Supervisors explore less-expensive plan to handle demolished home debris

Published 4:29 pm Tuesday, January 21, 2020

The Warren County Board of Supervisors believes they have a far less expensive solution to handle the debris left behind the demolition of 24 flood-ravaged homes in the Eagle Lake community.

Tuesday, supervisors approved the advertising for bids for companies who could provide a “turn-key” option of picking up and removing the more than 200,000 cubic square feet of debris currently located on county rights of way in the community.

In November, volunteers from Team Rubicon came to Eagle Lake to demolish homes that had been severely damaged in the months-long Yazoo Backwater Area flood. In many cases, the homes had been inundated for months.

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While Team Rubicon demolished the homes at no cost to the homeowners or the county, the county was left with the responsibility of how to handle the removal and disposal of the debris.

In November, supervisors had come up with the plan of paying for large, 3o-yard dumpsters to be placed in the area to allow county crews to quickly remove debris from the rights of way and then place it in dumpsters. By having the dumpsters in the area, county crews could remove debris much quicker than having to fill up dump trucks and then make trips to and from the landfill.

But while the plan was thought to be expedient, it came with a significant cost estimate; at one time estimated to cost $180,000.

After the county received bids for the dumpster service, estimates moved lower to near $130,000.

During a special meeting in December, supervisors — many of whom had not been re-elected — voted to table a decision until January when the new Board of Supervisors came into office.

Dr. Jeff Holland, who represents District 4 on the Board of Supervisors and serves as the board’s president, said early information from construction companies wanting to bid on the new, all-inclusive plan, gives supervisors hope costs will be even lower.

“We believe the offering now can be done where the contractor would be efficient enough to handle it themselves and still be cheaper than what had been thought initially,” Holland said. “The new set of possible new contractors this time around appears to offer us a way to have the debris taken care of and have them handle it and still be cheaper.”

The deadline to receive proposals is Jan. 31 at 10 a.m. Once those proposals are reviewed, a recommendation will be presented to the supervisors at their scheduled meeting on Feb. 3.

About Tim Reeves

Tim Reeves, and his wife Stephanie, are the parents of three children, Sarah Cameron, Clayton and Fin, who all attend school in the Vicksburg Warren School District. The family are members of First Baptist Church Vicksburg. Tim is involved in a number of civic and volunteer organizations including the United Way of West Central Mississippi and serves on the City of Vicksburg's Riverfront Redevelopment Committee.

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