NC homeowners pooled Helene relief money for road fix. Their HOA has gone silent
When Hurricane Helene tore through western North Carolina, it left the only road leading to Philip Pavarini’s mountain home scarred by washouts, eroded embankments and failing culverts.
Like several of his neighbors, Pavarini received FEMA disaster assistance intended to help repair the private road serving the 38-lot Nubbins Nob subdivision in Hendersonville. Homeowners agreed to pool those funds through their homeowners association so the road could be rebuilt.
Since Hurricane Helene, FEMA has provided more than $34.2 million to 12,600 families across the region to repair or replace private-access roads and bridges, a spokesperson said. In communities where multiple homes share a private road, the agency says homeowners may coordinate to pool that assistance for a common repair project.
But Pavarini says the road remains in deteriorating condition despite the HOA signing a roughly $406,000 construction contract. He says the board refuses to release documentation verifying how the project was approved, whether required permits exist, and how the HOA determined the contractor meets licensing requirements.
Those concerns triggered complaints to several state and federal agencies. The North Carolina Licensing Board for General Contractors confirmed to the Observer it opened an investigation into the complaint and assigned an investigator. Pavarini said a FEMA investigator told him the agency is awaiting the licensing board’s findings before determining its next steps.
“The only thing we want is a safe road,” Pavarini said. “I don’t care what the HOA board does. I don’t care how much you charge me. I just want a safe road.”
The HOA referred questions to its attorney, who did not respond to requests for comment.
The dispute transcends bureaucracy for Pavarini. The private mountain road is the only way in and out of the subdivision, connecting residents to nearby highways and the surrounding communities. His wife relies on it to commute to her job as a nurse at Mission Hospital in Asheville. After recent heavy rains, he said, the couple prepared for the possibility they’ll have to park about 2 miles from home and hike the rest of the way if the road becomes impassable.
“I don’t want to have to worry about my wife rolling down the mountain because the road gave out, and that’s where we’re at,” Pavarini said. “That’s a pretty absurd thing to think about as an owner just trying to get in and out of my house.”
Pavarini said his concerns with the homeowners association predate Hurricane Helene by years. After purchasing property in Nubbins Nob in 2015, he became concerned the board rarely held meetings and that the private mountain road was deteriorating without a long-term maintenance plan.
He twice volunteered to serve on the HOA board to improve road maintenance and governance. During one stint on the board, he hired an engineer to evaluate portions of the road and contacted regulators about repairing a failing culvert. He said his recommendations were dismissed.
When Helene struck, Pavarini said it exposed problems that had been developing for years.
He described spending two days alongside neighbors using chainsaws to clear more than 100 fallen trees blocking nearly 2 miles of road leading to the subdivision. One culvert he previously warned about washed out completely, he said, while other weakened sections of the road deteriorated further.
Several months later, FEMA began providing disaster assistance for repairs to the shared private road. Homeowners were asked to sign a joint authorization allowing those funds to be pooled through the HOA.
According to the contract provided to The Observer, the HOA later entered into a roughly $406,215 agreement with New Living Landscapes to repair approximately 2 miles of private road, including grading, drainage improvements, culvert work and retaining walls.
Since then, Pavarini has submitted repeated requests seeking board meeting minutes, contractor bids, engineering plans, permits and financial records related to the project.
He said the HOA largely directed him to its online management platform, PayHOA, but never produced the records he believed would answer those questions.
“They won’t reply to anything anymore,” Pavarini said.
Records reviewed by The Observer show multiple written requests from Pavarini and responses from HOA President Erik Hatinen. In one February response, Hatinen wrote he was “not aware of a requirement” for regular board meetings and said meetings generally occurred once a year by conference call. Pavarini argues major decisions should have been documented through formal meetings and recorded votes.
Pavarini is not the only homeowner raising those concerns.
Josh Houston, who also filed complaints with state and federal agencies, said his biggest concern has been the lack of communication surrounding the project affecting the subdivision’s only access road.
Houston said he repeatedly sought information about the contractor, project plans and use of the FEMA funds but received few answers. Like Pavarini, he said he wanted to understand whether the project was being carried out properly before disaster money was spent.
“It’s our only access, and it’s been a tough situation,” Houston said. “I just thought it was common sense to want to know if it was being done properly.”
Houston said he’s spoken with other homeowners in the neighborhood who share his concerns. While the road remains passable with four-wheel drive, he worries its condition could make it difficult for emergency vehicles to reach the neighborhood.
Construction began this spring, with workers placing gravel and lining drainage ditches with rock in portions of the roadway, Pavarini said. He said that so far the work itself does not address the road’s most significant safety issues.
Pavarini said he hopes the agencies determine whether the project complies with applicable requirements. He is not trying to stop the repairs or avoid contributing his share of the cost.
“Ultimately, all we’re asking for is compliance with what I think any normal, reasonable person would expect,” he said. “That’s safe ingress and egress to their property.”
This story was originally published July 9, 2026 at 11:35 AM with the headline "NC homeowners pooled Helene relief money for road fix. Their HOA has gone silent."
