During their Monday meeting, the Potter County Commissioners’ Court worked together with wildfire victims to help solve several concerns involving the removal of debris.
The meeting’s agenda item started with Max Dunlap, Office of Emergency Management (OEM) director for Amarillo and Potter County, explaining that OEM was first established as an interjurisdictional agency in a documented agreement in 1984, which is why they work with both the city and the county.
Dunlap also asked the commissioners to approve a request for proposals (RFP) for debris management services to help in the cleanup of the Bishop Estates area in the aftermath of the Stinky Fire. He went through a plan of four milestones of debris material being cleaned up in the burn scar area.
One of the difficulties that they ran into was where debris was being placed, in the right-of-way, versus private property, where they cannot pick it up. Dunlap said during inspections, they found piles that weren’t fully in the right-of-way, but they’re working with VOAD (Voluntary Organizations Active in Disaster) to help relieve the stress of homeowners in the impacted area and get those moved.
They were also finding problems with what debris was being placed, or jumbled together. “Through this time, debris has been mixed, whether it would be concrete and what we call construction and demo material. In a sense, while cleaning off slabs out there, it appears that as someone just dumped a truckload in the ditch. Mixing those materials proves very difficult because it narrows the scope in which where we can take those materials,” Dunlap said. “So therefore these mixed materials must be taken to Canyon’s landfill, which is classed and has the ability to receive materials that are mixed like that.”
The third limitation they were running into was when debris needed to be placed, with a set date needed. He then proposed Aug. 10.
As far as the second milestone of vegetation debris like trees and branches, he said their plan was to have fire personnel and VOAD attack the problem as fast as possible, and brush piles could go to the Amarillo landfill. When asked, Dunlap confirmed that impacted homeowners could use the Amarillo landfill at no cost.
The third milestone was involving metal and white goods (appliances like refrigerators and washing machines), which is more complex with chemicals like freon, according to the director, and needs additional separation. OEM was looking at multiple options to help address the problem at the lowest cost possible.
The fourth milestone, construction materials such as piles of dirt, concrete and small rubble, will take special equipment and materials being identified before they’re taken to the Canyon landfill. “So, it will take time, effort and financial cost to ensure that we can get those down there and back,” Dunlap said.
Commissioner John Coffee said he had talked to Janell Evans with VOAD, and she said they had completed all the property cleanups that residents had allowed. Moving forward, Coffee asked Dunlap how it would be funded, and Dunlap said they were trying do as much of the volunteer aspects through VOAD as they can. “We are continuing to work with the state on what assets or resources they can lend us in way of requests to help with this moving forward. But we are looking at the cheapest way possible.”
Commissioners than questioned Dunlap on the cut-off date for the debris removal, contract work and scoping of the burn site. He said they would be mapping for new piles, as far as the six- to eight-week period for all the milestones, with the end goal being Aug. 10.
Residents speak up with cleanup concerns
At that time, a member of the audience asked to be heard.
Bishop Estates resident Ronda Savante said they were one of the first ones that the Global Ministries and United Methodist Committee on Relief workers helped with piling up the debris. She noted the piles volunteers made were well separated and placed where they were told to go. “We had artificial turf that was burnt, and it got moved out there,” she said. “I don’t know what — y’all are asking us to make a determination in 15 days, what’s going to be moved and what’s not going to be moved. That is impossible.”
Savante said that could not be done without someone working with each individual in the impacted community. She didn’t think that “anybody from his department (pointing to Dunlap) is going to get out there and talk to the individuals and go through the stuff and tell them, this is what needs to be done,” she said. “We don’t have dump trucks at our property, we don’t have heavy machinery to move stuff. We do not have that.”
Savante said that they followed the process and instructions they were given by the VOAD group.
“And they moved as much as they have. … Now we have mice, rats, they all want to live in that stuff, and it’s gone on for three months now. And still, no resolution,” she said.
Savante then asked about the county right-of-way, and Coffee offered a clarification as well as where the debris would be collected. She said there were a lot of piles still sitting in the right-of-way and asked why they hadn’t been picked up. “Well, that’s what we’re trying to accomplish today,” he said.
“Why do they want to give us a date of August the 10th and we’ve been waiting three months to get it picked up?” she replied.
Dunlap and Coffee confirmed all the materials that would be picked up and the location of the county right-of-way, but Savante continued to question the deadline.
“But you’re saying now we have 15 days to go, the residents have 15 days to go through their stuff to make sure that it’s gonna get hauled off,” she said, when Ximena Lovett interjected from the audience, “in triple digit heat, and we have 15 trees at our house that need to be cut down, there’s no way I can do that in 15 days.”
Homeowners dispute VOAD completion of work
Judge Nancy Tanner then asked, “But you just got through saying that you had all your stuff out there and no one’s picked it up?” Savante replied that she had all of her debris out — but not Lovett, or the other residents.
Savante said some of the debris just got taken out to right-of way by the Methodist Mission volunteers after they had a meeting at the library. “They just got out. They can only work so long with the heat the way that it is,” she explained.
Lovett added that the volunteers were not done helping: “Whatever Janell told y’all is incorrect, because they were at out my house a week ago Saturday, and they had other places to go and said they would be back later.”
Coffee said he had talked to Evans, who said that all the property owners who let them on their land have had their debris moved to the county right-of-way for pickup.
Lovett replied that Evans also has said she’d get back with them in 48 hours, and you don’t get a call in two weeks.
Dunlap spoke up, acknowledging their frustration staying he’s trying to give them time, and agreed “Technically it’s been 90 days,” counting the entire period of time since the disaster.
“And there’s two of us, 60 years old, in 100-degree heat trying to clean up our 2½ acres of a 34-year home that was burnt to the ground,” said Lovett, tearfully. “I lost everything. Everything! And y’all are giving us 15 days? Y’all are thinking about yourselves, not the citizens of Potter County.”
“It’s almost to the point what it seems like to me that y’all are trying to force the residents to go ahead and pay somebody because that’s our other option,” said Savante, mentioning the fliers being handed out around Bishop Estates and businesses soliciting work, going door to door. “We’ll take it on ourselves — who do you want us to send the bill to?”
Savante said the work should have been done in the first 30 days, and Coffee didn’t dispute that, but said they were following a process that had to be done with OEM.
Coffee asked Lovett to come forward and asked how much time she needed to get 15 trees cut. She replied that with the heat and no shade, since everything was burnt, and she would need to check with her husband. When he asked about VOAD, she said that the mission volunteers told them they had somewhere else they needed to go and would “try to get back but they didn’t know when.”
Coffee then suggested they work together and that they were trying to help and figure it out. He said they weren’t giving her just 15 days and asked again how long she needed. She replied how about three months, and he offered, how about two?
Coffee also said insurance might help some residents cover costs for an early start on cleanup, but that Dunlap’s team would be removing it at some point. “I’ve already paid $700 out of my own pocket for somebody to haul off stuff that was in our shop off that was smoke damaged beyond repair,” said Savante. “We didn’t try to get VOAD to do that.”
While each resident had different circumstances and needs, Coffee then told the residents they were trying to get a contractor to come out and get all the debris picked up within a certain time frame, instead of piecemeal, and to understand the full scope of the work needed for the RFP.
When Savante asked if the milestones could be debris pickup done in increments, Coffee said the RFP would be all-inclusive of whatever’s out there. And each type of material or landfill destination could be a different RFP, depending on the regulations and rules.
“There’s people that already have stuff out there that is divided,” Savante said.
“But they’ve taken so long now that we have to get bids now on people that come out there,” Lovett replied, to which Coffee said they would have had to do anyway.
Commissioner Warren Coble asked the two residents for some grace and mentioned a fire on property that he had purchased for the Hilltop Senior Citizens Center. “Before we could move into that property, the homeless got in, they burned my building down, in the city. And I was responsible for all that. The city did not have a program, and even though the city’s in Potter County, they couldn’t come on my private property, and I had to pay for the removal of that property. And it took me a while to do what I had to do,” he offered, adding that he felt their pain and frustration.
“This is going to be a single project,” he said. “You just don’t divide projects up and say ok we’ll get yours, but we’ll get yours later. If you will just allow us and give us a little more grace … we’ll get this done.”
Coble then suggested that they extend the process for a month so that they would have time to get all the debris picked up and ready.
The commissioners urged for a compromise between those who had to wait a little longer for pickup and those that needed more time.
Who is reaching out to those on the list
Lovett said, “We’re only two people out of 77 homes that have been somehow touched by this, 52 burnt to the ground.”
The residents pointed out some people had to work and couldn’t come to the meetings or get the cleanup done on their own and asked who would be communicating the message.
Coble suggested that they be good citizens and go around and inform their neighbors of the plan.
“Everybody that signed up with VOAD through 2-1-1 — their information should be in somebody’s hands,” said Savante. She then asked who had the ISTAT information filled out by impacted residents, and Dunlap said the state had the information as well as OEM. Savante told Dunlap that if he would furnish the names, they would be happy to help and make contact. “We’re not trying to make enemies,” she said, but she wanted them to know that everybody’s situation was different. Dunlap said he would reach out to VOAD again and get an update.
Savante and Lovett then informed the commissioners that the last time they spoke to VOAD, a woman named Betsy was being trained to take over Evans’ job and everything was up in the air.
Savante pled with the commissioners to get something done.
“I have no place to go. My husband’s living out in a very small travel trailer on our property and I have no home to live in, there’s not room for both of us in there,” Lovett said.
Coble told her not to go home until he talked to her, and Dunlap proceeded to get her phone number.
Allyson Villalon, purchasing agent, said, “I just want you all to know on the proposal I’m going to work with Mr. Dunlap, because I know some are ready, some are not, to have stuff removed from the right of way. When I do that proposal, I’m going to issue a timeline. I’m going to get the people that are ready to have stuff moved out at that timeline, we’ll get that the first round.”
Potter County Fire Chief Richard Lake said that they want to help, but volunteer personnel couldn’t do some things needed and they would have to look at the best way to manage this. “We’re going to have to get a clear definition on worker’s comp, because once you get into debris removal, you’re no longer doing your assigned firefighting task. … In years of doing this, I’ve seen at least three close to home, where sawyers are killed doing debris removal because of the tension and pressure on this lumber,” he said.
The commission voted on a resolution to allow residents to place debris in the right-of-way by of Bishop Estates until September 1.
They also agreed on allowing Dunlap to issue RFPs for bids from contractors to help haul off material from the burn site.
Nell Williams is a staff writer covering trends and other news for the Amarillo Globe-News. Have a story idea? Email her at nwilliams@usatodayco.com .
This article originally appeared on Amarillo Globe-News: Potter County extends debris cleanup timeline for fire victims
Reporting by Nell Williams, Amarillo Globe-News / Amarillo Globe-News
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
By Nell Williams, Amarillo Globe-News | USA TODAY Network
