Grove Council Votes to Seek Cleanup Bids

In an effort to speed up collection of thousands of tons of tree debris left from January's ice storm, the Grove City Council has voted to take bids from private firms, setting Friday noon as the deadline. The usual 21-day notice has been waived under Federal Emergency declaration rules.
The city will pay the private firm selected and be reimbursed by FEMA at 75% and the State of Oklahoma at 12.5%, leaving the city to pay 12.5%. Bid details have been faxed to some 44 companies which specialize in debris removal. A bid will be awarded at Council meeting next Tuesday, by law, to the lowest responsible bidder.
Council voted 5-0 to take action on the matter at a Special Meeting Monday afternoon. It was felt that the fastest way to clear the city would be to hire private outside contractors rather than rely on city crews. Under FEMA rules, the city could only be reimbursed for overtime work, not the standard 40 hour work week. City cost to haul the debris is $6 per truck regular time and $8 per truck overtime, City Manager Bill Galletly said.
Contractors will be expected to complete the debris removal within 60 days of startup, using a per unit measurement of weight (tonnage); will not go on private property; will haul the debris as piled, first to Longan's scale for weighing, then to the city dump where it will be put in piles and burned. Individuals must put the debris curbside in order to be picked up. This includes debris from golf courses.
The city has been divided into 12 pickup zones and the contractor will start over with zone 1, as some debris has been piled since the first city pickup two weeks ago. City crews had completed zones 1 and 2 and were working on zone 3.
City officials said it may be six months before the city is reimbursed for the expense, although several contractors noted they still have not been paid by FEMA for work done after Hurricane Katrina in New Orleans.