Oktibbeha County is preparing to search for a contractor to help with storm debris removal after a pair of tornadoes swept through the county a week ago.
County supervisors, during a Thursday morning special-call meeting, authorized board attorney Rob Roberson to begin drafting requests for proposals so the county can bid out some of the storm cleanup work. The board also directed Road Manager Fred Hal Bagget to have his department begin removing some of the debris.
“We want to go ahead and get started a little bit to at least get something in some of the higher need areas that have some of that stuff piled up, for safety concerns,” Roberson said. “There’s no way we’ll be able to effectively get this stuff up in a timeframe that makes sense if we don’t get a contractor to get in and look at it.”
The meeting, where supervisors met with officials from the Mississippi Emergency Management Agency, followed an April 13 round of severe weather that saw an EF-2 tornado strike Craig Springs and an EF-1 tornado pass east of Mississippi State University’s campus.
While no injuries were reported, Oktibbeha County Emergency Management Director Kristen Campanella said 63 structures were damaged in Craig Springs, Hillbrook, Oktoc, the Highlands Plantation and Lakeside Drive. Campanella said the storm also damaged MSU’s Beef Unit and a golf course, destroyed a C Spire tower in Craig Springs and caused water damage in the back of the Oktibbeha County Jail.
The county is advising residents to move debris to the side of the road so they can be cleared.
For the time being, the county is also waiting on the state to request a federal emergency declaration. Should that take effect, Roberson said, the county would only be responsible for paying 12.5 percent of the storm cleanup costs, with the rest coming from a mix of state and federal dollars.
Roberson said the county hasn’t gotten a total cost of damage from the storm yet. However, he said he believes it will easily clear the $180,000 threshold required for an emergency declaration on the county level.
Should the county get the declaration, Board President Orlando Trainer said, it will have to follow guidelines for debris removal in order to qualify for reimbursement.
“The stuff you pick up has to be documented,” Trainer said. “It has to be properly accounted for. It has to be properly disposed of and all the other things that go with that. We’re making sure we understand those requirements to stay within those guidelines.”
Roberson also said the county can only pick up debris from county roads. It cannot go onto private roads to remove debris. However, Roberson said the county could get debris from private roads if its moved to a county right-of-way for removal.
“Hopefully we can get volunteers, whether that’s through religious organizations or people with a tractor and chainsaw who want to help out,” he said.
Waiting on a declaration
Todd DeMuth, a state liaison officer for MEMA who met with supervisors during the meeting, said the state’s request hasn’t yet been sent to the Federal Emergency Management Agency. Once the state makes the request, he said it’s hard to know how long it will take to get a response.
For example, Columbus, which was struck by a tornado in February, is still awaiting a federal emergency declaration.
“We don’t have all the damage assessments (from the April 13 storm) in yet,” he said. “We have multiple counties that were impacted. Since I’ve been at MEMA for almost 11 years now, I have worked almost 40 declared disasters. I’ve seen (the federal declarations) take up to a month and I’ve seen them turn around within 48 hours.
“It depends on what’s going on around the country,” he added, “and, unfortunately, the political climate.”
The storm cleanup is going to take a while, and Roberson asked that the public be patient with the process.
“This is going to take time,” he said. “We don’t have the workers to pick up all this stuff and keep up with road maintenance as well.”
Alex Holloway was formerly a reporter with The Dispatch.
You can help your community
Quality, in-depth journalism is essential to a healthy community. The Dispatch brings you the most complete reporting and insightful commentary in the Golden Triangle, but we need your help to continue our efforts. In the past week, our reporters have posted 44 articles to cdispatch.com. Please consider subscribing to our website for only $2.30 per week to help support local journalism and our community.