Pollocksville charts long road to recovery with help of Coastal Dynamics Design Lab

Feb. 27—Like other areas of eastern North Carolina, Pollocksville's recovery from Hurricane Florence has been slow but steady. The town's progress will take one step forward Sunday with a public input session at the town boat landing to allow residents to voice their opinions on the Pollocksville "Floodprint," a flood mitigation and recovery plan being developed in conjunction with the NC State University Coastal Dynamics Design Lab (CDDL).

The "Floodprint plan brings CDDL architects, scientists, engineers, graphic designers, and environmental planners to the table with Pollocksville officials to reimagine future plans for Main Street and other areas of the town, where homes and businesses were devastated by flooding during the 2018 storm.

Posters containing multiple design alternatives will be on display Sunday at noon until 4 p.m for citizens to vote on the preferred direction for the town's recovery and redevelopment efforts. Representatives from NC State will be available for discussion and feedback. Face coverings are required. For anyone not able to attend, the posters will be on display until March 7, with voting options still available, at the temporary Town Hall across the street from the Dollar General store.

In another sign that Pollocksville is looking towards its future, the restored train depot that once served as Pollocksville Town Hall before being submerged during Hurricane Florence will be moved to higher ground across from Pollocksville Presbyterian Church next week. The move will take place Wednesday, March 3 beginning at 8 a.m. Plans call for the building to be restored to its pre-hurricane condition.

Pollocksville Mayor Jay Bender said the town's work with CDDL is a continuation of a process that began prior to 2018 with the Pollocksville Main Street Streetscape Plan, a proactive approach to help offset the expected loss of traffic on Main Street with the completion of the U.S. 17 bypass. Before it was put on hold by Hurricane Florence, the plan called for improvements to sidewalks, the addition of crosswalks, new street signs and landscaping improvements such as benches and ornamental trees.

Bender said the CDDL received a grant allowing them to assist Pollocksville with "Floodprint" planning and has been working with the town since last summer. He noted that the planning has been "horribly delayed" by the COVID-19 pandemic.

"What we're getting out of it is not exactly what we thought we were going to get four years ago but two years ago everything changed that," said Bender. "The idea is to look at Main Street and immediate adjacent areas and see what we can do with it, what are the possibilities given the fact that we got 20-plus feet of water and some buildings may need to be torn down or elevated."

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Bender said the "Floodprint" plan is urgently needed to help offset the damage from past and future storms. Approximately 75 structures in Pollocksville took on anywhere from 4 inches to 20 feet of water during Hurricane Florence, while the town's sewer system was heavily damaged. Many of the businesses along Main Street, notably the Trent Motel and the Trent Restaurant, two longtime Pollocksville landmarks, remain closed nearly two and half years later.

"CDDL really focuses on public planning with an emphasis on resiliency," said Bender.

New Bern native Nate Polo, a Lead for North Carolina fellow working with the Pollocksville town government, has taken the lead on the "Floodprint" project. Polo said CDDL has worked with officials in Lumberton and Princeville to develop similar plans to adapt to a changing environment of increasingly severe weather. He said CDDL has compiled data from Pollocksville to come up with similar designs.

"There's three possible solutions for floodplain management: you can retreat and leave the floodplain; you can elevate above the floodplain; or you can flood-proof in place. They go through those possibilities for each property and they'll interview the community, they study the environment and the economy and they figure out what makes sense," said Polo.

https://www.newbernsj.com/news/20190913/pollocksville-on-long-slow-road-to-hurricane-florence-recovery

Bender said he believes some of the town's damaged properties will eventually be bought out, allowing for more greenspace.

"I suspect that will happen through Rebuild NC," said Bender. "Hopefully we will be able to resurrect or get some new businesses or elevated buildings and still try to keep some semblance of Main Street, but back behind it would be more greenspace, whether it's parks or whatever. It's tough because the town doesn't need a lot of parks, but we can't leave flooded buildings in place."

Bender said it was too early to estimate when any final plans may be put into place, or where the funding will ultimately come from.

"My hope is that once people see efforts are being made it may spur investments, it may spur grants," he commented.

"The thing that will spur the investment is knowing that Pollocksville is adapting and we are willing to change," added Polo. "If we keep spending money in the same way it will keep getting wiped out in the same way. ut if we are disaster proof this area, its history is rare and you actually get to keep it and hold onto it. I don't think that's happening in most places."

Bender admitted the eventual changes will be difficult to accept for many longtime Pollocksville residents, himself included.

"It's not going to look like the Pollocksville we grew up with, it just isn't," he said. "But it has to happen."

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