Politics & Government

Winter Storm Alfred: Picking Up the Pieces of a Natural Disaster

Board of Finance member and Avon resident Thomas Gugliotti talks about the work that went into storm cleanup and the reasoning behind the town's decision to contract debris removal out.

The following letter to the editor was submitted to Avon Patch by Thomas Gugliotti, an Avon resident and Board of Finance member.

To the editor,

It will be a long time before Winter Storm Alfred is forgotten, but it may take less time for people to overlook or forget the herculean job done by local town government, volunteers, private contractors and residents in addressing this natural disaster that visited our region before Thanksgiving. Despite the harsh effects of Alfred, Avon residents have a good deal to appreciate, from the town manager and director of Public Works, to the leadership shown by the Town Council and Board of Finance. While a small number of other towns may have elected to deal with the massive clean-up on their own, after a tremendous amount of rapid and detailed investigation and analysis, Avon elected to go the FEMA supported route.

Under available FEMA programs, and with congressional and presidential approval, Avon qualifies for 75 percent reimbursement of the anticipated cost of this massive cleanup effort. Town officials considered the alternative of having town crews and equipment attack the mountain of debris left behind in the wake of Alfred. The Avon Public Works Department and others calculated that if town crews and equipment were to be used for the clean up, and being diverted solely to this task, each available town truck would have to make in excess of 1,500 trips to a central collection area, which process would likely have taken nearly one year to complete – assuming there was no upcoming winter season to interfere with that process. Then, there would be the need to make arrangements for the processing of the raw debris, chipping and removal, another major task for which the town has neither the equipment nor the location to receive the processed debris. Not an acceptable route to take.

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An initial determination was made by town officials, working in conjunction with a number of FEMA qualified potential bidders for a clean-up contract, that the estimated volume of debris to be managed in this process would total some 100,000 cubic yards.  By comparison, the last time the town did a “brush collection," the total collected was a mere 3,200 cubic yards. Storm Alfred left behind significantly more to deal with than a modest “annual yard clean up program."  As this work has progressed, that total is estimated to have grown to at least 130,000 cubic yards of debris to be collected and disposed of. 

Of paramount concern for town officials was dealing with the after effects of this natural disaster quickly and efficiently – so that there would be a complete, town-wide removal before the winter snows hit, which would inhibit or even prevent pick up and removal before the spring thaw.  Leaving the devastation wrought by Alfred on the ground through the winter was not a safe or acceptable option. The targeted clean up period had to be measured in terms of weeks, not months.

The result of many emergency meetings by the Town Council and Board of Finance, hours of work by town officials and staff, the submission of numerous competitive bids by FEMA qualified contractors, is that the town is now nearly cleared of the physical evidence of Alfred’s uninvited visit to Avon. No doubt there has been a cost associated with this natural disaster, but fortunately, Avon was prepared to meet that challenge. Better still is the fact that the cost of removing in excess of 130,000 cubic yards of debris, clearing dangerous “hangers and leaners” from nearly 3,000 trees left behind by the storm, and processing the raw debris into manageable wood chips, will be borne 75 percent by FEMA programs. Not to be overlooked in this analysis is the savings on town equipment, staff, employees and programs that comes with not having to dedicate those resources to what could have been a year-long clean up effort.

Avon may not have suffered a deadly tornado or Biblical flood, but it did take a direct hit by Alfred that qualifies as a natural disaster.  All residents shared in the difficulties, challenges and damage brought by this great and unusual storm.  As with many “disaster episodes," positive stories emerge. In the case of the town of Avon, each resident who had to endure, to a greater or lesser degree, the ravages of this freak early snow storm, some solace can be taken by reflecting on the quiet fortitude shown by its residents, and the prompt, efficient action taken by town leaders to “dig out” as quickly and as efficiently as possible.  Something worth remembering.

-Thomas A. Gugliotti
Avon, CT resident
Board of Finance member                    

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