Southern Disaster Recovery, or SDR, the company contracted by Bulloch County and the city of Statesboro for removal of tree debris left by Hurricane Helene, lost some trucking subcontractors to a higher-dollar offer from Florida, resulting in a slowdown here, city and county officials said this week.

The results were worse for the county’s effort than for the city’s, according to Bulloch County Public Works Director Dink Butler. Public disaster cleanup reimbursement through the Federal Emergency Management Agency was promised to local governments in Georgia to cover 100% of the cost of collecting debris for 90 days. After that, FEMA money would still be available, but at the standard 75% reimbursement rate.

“The storm debris gathering has slowed down,” Butler told the county commissioners Thursday night. “Florida made an exception to add (state) money to what FEMA was paying. A lot of the people left here and went to Florida to collect debris.”

Through loss of subcontractors, SDR went from 15 trucks assigned to collect debris in Bulloch County outside Statesboro to as few as three, Butler said. As of this week, five trucks were in use, he said.

Then Wednesday night and into Thursday morning, a nameless cloud system dumped another six to 10 inches of rain on the county, causing new damage to roads. Debris piled on right of ways had compounded the problem in places, he said, by blocking drainage.

Not within 90 days

“I say all of that to say, I don’t believe we’ll make our 90-day plan, to be fully picked up on debris by 90 days. …,” Butler said. “I would rather tell people up-front that we’re not going to make that, and if we do, we’ll be more than happy, but if we don’t at least we won’t be bombarded by the negativities of we didn’t accomplish what we had projected.”

Also reporting on FEMA reimbursements now approved for road and drainage repairs the county made after last year’s Hurricane Idalia, he said the county has a meeting with FEMA representatives Nov. 25 to discuss reimbursements for this year’s Tropical Storm Debby and Hurricane Helene repairs and cleanup.

County Manager Tom Couch asked, “Since Florida put out a bounty, what’s the likelihood when y’all meet with FEMA about trying to get an extension on the 90 days?”

Florida was given 180 days for 100% reimbursement, and Butler said he believes the Carolinas and Tennessee were given 180 days as well. Florida was affected by a third named storm, Hurricane Milton, that did not affect this area of Georgia.

“I don’t know why Georgia has  not gotten a 180-day grace period for 100%  recovery,” Butler said.  “I don’t know if our governor is pushing for that. We do know that FEMA and GEMA representatives are aware of it, and I would expect that they are pushing … to get our 90-day extension out to 180 days.”

As of this week, the debris collection in the rural areas of Bulloch County was about 15% complete, he  reported

“And we’re right at 40 days in, so there’s  not way  we’ll  finish it in 90 days,” Butler said.

In response to questions asked Thursday by Lawton Sack of the Bulloch Action Coalition, Butler acknowledged that the county’s contract with SDR is open-ended, with no actual time limit and no penalty charge.

Butler also agreed that the cost of the difference between 100% reimbursement and 75% reimbursement – which would apply only to charges for debris collected after 90 days – could be around $500,000.

Will state help?

But in an interview, he had noted that the state, through the Georgia Emergency Management Agency, has in the past contributed 10% or more when FEMA reimbursed 75%. So, local governments might also seek, through state legislative delegations and GEMA, state assistance if the deadline in not extended, county officials said.

The Bulloch County commissioners on Oct. 10 approved a contract to spend up to $3 million with SDR for removal of debris on county road road right of ways across the county outside Statesboro’s city limits.

Statesboro’s city government has a very similar contract, also with SDR, for removal of debris from public rights of ways within the city, with a “not to exceed” limit of $1 million. Statesboro City Council had approved that contract first, and the county adopted most of the terms.

In both contracts, the actual payments are based on various measures of the work done.

A few examples, from a complex schedule of charges, include fees of $7.75 per cubic yard for removing and hauling debris from right of ways or other public land to a designated site within 15 miles, or $9.25 per cubic yard if debris has to be hauled to a site 15.1 to 30 miles away.

For cutting partially uprooted or split trees that lean over the public right of way, described as “leaners,” the rates are based on the diameter of the tree trunk measured two feet from the base: $115 for a six-inch to 11.99-inch tree, but with higher price brackets for larger trees, up to $595 for a single 48-inch diameter or wider tree.

Both local governments also contracted with a different company, Thompson Consulting Services, based in Maitland, Florida, to monitor the debris collection. Thompson Consulting is expected to record the volumes, times and types of debris removed, conduct field audits and check SDR’s invoices so that the debris removal can qualify for FEMA reimbursement.

SDR had given local officials rough estimates that 250,000 cubic yards of fallen limbs, sawed-up trees and other debris would be collected countywide in the rural areas and 50,000 cubic yards within Statesboro’s city limits. So the countywide cleanup is estimated to be a much larger task, with greater distances involved.

City’s situation

The exodus of subcontractors to Florida also affected SDR’s debris removal in the city. When City Manager Charles Penny informed City Council members in their meeting Tuesday morning, he referred to just one subcontractor having left and also mentioned the  possibility of finding a replacement hauler.

But after meeting with SDR representatives Tuesday afternoon, Penny said Thursday that SDR had four trucks back in service in the county, with the intent of adding another within a couple of days.

“They know we’re frustrated, but I also know they’re frustrated because of just the sheer demand,” he said.

For cleaning up smaller city streets, one positive outcome of the change may be the arrival of some smaller trucks, he suggested. Some of the first trucks provided were long, tandem-trailer types with knuckle boom loaders.

“Some of them were problematic on some of our smaller streets, because when they would go down those streets they would actually block the streets, and then that sub pulled out to go down to Florida,” Penny said.

At the county meeting, Butler said he was confident the city could meet its deadline because its cleanup was already about 75% complete. However, the progress report Penny said he heard from SDR would put the effort in the city about 64% of the way to the original 50,000 cubic-yard estimate. He also  thinks the actual amount could exceed that estimate.

“When we met on Tuesday afternoon they told me that they had collected about 32,000 cubic yards, but again, that estimate, to me that’s  a beginning estimate, because  there’s still a lot of debris out there,” Penny said.

When the contract was approved by City Council on Oct. 1, Penny said he will inform the mayor and council in advance if the fees for debris collected in Statesboro appear likely to exceed $1 million.

Butler hopes the city’s debris removal effort will be completed well in advance of the 90-day mark, which Penny said will arrive on Dec. 24, since the federal disaster declaration was issued Sept. 24.

“Once they’re complete, their trucks will go to the county and will increase our collection process,” Butler said.