San Angelo city council approves $1 million task force for debris clean up
In a special meeting held by the city council on July 10, Shane Kelton, executive director of public works with the city, asked the council to consider approving Emergency Debris Collection Task Order 1 with Ceres Environmental for an amount not to exceed $1 million sourced from the Solid Waste fund balance.
The task order allows Ceres Environmental to begin debris removal services under the contract the city already has with the company.
Kelton said the cost may not exceed $1 million. The amount was based off the numbers the city had on Thursday. He said 1,520 iSTAT Damage Surveys were submitted, 705 homes had minor damage, 463 with major damage and 58 homes were considered a total loss.
"This is also based on what this company has seen so far in other locations," Kelton said. "If they don't haul that much, they don't charge us."
Kelton said this week, city crews will be around town helping citizens get ready for Ceres' arrival.
"We will be out there with citizens working with them to make sure they are prepared and ready as they get here, so we can follow the FEMA guidelines that have been laid out, so that we would have the ability to seek any relief that they may allow for us," he said.
Kelton said Ceres will begin mobilizing crews to come to San Angelo sometime this week.
"We want to give everyone time to make sure they are able to muck and gut and get stuff out to the curb," he said. "We don't want to start too soon because with a debris removal company, they are only going to make two or possibly three passes in San Angelo."
Kelton wanted to remind residents to keep their piles separated on the curb. He said there should be all separate piles for the following.
Construction debris: flooring, carpet, furniture, etc.
Electronics: TV's, computers, etc.
Appliances: refrigerators, washers and dryers
Brush: trees, large branches
Kelton asked for household hazardous waste to be seperated to be picked up at a later time within 30 days, including oil, gas, fuels and cleaning supplies.
The city also approved $350,000 for a contract with True North Emergency Management, LLC.
"Ceres requires a third-party monitoring firm that watches everything as they are loading the product from the curb and into the truck and at the landfill," Kelton said. "This is a FEMA guideline requirement for us to be able to seek any assistance available to us."
Kelton also mentioned the assistance available to citizens needing help with clean up.
"If people are physically unable to or don't have the manpower to clean, we have assistance that is free of charge to utilize," he said. "We don't want people living in dangerous situations."
If you need cleanup assistance, mold remediation or debris sorting on your property, fill out this form.
For questions on debris removal or assistance call Kelton's office at 325-657-4206 or visit sanangelo.gov.
More: San Angelo residents now able to apply for FEMA assistance after Texas flooding
More: Police, City of San Angelo issue order of restricted areas due to flooding
This article originally appeared on San Angelo Standard-Times: Ceres Environmental coming soon to San Angelo to haul flood debris
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