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County staff can waive vegetative landfill fees for Midway EF0 tornado cleanup; board asked for direction on broader debris pickup
Summary
Commissioners discussed options to help homeowners in the Village Parkway area after a small tornado; County Administrator Brad Baker said he has authorization to waive vegetative-debris delivery fees and will coordinate pickups with Waste Pro or county forces if the board directs.
Santa Rosa County commissioners discussed cleanup options for a handful of homes damaged by an EF0 tornado in the Village Parkway area in Midway during the March 10 committee meeting. County Administrator Brad Baker said he already has authority to waive vegetative-debris delivery fees at the county landfill and asked the board for direction if more extensive pickups are desired.
"If we waive vegetative, debris delivery fees at the landfill, I can do that. The board has authorized me to do that," Baker said, describing staff's existing authority and the trade-offs of activating a full debris-management contract.
Baker told the board the county had contacted Waste Pro to price a one-time pickup for the affected neighborhood and noted past practice: for small, localized tornadoes, Santa Rosa has used county forces rather than activating the county's full debris-management contract because the contract can be very costly. "We do not want to enact our debris management contract. It gets very costly," he said.
Commissioner Wright, who raised the incident, said the damage appeared minor — construction debris and vegetative material — but important to those affected. "For the handful of people that were affected, ... it is significant to them," Wright said.
Baker asked for board direction on whether to proceed with a county-staff pickup, to arrange a one-time private hauler removal, or to allow residents to take debris to the landfill with waived vegetative fees. No formal vote was taken Monday; staff said they will implement the option the board prefers.
Background detail noted in the meeting: in prior hurricane and flood responses (for example April 14 events referenced by staff), the county has activated county forces for isolated incidents; full contract activation is typically reserved for large-scale disasters.
Commissioners signaled support for allowing staff to use county forces for a targeted cleanup to avoid opening the landfill or activating an expensive contract, but formal direction will be implemented per staff's next steps.
