Will Fayetteville get a new Veterans Home?

Months after 85 veterans moved out of the North Carolina State Veterans Home in Fayetteville because of structural deficiencies and water intrusion, the fate of what’s next is still undetermined.

The North Carolina Department of Military and Veterans Affairs, which oversees the home, said in a December news release that veterans living in the Veterans Home at 214 Cochran Ave. would need to move by Feb. 1 because of the issues.

Department officials said they would move the residents to other veterans homes in the state or nearby nursing homes, while they intended to build a new home in Fayetteville.

Since then, the department has come under new leadership, with Gov. Roy Cooper announcing in late March that former director, retired Marine Lt. Gen. Walter Gaskin, would be stepping down.

New director Grier Martin, a former longtime representative in the North Carolina General Assembly and retired Army Reserve soldier, was appointed April 1. Grier formerly served as assistant secretary of defense for Manpower and Reserve Affairs.

What's the latest on the Fayetteville home?

In an email Monday, State Sen. Val Applewhite, an Air Force Veteran whose district includes Cumberland County and Fayetteville, said she’s only spoken to Martin briefly about the about the future of the Veterans Home in Fayetteville.

Applewhite said, there have been “no definitive decision” made about the Fayetteville Veterans Home, but she thinks “this issue is high” on Martin’s agenda.

“I expect to have a better understanding of how he intends to proceed and what he will recommend to the General Assembly after a (one-on-one) meeting that will be scheduled shortly,” Applewhite said.

Martin met with the Military and Veterans Affairs House Standing Committee in May and told lawmakers he intended to visit the home in person and talk to stakeholders and lawmakers before deciding how to proceed, according to WRAL.

“We’ve got a clean slate …,” Martin said during the May meeting. “What’s been done has been done. I am looking at it with fresh eyes to figure out what decision makes the most sense for the veterans of North Carolina.”

State Rep. Charles Smith, who represents Cumberland County, said Monday that he met with Martin in June. He said Martin has toured the Fayetteville Veterans Home.

"Based on the conversation, I think he's looking at costs of repairs and timelines," Smith said. "Either way, he's committed to having a veteran home in Fayetteville and Cumberland County and understands the importance, with the large veteran population (here.)"

Smith said he thinks Martin is weighing whether the existing structure is salvageable, how much it would cost to repair it, or if building a new facility is more cost-efficient.

The next nearest veterans home in the state is 98 miles away in Kinston.

Attempts to reach the North Carolina Department of Military and Veterans Affairs on Monday were unsuccessful.

Leaks

Brian Pierce, deputy secretary for the North Carolina Department of Military and Veterans Affairs, spoke to lawmakers in February about the home.

Construction on the North Carolina State Veterans Home in Fayetteville began in 1996 and the facility opened three years later, Pierce told the Joint Legislative Oversight Committee on General Government.

Pierce said problems with the home go back to the initial construction and were exacerbated after hurricanes Matthew and Florence in 2016 when staff noticed roof leaks.

Though the issue was mitigated, Pierce said, a firm hired by the state recommended in June 2022 that a new roof be placed on the building.

Mold

During discussions about a new roof, he said, structural and fire-rated deficiencies were found in the attic, along with more water intrusion seeping through the cement slab, walls and other areas.

An environmental test in November revealed four areas in the facility had what Pierce described as “a common outdoor allergen.”

While he did not specify what the allergen was, family members of some of the veterans have said they suspected mold was in the facility.

In a Sept. 23 letter to the State Construction Office about roof repairs to the Fayetteville State Veterans Home, contracting architect firm Raymond told officials that an industrial hygienist found mold in the facility.

In a Jan. 16 letter to Raymond, the industrial hygienist, Matrix Health & Safety Consultants, noted the presence of “elevated levels of Aspergillus/Penicillium molds and the presence of Statchybotrys and Chaetomium molds.”

“These molds can potentially indicate an ongoing moisture issue and are also known to be potentially allergenic and capable of producing mycotoxins, increasing the risk to sensitive individuals,” the letter stated.

Matrix recommended mold remediation and removing affected areas, which included drywall in walls, ceilings and trim along walls.

Flood prone area?

At the February meeting, lawmakers were split on whether a new facility needs to be built or if the current building can be fixed.

Sen. Steve Jarvis, R-Davidson and Davie counties, said that his review of a 500-year floodplan indicates that the Cape Fear River would have to rise 50 feet above bank levels before it would be a threat to the Fayetteville Veterans Home.

Jarvis said he thinks installing a French drain that redirects water and prevents pooling can mitigate the issues.

Some of Cumberland County’s local delegates in the General Assembly have previously expressed concerns about the land being near the Cape Fear River.

Smith said on Monday that he thinks the topography of the land is being evaluated, and that he's not heard whether the department is looking for a new site.

Staff writer Rachael Riley can be reached at rriley@fayobserver.com or 910-486-3528.