Days after Hurricane Isaias made landfall near Destin, Walton County officials say they’ve moved rapidly to clear roadways, restore public beach access, and tally millions of dollars in storm damage as recovery efforts ramp up across the region.
During a Board of County Commissioners meeting this week, local emergency managers and department heads presented status updates on hundreds of damaged homes, an estimated $4.5 million in debris removal costs, and commissioners’ unanimous pledge to fund clean-up across all local neighborhoods—even where federal assistance falls short.
Recovery from Isaias is in Process – Assessments and Clean Up in Full Swing
The Walton County Board of County Commissioners (BCC) spent the first part of its meeting this week receiving status reports from county department heads overseeing recovery operations from Hurricane Isaias, which made landfall last Friday evening. The most detailed report to the BCC came from Jeff Goldberg, Director of Walton County Emergency Management. Goldberg gave a “can-do” report that emphasized the progress that had been made, including the news that “the [Florida National or State] Guard [was] on the ground” in less than 24 hours following the storm. He reported that the state and FEMA (Federal Emergency Management Agency) were in the process of doing the required assessments following a disaster, including a damage assessment of the areas impacted by the major storm. Goldberg emphasized that the county (and Emergency Management) “are ahead of schedule on many things.”
County Emergency Management Initiated its “Rapid Impact Assessment”
For damage assessments the county began a “rapid impact assessment” and the state and FEMA were extremely quick to follow. Goldberg spoke about the self reporting tool (for the county) and gave the following information. There were 781 reports and two residences destroyed. Identified were 65 major and 229 minor reports with 485 affected along with business reports of damage and losses. From the business community, there were a total of 29 business reports. One business was destroyed with five major impacts reported, 9 minor, and a total of 14 affected.
What Do We Do With All The Debris? What Will It Cost the County?
FEMA’s is the organization that makes the determination for a “public disaster declaration.”
That assessment matters because it determines how much federal money for recovery assistance Walton County will receive. One of the big topics Goldberg addressed was debris removal.
This impact is costly, and the more severe FEMA’s assessment report, the more financial assistance the county will receive. Goldberg stated, “The initial debris estimate (from the County) is 250,000 cubic yards [of debris]…He continued, “It’s going to change once things get validated. So approximately $4.5 million in debris removal costs.”
Goldberg said the initial work has cleared roadways to allow traffic to flow and provide needed access for emergency vehicles. Emergency Management indicated that trucks are assessed for volumetric measurements. He explained, “So they look at a dump truck, [and] they say, ‘it will hold 20 cubic yards.” The certified truck is assigned to pick up debris through a numbering system and a monitor takes an inventory of the fill capacity and then measures the compensation or payload of debris removed. In short, payment is made by cubic yards hauled.
Goldberg said state officials want to send all reporting and assessment to FEMA by this Friday, October 16, to obtain “a declaration.” Walton County Emergency Management has spoken to Senator Scott and Congressman Patronis who are pushing very hard for a disaster declaration that will support Walton County with the financial impacts for recovery. Goldberg said his team is moving forward with the expectation that the FEMA declaration will support Walton County.
Regarding assistance to those affected by the hurricane, Goldberg said the county distributed 4,200 MREs (Meals Ready to Eat) countywide. In addition, the county distributed 4,600 cases of water, 254 bags of ice, and 207 tarps.
Commissioner Johns Supports Refuse Pick-up for All Communities and Neighborhoods
Commissioner Donna Johns (District 4) sought clarification on debris pick-up. She asked, “Is the debris pick-up going to be just on county roads or is that also going to be in private neighborhoods?” Her concern was that the impact to neighborhoods (including gated communities) is great, and she believes that it must be a priority of the county to support all residents, including gated communities, with debris pick-up. The Commissioners heard that concern and worked collaboratively to include all residents and housing developments with the debris collection process. Johns emphasized, If we are going to have contractors, they need to be picking up all the debris.”
County Administrator, Brian Kellenberger supported Commissioner Johns concerns by saying, “Ultimately, the question is: Are we going to get debris in all areas of the county? And I think the answer to that [question] is yes, we will…Some of it will be FEMA reimbursed. Some of it we’re [Walton County is] going to have to pick up the tab for because it’s against FEMA.” Johns added, “Well, we need to be concerned about the people, absolutely, the area, and not so much about what we’re going to get reimbursed [for,] in my opinion.
Commissioner Seeks Clarification on Public Vs. Private Beach Clean-Up
Johns also wanted clarification on “beach cleanup.” She said very directly to Goldberg, are you talking public [beaches], private [beaches], or both? Goldberg responded, “Public.” And Johns responded, “Public only?” Goldberg quickly responded, “Right.” Cleanup will be for Walton County Public Beaches.
Public Beach Accesses Are Open in Walton County
The BCC voted unanimously to cover debris removal expenses that FEMA will not cover. The BCC also voted to cover the clean-up of public beaches in Walton County. Josh Irvin, Director of Beach Operations gave a report that was very positive following the impacts of Isaias on the beaches. He said as of Tuesday, Beach Operations had “10 of our 11 regional beach accesses open.” He added that the beach shuttle/transportation service was operational at the time of the BCC meeting. He also added that the bike path on 30A from the West Connector up to Watertown Parkway has been cleared of debris. Irvin added that with regard to the public beach clean-up, “There is a difference between ‘recovery’ and ‘restoration.’ And we’re certainly still in that recovery phase. We [Beach Operations] got a lot of work to do. Pretty much every one of our beach access points had some damage – most of which is minimal for the most part.”
