Debris Cleanup Underway

A massive effort to remove the debris left by the devastating Halloween snowstorm is underway in town. Farmington awarded the bid for debris pickup to Tennessee contractor Michael’s Tree and Loader Service for $1,274,576. The contract is for 45 days and the cleanup is expected to take nearly that long, said Farmington engineer Matt Blume.

The debris removal contractor currently has a total of seven tree-cutting crews and six debris and brush removal crews working in five zones across town. A map on the town’s website, shows their location and progress and will be updated daily.

According to Blume, Michael’s Tree and Loader Service was the lowest qualified bidder from among eight companies that submitted bids. The companies were spread across the east coast, including two from Farmington and Harwinton, with costs ranging from $1 million to $2.5 million.

The bid was awarded during an emergency Town Council meeting held Nov. 9. According to the minutes, Russ Arnold, the town’s director of public works, said it would take the town crews a year to pick up all the debris if they did none of their regular duties.

Funding for the contractor was added to the 2011-2012 budget in a couple of areas including the capital projects, money left over from the West Woods project and the Manufacturer’s Machinery & Equipment payment in lieu of taxes program. Town Manager Kathy Eagen said she is confident that FEMA will reimburse the town both for 75 percent of the debris pickup costs and 75 percent of the town’s total costs related to the storm.

Eagen said the town worked together with other valley towns on the bid, drafted by Avon, and that it shows again that regionalization works.

Blume said it’s difficult to estimate how much debris has accumulated on the sides of Farmington’s roads and the piles continue to grow each day. The town’s estimate is somewhere around 100,000 cubic yards of debris, which will be collected by the contractor and brought to the old landfill site at Tunxis Mead. Eventually it will be chipped.

Residents are advised to place their debris by the curbside as soon as possible where it will not be obstructing roads, fire hydrants, utility poles or mailboxes.

Town crews will begin the process of picking up leaves after the debris pickup.