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Franklin officials praise emergency response and outline debris, utility impacts from January storm
Summary
City staff credited interdepartmental teamwork for keeping Franklin services running during a severe January winter storm, reporting hundreds of emergency and utility calls, extensive brining and debris operations, and a short projected catch-up timeline for city streets and parks.
City of Franklin officials on Feb. 10 credited coordinated city operations and regional utility partners for maintaining essential services during a severe winter storm in January.
"The teamwork during this event was pretty amazing," Mark, assistant city administrator for public works, told the Board of Mayor and Aldermen. He reported Franklin Fire logged 246 calls over a four-day span, including 115 medical calls and three fires, while the police department logged 1,163 CAD calls, including 282 traffic stops and 21 reports of wires down.
Streets crews pre-treated major routes with brine and used roughly 1,000 tons of material during the response; staff said they deployed two 12-hour shifts with about 32 employees and used four knuckle-boom machines for debris removal. SES reported approximately 560 tons of debris collected to date and estimated debris work could require about three weeks to complete within the city rea.
Staff said the city operated largely at a "tier 2" modified operations level during the worst of the event, keeping emergency services and critical plants running 24/7 while limiting some in-person administrative functions. Board members asked about personnel policies for employees unable to work during tier 2 modified operations; staff said those employees would use available personal or paid leave.
Officials also credited partnerships with regional electric cooperatives and emphasized communications efforts: the city dded roughly 2,500 social media followers during the event and recorded about 6,600 visits to its winter-weather guidance page.
Next steps: staff said remaining park repairs (damaged restrooms and a Fort Granger bridge handrail) and some park-system debris removal were underway and that the city had reordered salt supplies to prepare for future events.
