City of Fernley to Sweep Flood Affected Streets

RECOVERY AND CLEANUP CONTINUES: Fernley, NV – February 12, 2008 On Wednesday, February 20th, 2008, City crews will be sweeping the flood affected streets. With this in mind, the City funded debris removal efforts and the numerous dumpster sites that have been set up in the flood affected neighborhoods to assist residents with the costs of flood debris removal will be discontinued. Property owners in the flood affected neighborhoods are asked to voluntarily: 1) reasonably expedite their flood debris removal prior to the Tuesday, February 19 final dumpster pickup (to take advantage of the free disposal provided by the City of Fernley); 2) make sure that they don't block the right-of-way or obstruct fireplugs or utility meters when transporting debris to the dumpsters for removal and; 3) to not park their vehicles in the streets on Wednesday, February 20 on the flood affected streets. Frequently asked questions about Street Sweeping:  Why do I need to move my car during street sweeping? Moving vehicles off a street scheduled for sweeping allows City crews to thoroughly clean the street from curb-to-curb. One parked car equals nearly three car lengths of space that can’t be swept because the street sweeping equipment must leave room to avoid it. When can I park on my street again? Sweeping is usually conducted from 7:00 AM to 4:30 PM on the day a street is scheduled to be swept. Keep in mind that even if the street appears to have been cleared, we ask that you wait until after 4:30 PM because sweeping is completed in several stages. Facts about City Sponsored Flood Debris Removal:  FEMA provides technical assistance to all disaster sites in an effort to aid in the debris removal process and assisted the City of Fernley and State of Nevada with the hazardous debris (i.e., paint, paint thinner, insecticides, motor oil, bleach, and appliances) removal on January 13 and 14, 2008.

City, county and state governments are not authorized to remove debris from private property except where extraordinary threats to human health and safety may exist. The City of Fernley has provided over 394 individual dump passes to flood affected residents resulting in approximately 1800 cubic yards of flood damage debris removal from January 7, through February 8, 2008. To date: the roll out boxes provided at Out of Town Park and in the flood affected neighborhoods totaled 126 dumpsters at 30 yards each resulting in 3780 cubic yards of flood debris removal.

“This is a huge responsibility that has been placed upon the city and on the individual homeowners responsible for debris removal. FEMA only funds debris removal efforts for the City on a 75 percent federal and 25 percent local basis during the first weeks of the emergency. FEMA’s practice is that the homeowner pay for debris removal costs on their individual properties however; we have learned from past federal disasters that if a city doesn’t assist residents with the debris removal, the debris could be around for months and even years creating blight and environmental hazards. It is our hope to insure the flood debris removal process can be completed in timely and helpful manner which benefits the whole city,” commented Gary Bacock, City Manager.

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