by Nathan Boddy
The Hamilton City Council heard a variety of reports from city department heads when they gathered for their regular meeting on Tuesday, September 3. Less than two weeks prior, on Friday, August 23, Hamilton and surrounding areas of Ravalli County were battered with winds gusts of up to 82 miles per hour, causing widespread damage, cutting power and sending branches and whole trees to the ground. Consequently, much of the council’s discussion revolved around debris cleanup, and charting a way forward.
Tyrel Woods spoke on behalf of the fire department, stating that, on the evening of the storm, it responded to 19 calls in a two-hour period, acting in concert with the city police department, public works, and the Ravalli County Sheriff’s Office.
“It was kind of chaos there for a moment,” he said, noting that county dispatch had gone silent for a bit during the storm. Acknowledging the scale of damage, he added, “I’m really surprised there wasn’t any injuries or fatalities.”
Public Works Director Donny Ramer informed the council that his crews have already removed somewhere between 200 and 250 cubic yards of debris, adding, “we’re probably not even halfway there.” Ramer pointed out that his crews still have their ongoing obligations to attend to, and are collecting debris as they are able.
In addition to city crews, the Trapper Creek Job Corps sent a crew to Hamilton armed with a wood chipper to help lift some of the burden.
Amy Fox, Director of Parks and Urban Forestry, told the council that she estimates approximately 25% of the city’s trees sustained some level of damage. She also gave the council an estimated breakdown of costs associated with the storm, which included debris removal, trimming and pruning, as well as complete removal of some trees that have been damaged beyond hope. Her estimate also includes some repair of city property, addressing safety concerns of broken limbs hung up within branches, and replanting trees where possible. The total cost, she calculates, falls between $289-300,000.
“It’s definitely not what we have accounted for in our normal budget,” she said.
With such a large, unanticipated financial strain, the city is in search of ways to fund the efforts. During the wind event, Mayor Dominic Farrenkopf drafted an emergency proclamation in concert with city attorney Karen Mahar. Mahar was present at last Tuesday’s meeting to explain that an emergency proclamation can be used as the first step in searching for such funds.
Mahar said that the city has been working with Emergency Management Director at Ravalli County, Eric Hoover, to ascertain if their combined losses meet a minimum damage limit in order to apply for a Presidential declaration for funding from FEMA. In this case, certain loss thresholds would have to have been met by both city and county. In the case that the FEMA disaster relief is not possible, the city would still have the option of seeking state funding.
State disaster relief funding would require a portion of match by the city, in this case an amount equal to a 2 mill levy, which would raise just over $29,000, according to Mahar. Mahar said that the city will test the FEMA option before considering the levy/state emergency funding route.
“I understand that it’s a decision that’s not to be taken lightly,” said Mahar, “but it could come up.”
Mahar also said that, should the levy route be considered by the council, the decision would have to be unanimous.