Joplin to start tree, limb pickup June 3 for tornado victims

May 14—Crews provided by the city of Joplin will be put to work starting June 3 collecting downed trees and limbs from the May 6 tornado.

The City Council on Monday night approved a staff proposal to collect tree debris at curbside within the designated tornado zones in Joplin. The council also agreed that Joplin could offer to help Duquesne with vegetation removal and be reimbursed when that town has funds to do so.

The reason cleanup will not start earlier is because it will take time for the city to take bids and hire contractors to do the work, the council was told. Also, that will give residents time to gather limbs and place them curbside. Debris should not be put in the street, city officials said.

Dan Johnson, public works director, said city crews can pick up limbs and tree debris on isolated properties outside the main tornado path but that the city does not have enough of the necessary equipment or available personnel to clear the large amount of downed vegetation within the tornado zones. That's why contractors would be hired.

At first, more than 500 properties were identified as being hit by the twister, but by May 9, the city learned that about 725 properties had been damaged because an area south of 32nd Street and Range Line Road that had not previously been identified as damaged was found to have been struck as well.

There are 1,050 blocks within the path of the tornado.

The council was told that residents can only expect city-paid pickup of trees and limbs. No other debris left by the tornado can be gathered and hauled away by city-paid crews, said Johnson and finance director Leslie Haase.

Haase said city staff is working with the State Emergency Management Agency and the National Weather Service to obtain information needed to apply for a disaster declaration that would enable reimbursement of cleanup costs.

Disaster declaration?

While the damage and losses Joplin residents experienced as a result of the EF1 tornado likely would not be enough alone to trigger federal disaster assistance, cumulative damages statewide might be adequate by combining losses around the state as the result of flooding and spring storms. However, state officials are not confident yet there is enough economic damage across the state to secure a federal declaration, Haase said.

In that case, the city has adequate general fund reserves to cover the costs, at an estimated $350,000.

Troy Bolander, the city's director of planning, development and neighborhoods, said some organizations have volunteered to assist people with debris removal. In particular, elderly and disabled residents or those without anyone who can help them could likely receive volunteer assistance by calling the city for a referral to volunteers.

Those who need help or those who wish to volunteer may call 417-624-0820, ext. 1542 or 1539.

Those with insurance should contact their insurance companies, which should cover the cost of debris removal, Bolander said.

Fire Chief Gerald Ezell said the weather service issued a tornado warning at 11:34 p.m. the night of the storm for nearby Carterville but later learned the tornado actually hit in Joplin from 11:29 to 11:34 p.m.

"So we had a tornado on the ground for five minutes before we got notification," the chief said.

The tornado traveled into Duquesne after hitting Joplin, much as the deadly 2011 tornado that led to the deaths of 161 people and destroyed nearly everything in its 6-mile path through south-central Joplin.

Johnson said that the city's limb drop-off site continues to be available to residents who want to haul away tree limbs themselves. Located at 1702 N. Schifferdecker Ave., the site is open from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. daily through Saturday.

Next Monday, a controlled burn will be started there to reduce the large amount of vegetation that has been brought there so far.

Additional information is available on a new webpage established by the city at www.joplinmo.org/storm-clean-up that addresses various topics.