DEBRIS ON S. EGAN AVENUE demonstrates the toll that Thursday’s storm has taken. Cleanup will take weeks and the city hopes people will exercise patience as it proceeds.
DEBRIS ON S. EGAN AVENUE demonstrates the toll that Thursday’s storm has taken. Cleanup will take weeks and the city hopes people will exercise patience as it proceeds.
The National Weather Service reports that Madison saw wind gusting up to 97 mph as part of the derecho which caused widespread damage over an extended area on Thursday night. As a result, trees were downed, property was damaged and power was out over much of the region.
In Madison, some people reported seeing cloud rotations and even a funnel cloud. Mayor Roy Lindsay is inclined to believe these reports after seeing a video that photographer and police officer Mat Wollmann made with a drone following the storm.
“When Mat did the video, he followed a funnel cloud path through town,” Lindsay said.
Regardless of the nature of the storm, both the city and county saw much damage. On Monday morning, local officials met to discuss the status of the cleanup and to identify issues which still need to be addressed.
“This is going to be a weeks-long cleanup,” Roxie Ebdrup, administrative coordinator with the Public Works Department, said during the meeting.
She is concerned what while the city is addressing the many issues which resulted from the storm, community members are going to forget how severe the storm was. This could generate some dissatisfaction.
“People have got to be patient,” she said.
Lake County Emergency Management Director Kody Keefer reported 211 Helpline had received 104 calls. Some of these individuals were calling to report damage, but others indicated they needed assistance.
“We’re creating a list of unmet needs and finding a way to go about helping them,” he said in a phone interview later. Among those in need are elderly individuals who are unable to clean up the debris left by the storm.
He also reported that five families in the county are displaced. Four of these reside in the city of Madison. At this point, the names of those individuals are confidential, but in all cases their homes are uninhabitable, according to Keefer.
He expects the Lake County Commission to approve a disaster declaration in a regular meeting on Tuesday. For funding to become available, other counties which have experienced damage must do likewise and the combined damage estimate must meet a state threshold.
Should that occur, the governor could ask for a federal disaster declaration which would make FEMA funding available.
“There is no guarantee of a disaster declaration,” Keefer stated. “People need to be aware that right now they need to bear the costs.”
He also noted that recovery will be long term, and some services may not be available for a time. Area residents must act with this in mind, according to Keefer.
“Right now, they need to do their part,” he said. “Sometimes that may mean cleaning up their own mess. Sometimes that may mean helping their neighbor.”
In cleaning up from Thursday night’s storm, area residents must decide what to do with their debris. That is one of the issues community leaders discussed on Monday morning.
Public Works Director Gary Gonyo asked for guidance regarding several issues. First of all, he wanted to know who could use the city’s tree dump site.
“We don’t have room for every tree in the county in the tree dump,” he said.
Discussion resulted in the decision that city residents could use the tree dump. Because the city has an agreement with Gary Reinicke of Reinicke Construction to dump trees in a designated area, city contractors can use that area.
Other contractors must pay to dump their debris. Options include Reinicke Construction, Lee Yager’s gravel pit and the city’s restricted use site at 23241 446th Ave., Winfred.
Mike McGillivray, parks supervisor, cautioned against taking tree debris from Minnehaha County, which has already seen emerald ash borer infestations.
“A lot of that stuff has been quarantined. We do not want that stuff here,” he stated. McGillivray is afraid contractors may use dump sites in Lake County if it would be more cost effective.
Gonyo said that it will take time for the city to pick up all of the debris which has been placed curbside. He indicated construction debris and tree debris should be separated because it will be collected separately.
He also expressed concerns that some people intend to use this as a second citywide cleanup. He has already seen items such as mattresses left curbside. City crews will not pick up those types of items.
Gonyo asked whether the city should start stockpiling metal. Lindsay indicated Doug Erickson has been hauling away metal but no longer has space for it. He thought it would be helpful for the city to have an area for it.
Ebdrup indicated she will continue to provide information to the public through the city’s social media as the cleanup proceeds.
