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Cleanup, not eyesore, a priority for residents with flood damage |
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Monday, 19 May 2008 |
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Sometimes, Mother Nature can create quite an eyesore.
The mess is cleaned up now, but a week ago the debris from recent storms was piled high, resulting in complaints that the mess was unsightly.  Ron James shows with his hand how high debris was piled in Nancy Sheridan’s backyard, which backs up to Salt Creek. Sheridan lives on Misty Circle in Benton, where many residences were flooded during the April 3 storms. Sheridan and other residents are still covered up in the cleanup process, they said. (Courier photo by Jillian Duke)
Nancy Sheridan has been dealing with the aftermath of the April 3 storms that produced three tornadoes and flooding in Saline County. On the night of the storms, Sheridan had to rely on firefighters to get her out of her flooded house on Misty Circle in Benton.
“About 12:30 that night, I got up and stepped in water,” she said, noting that the overflow from Salt Creek behind her house was rushing into her home. The water level reached about 2 feet.
Sheridan’s house was ruined and the restoration process has been grueling.
“It demolished the inside of my house,” she said. “It’s unbelievable the amount of mud and the cleanup involved. The last thing you think about is cleaning up limbs in your yard.”
Anyone who complained about unsightly storm debris “might feel better served if he or she stopped by and burned the debris that washed down the creek filling my yard, my house and covering my deck and changing the course of my life,” Sheridan said.
Helping her clean up the mess and get things back in order is Ron James. He said about $25,000 already has been spent. He estimates total damage at $60,000.
Fortunately, Sheridan and other neighbors affected, such as Amber Olch, have insurance to pay for the damage. Flood insurance is required for people living in a floodplain. Misty Circle is in Hidden Valley subdivision and the housing addition is considered to be in a floodplain.
Sheridan had debris — limbs and other vegetation — piled against her fence, which separates her backyard from the creek. Apparently, the sight offended someone and a complaint was made May 6 to the city’s code enforcement department, which operates under the umbrella of the Benton Police Department.
Code enforcement Officer Bobby Shell assessed the scene, which he said is required following such a complaint.
“If these people were so concerned with the debris, why didn’t they come and help?” James asked. “We’re cleaning up the best we can, but the house is more important than the yard.”
Shell said he went May 7 to investigate the complaint that debris might get washed into Salt Creek.
“I didn’t give them a violation warning because I knew it was due to the storm and that they were still cleaning up,” Shell said.
Shell said that when he heard that it was a debris complaint, he pictured pulled out carpet and building materials.
“They just had sticks and limbs piled there. There was no building material debris,” he said. “I told them to give me a call when they got rid of it, and I think they burned it Monday.”
Shell said it’s his job to follow up on a complaint.
“But we have hearts,” he said. “If it’s storm-related and from catastrophic events like those people have been through, we’ll work with them and give them adequate amount of time to clean things up. We don’t want to kick them in the gut when they’re down.”
Olch, whose house also flooded but not as badly as Sheridan’s, questions who is responsible for the debris in the creek.
“It’s going to have to be cleaned up,” she said. “We all have insurance, and we’re not asking for a handout, but we just want the creek taken care of.”
From a floodplain management standpoint, City Engineer Gail Mainard said he thinks the best solution for the Misty Circle residents is to enter a flood program with the Federal Emergency Management Agency in which the agency would buy their property and demolish the houses.
“FEMA has a mitigation grant program where they’ll buy the property,” Mainard said. “Misty Circle is a unique area. They predate the floodplain program. Every time we get a good rain, they get flooded.”
Current floodplain standards were established in 1982. The neighborhood was developed in the mid-1970s.
“It would have never been built with the current standards,” Mainard said. “They are actually in the floodway. It doesn’t get any worse than that.”
Mainard said if the general feeling from property owners is not favorable, the city won’t pursue the FEMA program. Mainard said property owners soon will be contacted to gauge their interest. He added that the homeowners should get market value for their homes, noting, “I think they’ll be made fair offers.”
Sheridan said she would consider the FEMA program and she suspects her neighbors would as well “if the price is right.”
She said she’d like to know something soon, however, before she moves forward on anymore renovating.
In the meantime, cleaning up is still a priority.
The city of Benton is eligible to be reimbursed from the FEMA for things like picking up debris that is piled on curbs.
Mainard said the city may be reimbursed for cleanup of debris that is a direct result from storm damage. However, the city may not be reimbursed for picking up debris related to renovation projects.
“FEMA is big on documentation, and we cannot pick up just anything off the right-of-way,” Mainard said. We do have limitations for what they will reimburse us for. We can pick up debris due to the storm if property owners put it at the curb. We don’t get reimbursed for debris caused by remodeling.”
Mainard said the city has not yet received any reimbursements from FEMA.
“We’re getting pretty close to picking up all the debris leftover from the storm,” he said. “If people suffered damage, they need to report it to us and FEMA.”
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