NEWS RELEASE

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE October 7, 1999

CARY BEGINS FIRST PHASE OF DIRECT ASSISTANCE TO PRINCEVILLE

CARY, NC – Town staff will leave Cary at first light this morning for Princeville to begin helping their "adopted" town deal with critical needs as part of the Town of Cary’s commitment to help Princeville recover from Hurricane Floyd. Teams consisting of one Cary building inspector and one Cary public works staffer will begin inspecting each of Princeville’s 1,000 structures to determine the level of damage to each structure. Since this type of inspection is necessary before building owners can work with FEMA on compensation and given that Edgecombe County has only one inspector to serve the entire county, Princeville officials put their inspections need at the top of their list of "to do’s" for their sister city. Four teams and one team leader will work in Princeville today and Friday, and Cary plans to send in six teams on Saturday. Teams will start back to work on Monday and keep working until the inspection job is done.

"Our inspections teams are ready to go, ready to do whatever they can to help," said Inspections and Permits Division Director Bob Strowbridge. Strowbridge will accompany the teams to Princeville today for the start of their work and will return on Saturday to help out again. "Unless you’ve been there, you have no idea how much there is to do. We’re very proud to be a part of this commitment."

Cary and Princeville officials met in Tarboro on Monday to come up with the list of first-round, critical-need projects. The meeting was the first in what will be a series of regular meetings likely stretching over many months as the two communities work together to bring Princeville back from the devastation of Floyd. In addition to inspections, Cary’s first phase of help to Princeville includes FEMA documentation review and other financial/accounting assistance, debris removal planning, and external communications development/implementation.

Princeville has also asked Cary to lead the way on a few political issues that affect all of Floyd’s victims in North Carolina. Since Town financial records have either partially or wholly been destroyed, government officials need extensions in state and federal financial reporting deadlines. In this regard, Princeville has asked that Cary take this opportunity to share with the League of Municipalities, the North Carolina Association of County Commissioners, and the Local Government Commission information on the dire situation of eastern communities in hopes of receiving temporary extensions in meeting such deadlines. Princeville also asked Cary to press to expedite state and federal assistance schedules for the east and to look for creative ways to find gap funding support.

After Monday’s meeting, Cary officials toured parts of Princeville to view first-hand the challenges facing the two communities.

"It was like a ghost town," said Cary Finance Director Karen Mills who was struck by the courage and dedication of Princeville’s officials. "They are totally positive about Princeville’s future, and working with them to bring their community back will be one of the most rewarding parts of my government career." Mills will head up the Cary finance assistance team that will begin work in Princeville in a few days.

On September 23^rd, the Cary Town Council voted unanimously to "adopt" Princeville and work with FEMA, State emergency management officials, and the North Carolina League of Municipalities to target aid in Princeville’s direction. Council directed Town staff to work with Princeville officials to develop an inventory of resources that the community will need to restore the operation of the town’s government.

Further information on the Cary-Princeville partnership, including how to help the community financially or materially, can be found on a special section of the Town of Cary’s website, www.townofcary.org.

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Attending Monday’s meeting were:

From the Town of Princeville:

• Delia Perkins - Mayor
• Ann B. Howell - Commissioner
• Sandra W. White – Town Manager
• Pamela Barlow – Town Clerk/Tax Collector
• Samuel Knight – Zoning Officer
• John Boykin – Envirolink, Public Works

From other agencies already working with Princeville:

• Stuart Bass – Edgecombe County, Inspections
• Lewis Myers – Consultant, NC Institute of Minority Economic Development
• Cecil Brown – US Department of HUD

And from the Town of Cary:

• Kim Fisher – Public Works & Utilities Director
• Karen Mills – Finance Director
• Robert Strowbridge – Inspections and Permits Director
• Susan Moran – Public Information Officer
• Andrea Johnson – Accountant
• John Holloway – PWUT Operations Analyst