspended during the flooding crisis.
“The sheriff in another county is escorting mission sheds to be delivered to people damaged by the storm,” Ramey wrote in an email on Thanksgiving Day. “The sheds are safe and warm, but do not meet the high standards of the codes. We are only asking that the codes be temporarily lifted to keep our citizens safe and warm until FEMA or the insurance companies can assist them.”
Ramey said he plans to raise the issue at the county commissioners meeting at 9 a.m. Monday.
He does expect pushback from his appearance in Ward’s video, given that the county released statements about the video over the Thanksgiving holiday (see related story). The commissioner said he believes the video has been effective in galvanizing the county and securing additional offers for assistance.
“I know I’m the back of a horse, and I don’t care,” Ramey said. “I’m going to take care of my people.”
However, he added that the video was not his idea. “I’m not a Durn star,” he said.
In fact, Ramey’s appearance in the video came about somewhat by accident.
Ramey was contacted by New Covenant Church Pastor Blake Stanberry, who wondered if Ramey had land to set up a fifth-wheel camper for a flood victim – who had five grandchildren and two daughters living with her before the flood. But Ramey ran into a city rule that bans campers and campers unless they are placed on the same property that was flooded.
“These volunteers even went and paid to have water and sewer hooked up,” Ramey said. “In my opinion, whoever controls this doesn’t care about our people. That’s where it all started.”
Later, Ward showed up at Ramey’s house with a camera, Ramey said, to check out the spot he had offered for the RV. Ramey was then asked to accompany Ward to the Smoky Mountain Event Center, where the influencer wanted to see the small shelters. After looking at the site, Ward said he wanted to record a video because he had an idea, Ramey said. He didn’t know what the suggestion would be before the camera rolled, he added.
Not that Ramey is opposed to the idea of allowing campers and campers in the event center as temporary housing.
“They keep coming up with different excuses, but the FEMA vouchers are going to run out,” he said. “… If they can’t do it in two months, how can we get it done in one night? It’s going to be 16 degrees this weekend. A camper is the coldest in the world. You need a lot of propane. One of those You can heat small sheds with a candle.”
