Getting your Trinity Audio player ready...

By Buzz Trexler

Star Correspondent

Elizabethton City Council agreed Thursday night that city employees did a yeoman’s job in the wake of Tropical Storm Helene, but officials decided the city now needs the help of professionals who know how to navigate the world of federal bureaucracy.

Council members also heard a report on the status of Broad Street Bridge.

Council members approved an initial one-year contract with Schaus LLC, an Ellisville, Miss., company that specializes in providing services in the wake of natural and man-made disasters. The contract will auto-renew annually for five years unless canceled according to agreed-upon terms.

“We have a need for assistance in managing the recovery from a disaster such as this and in navigating FEMA (the Federal Emergency Management Agency),” City Manager Daniel Estes said. “And we know they have their processes and protocols, and we appreciate that.”

The processes and protocols on the state and federal level are such that, according to a staff summary, it was the Tennessee Emergency Management Agency (TEMA) who advised the city to contract with a professional service that has experience in acting as a liaison between the city, TEMA, and FEMA. 

Estes said the city looked at two firms and the decision was made to “press forward.” Purchasing Director Greg Workman said TEMA recommended Schaus LLC, and the city manager said upon review Schaus was consistently preferred by staff members. Two contracts with Schaus were approved by council, one with the city at large and the other for Elizabethton Electric.

Schaus Vice President Sonya Shows gave a brief history of the company, which had its birth after Hurricane Katrina struck in August 2005. Shows said her family started 4D Solutions, Schaus’ sister company, and “quickly realized” there was a need to help cities and counties navigate the waters of FEMA when it came to disaster recovery. “So, in 2006 we took two years and read every FEMA bible, and took every FEMA course,” she said, adding the company was successful in assisting impacted communities after the 2010 Cumberland River flood.

“Since then, I cannot count the number of declarations that we have worked,” Shows said, primarily in Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, Florida, and Tennessee. “I have lived in Tennessee for the last 14 years and I have 30 entities in Tennessee that I have done this successfully for and been able to get their money back from FEMA.”

Earlier this month, Carter County Commission approved a contract with Schaus for debris cleanup.

Schaus will consult and assist the city in direct administrative costs, project management, flood mitigation grants, and request for proposals for debris cleanup and monitoring. The firm will also represent the city to ensure all required paperwork is submitted properly to FEMA for federal reimbursements of expenditures related to Helene storm damage. That administrative reimbursement will be applied to Schaus’ billings. 

The hourly rates under the contract include senior FEMA project manager/planner/consultant, $120; FEMA project manager/consultant, $100; field/technical consultant, $85; and clerk, $40. Expenses that include copies, photo documentation, GIS printing and scanning will be billed at cost, plus 5%. Hotel, mileage, and meals will be billed at the IRS rate and state per diem rates.

Helene’s Impact on City

On Friday, Sept. 27, Tropical Storm Helene brought high winds and flooding to Northeast Tennessee and Western North Carolina, leaving 17 confirmed storm-related deaths in the state as of Thursday evening: eight in Unicoi County, four in Washington, two in Cocke, and one each in Greene, Knox, and Johnson counties. There were no deaths in Carter County, but the damage has been widespread.

Elizabethton suffered extensive damage to utilities and city-owned properties including – but likely not limited to – Water Resources Department facilities located in Hampton and Valley Forge, the Elizabethton Golf Course, and other city-owned facilities, including parks and significant sections of the Linear Trail.

Debris cleanup has begun in the area, but large debris removal is beyond the city’s capabilities and will be handled by outside contractors.

Broad Street Bridge

Council members also heard a report on the continued closure of Broad Street Bridge and its impact on traffic. Estes said Deputy Governor and Tennessee Department of Transportation Commissioner Butch Eley and his leadership team met with city staff members at the bridge earlier this week. “We were able to express the need for that to be repaired,” Estes said. 

“I know they’ve got plenty of need, so can we understand that from TDOT’s perspective,” the city manager said, but city officials and staff emphasized the impact the closure has on the city. The bridge handles traffic from the intersection of two state routes and has greatly impacted downtown streets.

Street and Sanitation Manager Danny Hilbert said he, GIS and Engineering Manager Matthew Balogh, and Planning Director Richard DesGroseilliers worked with TDOT on redirecting traffic, especially tractor-trailers. Signage adjustments have helped reduce the number of tractor-trailers coming through town, but traffic going through downtown will continue to be heavy, Hilbert said.

Hilbert said TDOT had divers inspect a pier that was believed to have been compromised by flood waters, but as of Thursday morning there still has been no determination as to how much damage the bridge had sustained.