Glynn County approves nearly $1 million in emergency debris contracts after Hurricane Helene

Glynn County commissioners on an emergency special-called meeting approved a series of purchase orders on Wednesday to begin storm debris removal after Hurricane Helene and to secure the monitoring required for federal reimbursement.

The board authorized a purchase order to Ceres Environmental Inc. for up to $712,500 to clear and haul debris from public roads and rights of way in unincorporated Glynn County. Commissioners also approved two separate purchase orders for private residential communities — a $37,500 PO to Ceres for cleanup on private roads and a pair of monitoring contracts to Tetra Tech (up to $201,267 for public-rights-of-way monitoring and up to $10,593 for private-community monitoring). Taken together, staff said the total of items on the agenda approaches $1 million. All motions passed unanimously.

"This number is based on an initial assessment," Danny Smith, Glynn County public works director, told the board, adding that the $712,500 estimate covers county rights of way only and that the county pays unit prices so costs could increase if actual cubic yards of debris exceed the estimate. Smith said the vendor will be paid by unit cubic yard and any additional funds would require a change order and a return to the commission for approval.

County staff told commissioners they are targeting Monday the 7th — one week from the meeting — to begin a two-pass countywide pickup, with the contractor performing the work and county staff coordinating messaging and spot inspections. "We are shooting for Monday the seventh, so one week from today to get started with the pickup," Smith said.

Staff and commissioners emphasized FEMA rules constrain who the county can hire for reimbursable work. Smith said Glynn County must use the competitively awarded contractor (Ceres) to be eligible for FEMA reimbursement; the county cannot directly hire ad-hoc local vendors for reimbursable debris removal but will provide local vendors' contact information to the awarded contractor and to monitoring firms if the contractor chooses to use them.

The board was also briefed on monitoring requirements. "Per FEMA regulations we're required to have an independent or separate monitoring company that ensures that the volume of debris being picked up ... is recorded and correct," Smith said, explaining monitoring verifies locations, volumes and disposal to support reimbursement claims. A county staffer briefed the board that Governor Brian Kemp requested a federal major disaster declaration that lists Glynn County and that a letter from Senator Ossoff's team supports an expedited declaration, but staff cautioned that the county must wait for FEMA to assign an incident number before reimbursement is assured.

The county clarified the limits of eligibility: pickups are focused on storm-generated vegetation and limbs; loose leaves, bagged materials, construction and demolition debris, appliances and household trash are not eligible for FEMA reimbursement. Smith said the county's existing bulk pickup program can still handle items that are ineligible under the FEMA storm-debris rules.

Commissioners also authorized entry and cleanup in private gated communities where the work is necessary to protect emergency vehicle access, stormwater conveyance, utilities or public health and safety, and instructed staff to collect signed permission paperwork (PPDR) from gated communities so crews can access private roads. The authorization cites Glynn County's debris management plan and the county code language used to support possible reimbursement requests.

All four or five votes on the agenda were unanimous. Following the approvals, the board adjourned.

Next steps: staff will finalize messaging for residents, follow up with GDOT about state-route responsibilities, collect required PPDR forms for gated communities, issue the purchase orders and submit documentation to the Georgia Emergency Management and Homeland Security Agency (GEMA) and FEMA to seek reimbursement for eligible costs.