1993-03-18 Emergency Meeting
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MINUTES OF EMERGENCY SESSION, MARCH 18, 1993
PAGE 376
ASSEMBLY
The New Hanover County Board of Commissioners met in an
Emergency Session on Thursday, March 18, 1993, at 4:45 P.M. in the
1st Floor Assembly Room of the New Hanover County Administration
Building, 320 Chestnut Street, Wilmington, North Carolina.
Members present were: Commissioners Sandra Barone; William A.
Caster; William E. Sisson, Jr; Vice-Chairman E. L. Mathews, Jr.;
Chairman Robert G. Greer; County Manager, Allen O'Neal; County
Attorney, Wanda M. Copley; and Clerk to the Board, Lucie F.
Har~ell.
Chairman Greer called the meeting to order and reported this
is a continued Emergency Session that was called on Saturday, March
13, 1993, to issue a State of Emergency due to the recent storm.
The County is still in a State of Emergency status and the purpose
of this meeting is to discuss vegetative debris removal in the
unincorporated areas of the County in order to protect the public
health and safety of our citizens. Spring is the time of year when
strong winds and low humidity create fires; therefore, it is
imperative that immediate action be taken to assist the citizens
with debris removal.
County Manager O'Neal requested the Director of Emergency
Management, Dan Summers, to present a status report on the events
of the March 13, 1993 storm. As of this date, the President of the
united States has not signed a Declaration of Disaster for the
State of North Carolina; therefore, the County may not be
reimbursed for the debris removal.
UPDATE ON MARCH 13, 1993 STORK
Director of Emergency Management, Dan Summers, reported the
County and State are waiting on the Presidential Disaster
Declaration; however, due to search and rescue operations now in
progress in the western part of the State and the recently declared
Snow Emergency, it is felt there will be a delay in this action.
The following report was presented:
-The Federal and State Composite team for Disaster, Relief,
and Assistance has arrived and is presently reviewing videos
and pictures of the damage for an'initial compilation on the
daily survey reports performed by the County on Sunday. The
team will remain in town overnight and in the morning divide
into teams to examine the following categories:
-Residential Damage: This category includes individual
and payment grant programs through FEMA to assist
families with restoring their homes and returning to a
sound economic base.
-Small Businesses: The FEMA representative is here and
will be representing the Small Business Administration
(SBA) . Some small businesses, such as the fishing
industry and others, will be reviewed to see if they
qualify for SBA assistance u~der a Presidential Disaster
Declaration.
-Public Assistance Proqrams: These programs will address
debris removal and damage that has occurred to the
infrastructure in the municipalities within County. Two
teams will be appointed to review the County areas and
another to review the areas within the City of
Wilmington. At the present time, the beach communities
have not received enough .damage to warrant relief from
Public Assistance funds; however, if the survey of damage
should change, a team will be appointed to visit the
beach communities. '
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MINUTES OF EMERGENCY SESSION, MARCH 18, 1993
PAGE 37:]
These teams will report their findings to the state and
Federal levels at which time the County will receive information on
funding reimbursements. Due to the storm impacting the entire
eastern seaboard, time will be required to complete the damage
assessments; therefore, the County will have to wait to hear if
reimbursements will be received.
PRESENTATION OF DEBRIS REMOVAL PLAN
Director of Environmental Management, Ray Church, presented
the following plan for removal of approximately 5,000 tons of
vegetative debris caused by the storm:
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Phase I - Collections
The plan consists of developing contracts for the collection
of debris from the rights-of-way and the processing of the
collected debris.
The collection process consists of developing contracts with
the County's residential waste haulers to remove the majority
of debris which will fit into compactor trucks. The County
has been divided into zones with each hauler agreeing to
service a particular zone. This plan can be implemented upon
approval by the Board of County Commissioners. The following
haulers have agreed to provide this service for $80 per ton
with verification by certified weight scales. The collection
is proposed to run through April 10, 1993.
A-1 Sanitation
A&M Sanitation
Waste Industries
Waste Management
Windfish Disposal Services
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Phase II - Removal of Large Tree Trunks, Branches and stumps
Phase II will consists of removing large tree trunks, large
branches, and stumps from the rights-of-way after Phase I has
progressed to the point that locations of the large debris can
be identified. The North Carolina Department of
Transportation has received approval to participate contingent
upon the County paying their direct costs for rental of
equipment and labor. Contract arrangements have not been
finalized as of this time. The debris will be delivered to
the disposal contractor for processing. To reduce the amount
of timber size debris as well as tonnage, the County is
developing a list of contractors who routinely cut pine trees
for pulp wood. The Department of Environmental Management
will act as a clearinghouse to match the homeowners with a
pulp wood contractor who can provide this service. There will
probably be a charge to the homeowners for the removal of the
pulpwood from private property.
The disposal of the collected debris is proposed by chipping
the debris into a wood fuel or mulch material. A draft
contract with Wilmington Sand & Gravel Company, Inc. has been
prepared for processing the material at $25 per ton. The
contract is for a turn-key operation with Wilmington Sand &
Gravel Company taking full responsibility for the debris upon
receipt. Also, there is a possibility that the County will
receive free mulch. The County will provide transportation
costs and Wilmington Sand & Gravel will provide the loading.
wilmington Sand & Gravel has agreed to extend the contract
price for debris processing to the municipalities if the
municipalities desire to do so. The County will not arrange
for collections or processing of debris from the
municipalities. The municipalities are responsible for their
own expenses.
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MINUTES OF EMERGENCY SESSION, MARCH 18, 1993
PAGE 378
Phase III - Other Recommendations
Homeowners removing vegetative storm debris should be diverted
from the Landfill to Wilmington Sand & Gravel. It is staff's
recommendation that this debris processing should be
considered as part of the County's contract if removed from
the unincorporated area of the County.
Landscape contractors and tree trimming contractors should
also be diverted from the Landfill to Wilmington Sand & Gravel
with the following exception: landscaping contractors and tree
trimming contractors should be allowed to stock pile fireplace
cut lengths of wood at the Landfill for potential use by the
Wood Lot Program at no cost to the contractors if there is
certification that the residents were not charged a disposal
fee in the charge for services rendered.
The Commissioners were requested to approve the Debris Removal
Plan as presented and authorize a media release immediately to
inform the public about the prog~am and seek the citizens
cooperation in preparing debris for removal.
Vice-Chairman Mathews requested including the address of
Wilmington Sand & Gravel in the media release and also recommended
developing a pre-emergency plan that would be implemented as
quickly as possible for debris removal after a storm.
Director Church commented on moving toward this direction and
reported the plan presented has been very quickly prepared and
ready for implementation.
Discussion was held on the possibility that the County will
not receive FEMA reimbursement for the debris removal. Emphasis
was placed on the possible fire hazard without immediate removal of
the debris and the need to proceed with the plan in order to
protect the general public.
Motion: After further discussion of public health and safety,
Vice-Chairman Mathews MOVED, SECONDED by Commissioner Caster to
accept the three phases of the plan and award the contracts to the
five waste haulers and Wilmington Sand and Gravel, Inc. for removal
of debris in the unincorporated areas of the County as a result of
the March 13, 1993 storm and to approve the following Budget
Amendment: .
BUDGET AMENDMENT
93-0158 Non-Departmental/Department of Emergency Management
Debit
Credit
Non-Departmental
Contingencies
$155,000
Department of Emerqencv Manaqement
FEMA Federal Grant
$450,000
Contracted Services - Care
Emergency Measures
$600,000
$ 5,000
Purpose: To transfer $155,000 from Contingencies and budget
anticipated FEMA funds in the amount of $450,000 to contract for
removal of trash and debris caused by the March storm. The FEMA
funds should cover 75% of the cleanup cost. An amount of $5,000
transferred from Contingencies will be used for emergency measures.
Upon vote, the MOTION CARRIED UNANIMOUSLY.
Chairman Greer, on behalf of the Board, expressed appreciation
to Emergency Management Director, Dan Summers, his staff, and other
County employees who worked so diligently in carrying out the State
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MINUTES OF EMERGENCY SESSION, KARCH 18, 1993
PAGE 319
of Emergency. A special thank you was expressed to Deputy County
Manager, Mary Gornto, who performed an outstanding job as the
Public Information Officer and also filled in for the County
Manager, who was out-of-town. The Director of Environmental
Management, Ray Church, and his staff were also complimented for
the outstanding job performed in preparing the Debris Removal Plan.
Vice-Chairman Mathews reported on hearing rumors that the
Zoning Enforcement Officers were looking for signs that have blown
down and were being rather unreasonable with replacement
requirements.
County Manager O'Neal responded that he would check into this
matter.
ADJOURNMENT
Chairman Greer announced that the state of Emergency should be
tabled, therefore, the Emergency Session will remain open.
Motion: commissioner Barone MOVED, SECONDED by Commissioner Caster
to adj ourn the meeting. Upon vote, the MOTION CARRIED UNANIMOUSLY.
Chairman Greer adjourned at 5:15 P.M.
Respectfully submitted,
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Lucie F. Harrell
Clerk to the Board
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