Mayor's Office

MAYOR: RECOVERY TEAM’S PURPOSE IS TO GET HELP TO PEOPLE WHO NEED IT

Recovery Team Hosting Rebuild Housing Clinics this Saturday
Substantial Progress Made on Debris Removal and Building Permits
Initial Estimates Available for Overtime Costs, Damage to Public Buildings

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (May 19, 2010) -

Mayor Karl Dean and other Metro Government officials today announced several key milestones in Nashville’s ongoing flood recovery efforts.

REBUILD HOUSING CLINICS TO BEGIN MEETING WITH CITIZENS THIS SATURDAY

ReBuild Clinics will be held this weekend by appointment to provide one-on-one sessions designed to help Nashvillians affected by the flood pull together an action plan for moving forward with the recovery process. Initial clinics are scheduled for Saturday, May 22 in six locations. A team of advisors will help individuals and families evaluate the resources available to them and work with them to create a personal plan for recovery and rebuilding. Participants will have the option to schedule follow-up appointments at nonprofit sponsor agencies. They will also have the option of requesting follow-up case management.

Beginning Thursday May 20, individuals and families can call 862-6778 to make an appointment. Callers will be advised of the information they should bring with them to the ReBuild Clinic. Sessions—tailored for both renters and owners—will be conducted by three core team members familiar with disaster and housing resources, personal finance, and the construction process. Other disciplines such as legal, social service, CPAs will be on hand at each site to provide support as necessary.

Grace Church of the Nazarene
2620 Pennington Bend Rd, Nashville, TN 37214

Mt. Zion Baptist Church
1112 Jefferson Street, Nashville, TN 37208

Bellevue Church of Christ
7401 Highway 70 South, Nashville, TN 37221

Antioch United Methodist
41 Tusculum Road, Antioch, TN 37013

Riverwood Church of Christ
1904 McGavock Pike, Nashville, TN 37216

St. Luke's Community House
5601 New York Avenue, Nashville, TN 37209

METRO DEPARTMENT OF CODES AND SAFETY HELPING CITIZENS TO REBUILD

For more than a week the Department of Codes has worked to provide citizens of Nashville with the building permits they require to begin rebuilding their homes and businesses. Yesterday, 784 permits were being granted; that volume is 3- 4 times that of any normal given day. No permit applications have been denied, but some permits are currently pending. Personnel have strived to adapt their process so that wait times may be decreased. The Department of Codes recommends that the best way to avoid lines is to avoid the lunch hour; those who come either early or late in the day are the least likely to experience long wait times.

In order to help citizens better understand the permit and rebuilding process, a flow chart has been posted at http://www.nashville.gov/ds/index.asp.

A building permit is required prior to making repairs to flood damaged homes and buildings. The purpose of this is to provide safety to homeowners and protect property value. While building permits are not required for ordinary maintenance and repairs . . . the repair of a flood damaged home or building is far from ‘ordinary’. The purpose of the permit is to provide safety. A building permit and the inspections that accompany a permit protect you, your family and guests, and future owners. It protects your neighbor. It protects your contractor. It protects the city. Evidence of permits and inspections may be required in an insurance claim or property sale. All of this adds up to a protection of your property's value.

DEBRIS REMOVAL CONTINUES

More than 100 Public Works and contracted trucks continue picking up flood debris from homes in all 12 Metro brush zones of Davidson County. Over the past 10 days, crews have removed approximately 125,000 cubic yards (or over 31,000 tons) of flood debris.

As previously released, just 46,000 cubic yards of debris would fill nearly 900 large roll-off containers. Stacked end to end those would stretch almost 4 miles.

Flood debris is being collected at three temporary staging sites: Edwin Warner Park in Bellevue; Mainstream Drive in Metro Center; and off Pulley Road near the airport. At these temporary sites, the debris is being measured and sorted, per FEMA regulations, before being transported to appropriate landfill facilities for permanent disposal according to EPA guidelines. Trucks began removing construction and demolition materials from the Edwin Warner site last Friday.

After separation, flood debris is being hauled away as follows:

  • Construction and Demolition -- landfills owned by Southern Services Inc. (2 in Metro)
  • White Goods/Appliances – TAG (Freon removed, then taken to companies such as PSC)
  • Brush -- Red River Ranch (mulch contractor at Bordeaux Mulch Facility)
  • Balance of debris – BFI’s landfill in Murfreesboro
Recycle Convenience Centers

Since May 10, approximately 800 customers have visited Metro Recycle Convenience Centers to dispose of flood debris. Public Works has temporarily waived disposal fees at all three Centers to assist flood victims with cleanup and recovery.

Metro Beautification and Environment

Metro Beautification and Environment, a division of Public Works, continues to coordinate numerous community cleanups in flood-ravaged neighborhoods. To date, Public Works staff has supervised a total of 386 community service workers from General Sessions Court, Judge Norman's Drug Court, and Judge Fishburn.

In addition, MBEC has provided 8,000 trash bags, 4,000 t-shirts, 2,000 pairs of gloves and 400 bottles of hand sanitizer to numerous volunteer groups conducting flood debris cleanups in Davidson County.

METRO GOVERNMENT WORKING TO ESTIMATE COST OF RESTORING DAMAGED FACILITIES

General Services is working to perform assessments of Metro facilities. Additionally, departments have been working to assess their costs associate with their individual grounds, equipment and labor.

GENERAL SERVICES
Based upon assessments of 41 Metro facilities, the Department of General Services estimates a cost of about $18.5 million to restore these facilities to pre-flood condition. Thirty-two Metro vehicles and pieces of equipment were a total loss at an estimated cost of $1.6 million.

Among the most notable and costly facilities are MTA’s Administration and Maintenance at $3,105,126, Bridgestone Arena at $3,050,287, LP Field at $2,377,162, Douglas Head Start at $1,502,545, and the Juvenile Justice Center at $1,152,697.

METRO PARKS
Parks reports an estimated $5,128,922 in damage to facilities and grounds, labor costs, and equipment use. An estimated $4,405,722 of that figure is from grounds, facilities, labor and equipment, while 723,200 was included in the estimate provided by General Services.

METRO WATER
Metro Water Services anticipates having over $2.5 million in overtime expense as a result of the flood. In addition, the total estimated cost to repair Metro Water Services facilities damaged by the flood is $200 million. That figure includes estimates provided by FEMA which calculate $40 million to repair the K R Harrington Water Treatment Plant and $100 million to repair the Dry Creek Wastewater Treatment Plant.

PUBLIC WORKS
Last Thursday, Public Works reported to FEMA that our cost estimate for repairing roads, bridges and signals was $17 million. Damages to roadway infrastructure were mostly scour, washouts, buckled pavement, and culvert failures. Engineering inspectors are working to visit all Metro bridges to check for damage and so far, only the Tucker and Morrow road structures experienced significant scour. Both have been repaired and are now open for traffic. During the course of the flood, Metro Public Works closed 115 roads. All except Crocker Springs Rd have since been reopened.

Metro engineers have identified six roadway locations with slope movement, and these are being monitored closely. It is possible more damage locations will emerge as the ground continues to dry out

NASHVILLE FIRE DEPARTMENT
The Fire Department is processing and collecting data relevant to FEMA reimbursement. Initial estimates of costs at this time are approximately $190,800 in overtime costs and $600,620 in equipment rates. This does not yet include damage estimates for the fire department’s damaged facilities, lost or damaged equipment, or the damage sustained to fire, EMS and rescue vehicles. The Fire Department has identified approximately 35 of its employees that suffered significant damages to their homes and is working with these employees to provide appropriate relief and care.

METRO POLICE
From May 1 through May 14, the police department estimates it incurred $2.5 million in flood-related overtime costs. Paperwork will be submitted to FEMA for reimbursement. The equipment reimbursement figure is still being calculated. Approximately 25 police department employees suffered significant, and in some cases devastating, damage to their homes. Proceeds from the sale of special T-shirts to police department employees will benefit impacted MNPD members. In terms of vehicles, the police department lost a total 14, 11 marked cars, 2 unmarked cars and 1 motorcycle.

PRIVATE PROPERTY ESTIMATES
To date, $1,944,989,738 worth of damage has been identified by inspection teams working in the affected areas. That amount is composed of 11,115 parcels of land which include 16,808 dwelling units. The Planning Department has since assembled the data from those assessment teams into publicly accessible interactive online maps available at http://maps.nashville.gov/empublic_viewer/. This information was able to provide an initial picture of the damage, even as the floodwaters were receding. It is believed that all major damage has been located and identified, but property owners are continuing to report damage which may not have been readily visible during the first assessment.

OTHER DISASTER ASSISTANCE CONTINUES TO BE AVAILABLE

HANDS ON NASHVILLE PLAYS MAJOR ROLE IN RECOVERY EFFORTS
Between May 2 and May 17, Hands On Nashville organized and coordinated the efforts of 13,569* volunteers who registered via their web-site. That figure only includes those registered online, not the hundreds of volunteer referrals made each day. The registered volunteers donated approximately 57,551 hours of service among 723 project sites. The projected impact of these flood volunteerism efforts totals $1,199,938 according to Independent Sector research.

APPROVED FEMA ASSISTANCE FOR METRO CITIZENS
More than $104 million in federal assistance has been approved for those affected by the severe record-setting storms and flooding, just two weeks after President Obama declared a federal disaster in Tennessee.

  • The amount includes $93.9 million in housing assistance such as rental and home repair assistance, and $10.5 million in other needs such as personal property.
  • 43,162 people in the 42 designated counties have registered with FEMA for Individual Assistance, (14,238 on the Web; 28,294 through the Call Center.)
  • $732,400 in loans has been approved by the U.S. Small Business Administration

Registration is ongoing via 1-800-621-FEMA and www.disasterassistance.gov

DISTRIBUTION CENTERS
The disaster information centers have now been replaced by non-profit and religious based distribution centers. During the thirteen days they were operating the DIC’s managed to serve 7,790 citizens.

For a full list of operating distribution centers visit http://www.nashville.gov/flood/assistance.asp

2-1-1
Flood Victims in need of help can call 2-1-1 to receive information on any of the items posted to Nashville.gov including finding various types of assistance such as water distribution, non-profit distribution centers, etc. Residents can also request to be directed to the closest non-profit distribution site for donations, transportation, emergency food box sites and other needs.

METRO TRANSIT AUTHORITY

Nashville MTA Building & Garage, 130 Nestor Street is taking the following steps towards repairs and recovery:

  • Hired an Emergency Response company to assess damage and do chemical biological and electrical testing
  • Moved into clean-up mode – reclamation of damaged files, equipment, and maintenance space
  • Currently, conducting demolition of first floor offices that were flooded
  • Going through an assessment of all maintenance equipment (lifts, brake lathes, compressors, fuel tanks, etc.)
  • Focusing on cleaning and operating from at least five maintenance bus bays so that bus mechanics can make routine repairs on equipment. The goal is to have this operational by this Friday.
  • Moving temporary mobile offices to property this Friday (Dispatch and Planning); these work units are currently at fairgrounds and Music City Central transit station.
  • Moved other administrative personnel into temporary offices at Metro’s SE Complex

NORMAL BUS SERVICE RESUMES NEXT WEEK
MTA is working toward, and anticipates resuming full weekday service this coming Sunday, May 24. Normal fares will again be charged. Use of the borrowed 30 buses, 25 vans, and other loaner vehicles from several transit systems will continue until new vehicles can be procured

During the storm, most of the fleet was safely moved to higher ground at Metro Nashville Public Schools (MNPS) bus lot and to the fairgrounds. The site has been used to provide for maintenance, inventory and assessment of damaged vans and buses.

NES

Power has been restored to all customers who are able to receive it. NES is continuing to waive temporary and turn-on fees and are working on a case-by-case basis to assist flood victims with their electric bills. NES is also working with TVA to assist flood victims to replace damaged electric equipment with energy-efficient systems and appliances via low interest, long-term loans, rebates, etc. Program details should be available early next week.

METRO PARKS

GREENWAY SYSTEM

As of this morning a number of River Greenways have reopened including:

  • Cumberland River Downtown to MetroCenter
  • Cumberland River Brookemeade Park
  • Cumberland River East Bank
  • Mill Creek Ezell Park (one boardwalk closed but can be walked around)
  • Mill Creek Blue Blue Hole Road
  • Harpeth River Warner Park to Bellevue Exchange
  • Harpeth River Morton Mill Road (Old Harding to Harpeth Crest)
  • Richland Creek except middle boardwalk crossing (Sloan to Old White Bridge open; Wyoming to Target Trailhead open)
  • Shelby Bottoms
  • Seven Mile Creek
  • Stones River segments:
  • Percy Priest dam trailhead to and including Rivers Edge boardwalk (from boardwalk almost to Kohls remains closed as it is still submerged)
  • Heartland Park bridge to Stones River Rd
  • Heartland Park bridge to Shelby Bottoms

Harpeth River Riverwalk and Whites Creek closed, but are anticipated to open May 28. This excludes the Whites Creek area from trailhead to mudslide; bridge may not be accessible by then.

Please do not cross signs or barricades in attempt to enter a trail that is still closed. Please refer to http://www.nashville.gov/parks/ for the most up to date information.

HARTMAN AND ANTIOCH COMMUNITY CENTERS
These centers, along with the Shelby Bottoms Nature Center are closed. We are waiting for the reports to come back on Hartman and the Shelby Bottoms Nature Center. Antioch will be closed for approximately six months.

THE SPORTSPLEX
The Sportsplex has resumed normal hours. The Aquatic facility is open but showers are only available for use prior to entering the pool as per Health Department requirements. Showers for bathing remain closed. Public skating has been canceled due to the lack of water available for resurfacing. The ice arena is operating on a limited schedule (i.e., classes, practice sessions, league games).

EDWIN AND PERCY WARNER PARKS
All hiking and horse trails in Edwin and Percy Warner Parks are closed due to downed trees or mudslides. The Old Roadway (paved trail in Edwin Warner Park) is also closed. For your safety please obey all posted signs related to closed areas.

The following locations in the Warner Parks are open and available for public use:

  • The Nature Center campus
  • The 1.6 mile and the 5.8 mile asphalt road loops in Percy Warner Park
  • The two cross country running courses
  • The Little Harpeth River Picnic Area
  • The front portion of the Deep Well Picnic Area
  • Open grassy fields

GOLF COURSES

  • Shelby Golf Course is now open for 18-hole play.
  • McCabe Golf Course has reopened. Due to major flood damage to the holes along Richland Creek, McCabe will operate an 18-hole golf course until further notice.
  • Harpeth Hills Golf Course will open on Wednesday, May 19th at 7:00am with limited play. We will assess the greens condition on a daily basis and adjust operation as necessary. Tee times can be made by calling 862-8493. Any changes to operation will be posted on the web site daily.
  • Ted Rhodes Golf Course is closed until further notice. We are presently assessing the clubhouse damage at Ted Rhodes. We do not have any information on an approximate opening date at this time. We will update the web site daily as new information becomes available.
  • VinnyLinks Golf Course is open.
METRO WATER

The Omohundro Water Treatment Plant continues to produce high quality drinking water and reservoir levels remain stable at approximately 85%. It is imperative that conservation continue until the K.R. Harrington Water Treatment Plant is back in service.

Repairs at K. R. Harrington continue to progress. The Director inspected the clearwells at K.R. Harrington on Tuesday with structural engineering experts. Preliminary results indicate no damage. MWS staff and contracted experts are putting together plans for filter operation, clear well filling, and disinfection of each as well as calibration plans for the water quality instrumentation. Work continues on electrical wiring and transformers within the critical path. Replacement instrumentation equipment, as well as valve replacement parts, and actuators are scheduled to arrive this week. The Director and the contractors are confident that K.R. Harrington can be placed back in service the end of May. Once service is able to be restored, appropriate sampling, in coordination with the Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation (TDEC) will be required to ensure that the water provided by K.R. Harrington is safe and meets all state and federal requirements.

Preliminary inspection of the Eighth Avenue Reservoir by geotechnical engineers has been complete and no anomalies were detected.

Evaluation and repair continue at both the Dry Creek Wastewater Treatment Plant and the Biosolids Facility. As of Wednesday, May 12th, Metro Water Services crews returned 25 submerged wastewater pump stations and 1 submerged water pump station to service and currently all pumping stations are online. Both the Central Wastewater Treatment Plant and Whites Creek Treatment Plant are meeting regulatory requirements.

The Customer Services Center located at 1700 Third Avenue North, is open during its regular hours of 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. Monday - Friday. While our customers are recovering from the recent flooding, Metro Water Services will waive late fees for bills that have due dates beginning Monday, May 3, continuing with all due dates through the month of May.

The MWS permits office and stormwater office located at the Metro Office Building, 800 Second Avenue South, will extend their hours to include Saturdays from 7:30 a.m. - 4:00 p.m. Additional staff has been placed at this office to assist customers

OEM SPECIAL PROJECTS

Specific OEM personnel, working under the auspices of the Office of Management and Budget, are assigned to FEMA reimbursement activities and are actively working together with department heads and departmental financial managers, collecting all data that is required to reimburse Metro government for applicable activities related to the flood response.

OEM is also beginning the very detailed process of working with the Metro departments and other agencies to collect data and all other information required for a post incident analysis of individual departmental actions, as well as their operations and interfaces with other agencies in the Emergency Operations Center during the flood event. The data collection, analysis, findings and recommendations are expected to result in the issuance of a detailed after action report. It is expected that the final report will be completed within two months.

PUBLIC SAFETY AND EMERGENCY RESPONSE

HEIGHTENED POLICE PRESENCE CONTINUES IN RECOVERING NEIGHBORHOODS THROUGHOUT NASHVILLE
Commanders in all six police department precincts have dedicated roving teams of officers to provide a close watch on neighborhoods hardest hit by the flood waters 24 hours a day. In addition to giving residents peace of mind, these officers are working to deter any criminal activity, particularly the theft of tools, plumbing, wiring and construction materials, as the repair/rebuilding process begins.

In the North Precinct, officers are working to collect telephone numbers and current locations of displaced residents for inclusion into a database so that they can be immediately contacted in the event of suspicious activity on their flood impacted properties. North Precinct officers are closely monitoring seven broad areas including Morrow Road, Delray Avenue, West Hamilton Avenue and several Madison neighborhoods.

In the West Precinct, officers in cars and on foot are concentrating their flood related security efforts in seven broad areas, including River Plantation, Avondale Park Boulevard, Harpeth Valley Road and Highway 70 from Newsom Station Road to McCrory Lane. A Command RV, loaned to the West Precinct by the Bureau of Indian Affairs, continues to be staffed at the intersection of Todd Preis Drive and Sawyer Brown Road.
In the Hermitage Precinct, officers are keeping careful watch on behalf of residents in the Waterford subdivision, Pennington Bend neighborhood, and significantly impacted businesses on Visco Drive.

In the South Precinct, officers are maintaining a roving presence in four broad areas, including Antioch Pike, Thompson Lane/Glenrose vicinity and Space Park South Drive.

In the East Precinct, officers have been dedicated to monitor a number of flood affected residential areas, including those on Joseph Avenue, Cleveland Street, Morganmeade Drive, McGinnis Drive, Moss Rose Drive, the Cooper Terrace neighborhood, and the Beth Drive/Dixon Drive neighborhood.

In the Central Precinct, officers are maintaining close contact with affected downtown business owners and residents to assist them in their recovery efforts.

SEARCH AND RESCUE EFFORTS CONTINUE
Search/recovery operations remain on-going on the Harpeth River for 39 year old Danny Tomlinson, whose car washed away during the flooding on May 2nd. OEM is coordinating efforts by use of the Sheriff’s Office personnel, Fire Department special support personnel, volunteer search organizations, OEM volunteers from its emergency support unit and human remain dogs in the on-going search/recovery.

FIRE DEPARTMENT LOOKING TO RECOGNIZE LOCAL HEROS, MUTUAL AID
The Fire Department is working to identify all personnel who engaged in heroic conduct for the purpose of recognizing them at the commendations and medals ceremonies in July.

The Fire Department will also identify all mutual aid jurisdictions that provided additional rescue equipment and personnel to assist in our rapid water rescues.

For media inquiries contact:
Bonna Johnson
615-862-6461
bonna.johnson@nashville.gov