According to Humphries, the Federal Emergency Management Agency and the state was originally going to reimburse 100 percent of the county’s expenses incurred from ice storm recovery, but now the county will be out for 13 percent of those expenses.
The fiscal court agreed unanimously to take up to $52,000, which is 13 percent of $400,000, out of the county’s transportation fund and put it towards storm-related cleanup. Fiscal Court Member and Budget Committee Chairman Doug Taylor recommended the $52,000 limit.
Although initial estimates indicate that there is about 40,000 cubic yards of debris from the storm, Humphries said it could be as much as 80,000 cubic yards, which the court said might cost $400,000 to clear.
“As we near that point, if we have to reassess, (we’ll) come back and regroup before we allow contractors to go any further,” Taylor said.
The cost associated with debris pickup in Trigg County has been set at $4.76 per cubic yard, which Humphries said was “much lower” than he had expected, as it could have been twice as much. This doesn’t apply to the clearing of state roads, for which Humphries said the state will pick up 100 percent of the tab.
There were eight companies that were interested, but only one company was given the contract earlier on Tuesday to clear the debris from Trigg County, Humphries said.
(For the rest of the story, see this week's edition of The Cadiz Record.)
