311 program will accept requests to collect and dispose of trees damaged in August storms

Gary residents who were unable to move fallen trees debris to the curb for collection, following the storms in August, will soon be able to use the city’s 311 program to submit a request to the new Private Property Debris Removal program.

The program is designed to provide support for those who cannot afford high tree removal costs.

After the storms of August left neighborhoods burdened with fallen trees and tree limbs, the City of Gary used federal funding to hire AshBritt, Thompson Consulting and EGIS Engineering Consulting to collect the debris. Residents only had to move the vegetation to the curb for pickup and disposal.

“From assessing damage and managing our federal recovery resources to tracking and removing debris from our neighborhoods, each of these partners has an important role in helping Gary recover,” Melton said when announcing the partnership in late August.

Now the program is being expanded to collect more of the tree debris.

At the October 7th Board of Works meeting, the board approved a contract with AshBritt and Thompson Consulting to enter private properties and collect the debris.

To take advantage of the Private Property Debris Removal program, submissions require ownership or owner authorization, insurance documentation, a right-of-entry, and photographs of the damage. Renters must get the approval of their landlords.

Corrie Sharp, Gary’s Director of Zoning, said the PPDR program includes the cutting of trees down to the stumps and the removal of hanging and leaning limbs that could be hazardous to the public. Storm-related vegetation will be removed from public properties, vacant properties maintained by the city, and from abandoned buildings.

“To date, we have hauled out 306,000 cubic yards of debris. So we’re expanding this program to include 400,000 cubic yards,” Sharp said. “The total anticipated cost is $12,366,875.35.”

Mitigating the hazardous tree debris will be a lengthy process, Sharp said. The curbside pickup is expected to continue for the next two weeks.

‘The contractors have completed their first pass through the city, which was basically the first three weeks of the program. They then started working a second pass through, and they are nearly done with all of that,” Sharp explained. “They will make their final pass through over the next couple weeks. It’ll take about two weeks to make this final pass. They’ll drive every single city street over again, and then we will close out the debris removal at the curb.”

All of the debris is taken out to a site on Melton Road, where it is mulched.

“There’s about a four to one ratio. So 400,000 cubic yards of vegetation results in 100,000 cubic yards of mulch. We will not end up with these long-standing mulch piles either. We are taking that to an approved disposal site, and so we will end up having a clean site at the end of this program,” Sharp said.

FEMA will reimburse Gary for 75% of the program’s cost; the State of Indiana will reimburse the city for the majority of the remaining 25%.

Chenika Beck, Gary’s controller, voted against the contract. “I have to watch out for the city’s cash flow. We don’t know when FEMA will pay.”