Karen Brady
Dale Thompson, director of Grady County Emergency Management, presented county commissioners with a bill for $253,259 on Monday.
That’s how much the Christmas Eve snow storm cost the county, Thompson said.
Figured into the estimate was damage in the Tuttle and Minco areas, as well as the three district barns and the sheriff’s office.
“The majority of the money, $244,000, was damage to roads and bridges,” Thompson said.
Overtime pay for county workers added up to $8,971. Thompson asked commissioners for a breakdown of expenses incurred as a result of the storm, such as fuel costs, road repairs, damage to equipment and gravel.
District 1 Commissioner Windle Hardy said his district was out $6,000 for chains for road graders, and District 3 Commissioner Jack Porter said his district was out another $22,000 after the transmission went out on a loader.
The state is hoping for a federal disaster to be declared so it can start proceedings for help from FEMA Thompson said.
Commissioners did not approve a purchase order on Monday for Thompson to attend an EMT class at CVTC.
“Your job is civil defense director, not riding around in an ambulance of fire truck,” said Porter. “Your job is to have us ready in the county.”
The Grady County Emergency Management Office was recently criticized by Sheriff Art Kell for its alleged failures during the recent snow storms.
The board did approve a proposed plan for the replacement of the Washita River overflow bridge north of Verden. The bridge collapsed during a 2207 flood.
“We applied for federal emergency aid for the overflow bridge project in 2007 and it has taken this long to get the go-ahead,” Commissioner Mike Lennier said.
The board then approved an application from AT&T; for a permit to lay fiber optic cable from 16th and Frisco, north on Old Hwy. 81 to the intersection of new Hwy. 81. Also approved was an application from Lumen Midstrean Partnership, LLC for a natural gas pipeline in District 2 that will bore under the Washita River 10 feet below the floodline.
