Local governments and their contractors are working steadily to clear away the piles. As of Friday, they’d collected enough debris from yards across Volusia and Flagler counties to fill the Ocean Center nearly two times over. But, some residents are angry and frustrated by the piles and want to know why the work isn’t going faster.
The piles are causing concerns for trick or treaters and people walking their dogs at night, in addition to being a fire hazard and killing the grass underneath. Ormond Beach officials also warned the piles may attract snakes and rodents and obstruct sight lines for motorists.
A few creative residents incorporated debris piles into their Halloween decorating, using fake spider webs and pumpkins to add holiday ambiance. It’s anyone’s guess how much longer the piles will linger but it’s clear the mess won’t be gone by the time the jack o’ lanterns and temporary tombstones are put away for another year.
On one cul-de-sac in Halifax Plantation, in north Volusia County, neighbors are taking turns wetting down the 8- to 10-foot piles to prevent them from catching fire, said resident Jane Sedotto.
“We are a fire hazard,” Sedotto said, of the narrow streets in her community. “I don’t even think an emergency vehicle could get around our cul-de-sac to get in here.”
She’s frustrated it’s taking so long and that she and her neighbors don’t know how long it might remain. “The county can’t even give us a timetable,” she said. “It’s ridiculous.”
At Volusia County’s Tomoka Landfill a steady line of large trucks — more than 200 a day — streams through the gate, each laden with an estimated 100 cubic yards of Matthew debris. The county is burning and chipping the debris, and has expanded the locations it’s using to store the debris to five, to reduce driving time between truckloads. Flagler County and cities across the area also have locations where debris is being stacked for burning or chipping.
The massive job is taking a long time for two reasons. It's an overwhelming amount of debris and there's a shortage of subcontractors, said George Recktenwald, deputy county manager for Volusia County.
“This storm acted like a buzz saw that skimmed the edge of the coast and laid waste to trees and vegetative debris on a scale that we’ve not seen,” Recktenwald said. The debris is spread out in a path “from Port St. Lucie, Florida north to Fayetteville, North Carolina. It’s so spread out that this has taken all the contractors and really put a strain on the system.”
It didn’t help that contractors also are still cleaning up from severe flooding in Louisiana.
“The main contractors that we all have contracts with are here,” Recktenwald said. “It’s additional work crews that are the problem. We have crews here from as far away as California.”
Local governments have an extra incentive to get it done as soon as possible, because FEMA reimburses up to 85 percent of the cost if the debris is collected within 30 days, but several local governments said it’s going to take weeks and weeks.
Local officials have heard some communities are paying above their contracted rates to get more workers and that some contractors are trying to outbid others to pick up extra subcontractors.
The county focused its efforts first on the biggest safety challenges, Recktenwald said, areas with the most traffic and higher speeds. By Friday afternoon, the county expected to have collected more than 165,000 cubic yards.
In Ormond Beach, the city’s contractors have picked up more than 160,000 cubic yards, as of Wednesday evening, but they weren’t even halfway through. Neither were New Smyrna Beach or Daytona Beach.
In Daytona Beach Shores, city officials has decided to contract with Waste Pro to do extra pickups, said Fred Hyatt, community services director.
They'll focus on the roughly 300 single-family homes in the Shores, Hyatt said. "It just needs to be done," he said. The longer it sits there, he said, the more frustrated people get.
While the piles are fraying the nerves and patience of many, others say they understand it's a massive task.
"The scope of the debris was unprecedented, said Cynde Lynn Baumann of Flagler Beach. "I am impressed with how fast cleanup was coordinated and executed on such a grand scale. Our neighborhood is supposed to be blessed with the Claw on Monday."
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