By Ryan Berry

DailyAdvocate.com

GREENVILLE — Greenville Safety Service Director Ryan Delk gave an update on the clean-up process after an EF1 tornado tore through part of the city two weeks ago during the May 21 meeting of Greenville City Council.

Mayor Jeff Whitaker and Delk thanked the numerous organizations, governments and individuals that offered assistance. Delk said, “It is great to see a community come together and there is no better place than Greenville.”

The city remains focused on removing limb and tree debris from around the community and the Greenville City Park. Residents who have placed limbs at the curb will begin to see the brush and limbs removed. Mayor Whitaker said the street department will be systematically clearing brush from both ends of town.

Delk warned during the meeting they are not allowing individuals to come into the park to clear the lumber. “(There is a) lot of misinformation out there. A lot of people called asking for firewood. Can we go out and cut firewood? My answer was no. All of these neighborhoods need help and I’m sure if you go knock on anyone’s door with a tree in their front yard, I’m sure they’re going to say sure cut it up and haul it away. You can have all the firewood you want.”

Following the meeting Delk clarified that the city is working with MBM Lumber to resell the lumber. “They come in mark everything, delimb it, cut it into the best desirable links for resale. Haul it out and then bring in a lumber buyer,” he said. “The city gets two-thirds for the sale of the more desirable hardwood and 50 percent of the less desirable skid wood.”

All of the money from the sale of lumber will go back to the park fund to help with rebuilding the park. Since it is still unclear as to what the park will need, there is a possibility they will be able to use the funds as they see fit. “There are a lot more questions than answers at this point,” Delk said. “It will all depend on insurance, tree donations, and how the park board wants to proceed.”

Delk shared there are safety and liability concerns with individuals cutting and hauling firewood from the park. “We had a couple of trees marked for logging that someone cut pieces off. I’m assuming for firewood. This drastically devalues the resale.”

There have also been questions raised about the cost of chipping limbs and the use of Fitzwater Outdoor Maintenance, a for-profit business, with getting the limbs to produce mulch. There was also a rumor the Darke County Solid Waste had offered to assist the city with chipping at no cost to the city and that it was turned down. According to Delk, the rumor was not true.

“It was never communicated to the city this service would be free or no cost. The words ‘good deal’ and ‘probably could help with cost’ were used. I believe Solid Waste agreed to pay for the grinding at Darke County Parks and the cemetery brush,” said Delk. He admitted they turned down an offer that was presented as a good deal but explained a total cost to the city had not been given and a decision had to be made that day due to the company being in the area and starting in the next couple of days. During the council meeting, Delk said the city continues to work with Darke County Solid Waste to get a cost.

The city is working quickly to try to find a way to dispose of the limbs and brush. “The first couple days after the tornado we were hauling it to Fitzwater’s composting facility. This was to try to not to have to handle it twice,” he said. “We quickly realized this was not going to be efficient. Then Darke County Parks expressed (an) interest to use firewood for their cabins and grindings for their trails. We began to haul to Darke County Parks, and I agreed to rent a tub grinder later to turn all the brush on site into grindings for their trails.”

The city has filled up the area at the Darke County Parks with 80 to 100 dump truck loads and is now holding limbs and brush in the city pool parking lot.

The Daily Advocate/The Early Bird sent an email requesting comment from Mayor Whitaker, since he is the elected official, on Monday asking about the issue with Darke County Solid Waste and he has yet to respond.

The safety service director praised Darke County Parks for their efforts after the tornado and said they have “been fantastic” with helping to get rid of the brush piles. “Without the people we have in our community we wouldn’t be recovering as quickly as we are,” he added.

The city does have a contract with Fitzwater’s Outdoor Service for the yearly removal of brush, limbs and leaves. There is a cost to the city but because it does not reach the $75,000 requirement, the service is not bid out. “Brush and leaves are not an easy product to get rid of or store. Sites must be approved by the EPA to be a certified composting facility with inspections. We have traveled many different roads over the years all at a much higher cost than we pay now. Making mulch is a multi-step process that takes a lot of fuel and expensive equipment to produce. Fitzwater’s has been the cheapest and most efficient for us to dispose of these products.”

The city is now working with Zechar Bailey Funeral Home’s recently announced program to replenish the trees lost at the city park. There was a question as to whether or not people participating in this program would be able to choose the type of tree they’d prefer. Delk shared they are bringing in an urban forestry consultant through Ohio Department of Natural Resources to determine what the city needs and where to place trees so donors would not get to choose. The trees will most likely be purchased during Brown Nursery’s annual auction in the fall.

Although the trees were the biggest loss for the city park, Delk noted they also had damage to many of their buildings. Because he has not received the report back from the insurance company, he speculated that Shelter #1, pool concession stand, and the pool chlorine shed will be considered total losses. They also have a lot of fence repair and damage to the roofs of many of their shelter houses. The Roundhouse experienced damage but Delk believes it can be repaired.

The city is currently trying to get in touch with individuals that have reserved shelters and either reschedule or possibly refund the fee to reserve the shelter.

The city pool was originally scheduled to open on May 25, but with the damage, he is hoping they can open on June 1.

To contact Daily Advocate Editor Ryan Berry, email [email protected].