Storm Shelter

 The University is opening Trueblood Hall as a storm shelter until the storm has passed

CARBONDALE -

The City of Carbondale has partnered with Southern Illinois University to open a storm shelter in anticipation of severe weather this evening. This designated “Safer Place” is available to community members who may need a secure location should dangerous conditions arise.

The shelter is located at 1175 S. Washington Street, Trueblood Hall. Parking is available on the west side of the building, and the entrance is on the lower level on the southeast side of the building.

The shelter will be open from 5:00 PM until the severe weather event has passed.

Dunkin' Donuts Parking Lot

Due to all the rain, the Dunkin' Donuts/Subway parking lot collapsed sometime early yesterday. No one injured as far as I know but both stores were closed for most of the day.

Ice Storm Follow Up

In case you missed it, last Friday's ice storm knocked out power to about 40% of Carbondale homes. By 6 p.m. Saturday, due to yeoman work by Ameren linemen, power was restored to all by about 3% of them.

Ice Storm

Streets in Carbondale are fine, though steps can be a bit slick. Tree down on a power line on North Oakland, just north of the intersection with West Sycamore. According to the Amerin website, just under 40% of the residences in the 62901 area code war without power

Roof Repairs

Looks as if they are finally getting around to repairing the damage done by the windstorm last April.  Good thing there was no rush about it.  Considering the roof came off in the first windstorm after construction had been completed, I'm glad the repairs won't cost the city anything.:

Public Safety Center Roof Repairs to Begin

---

Within the next week work will begin on roof repairs at the Public Safety Center. The work will be performed by Contegra Construction, the contractor that built the building.  The repair cost is being paid by Travelers’ Insurance Company, the contractor’s Builders Risk carrier.  Much of the remaining roof will need to be removed as part of the reconstruction process, but the final product will look nearly identical to the original.  The roof structure will be strengthened as part of the reconstruction.  All original warranties will remain in place after reconstruction.  Interior repairs will also be done as the roof work is completed.

This work is being done by Contegra Construction and Travelers’ Insurance Company at no cost to the City.  Some parking areas at the building will be closed during construction, but the Police Department will be fully operational the entire time.  The public is asked to follow directional signs that will be placed on site to direct visitors and to please not enter the construction areas or interfere with workers on site.  All work is expected to be completed in about 12 weeks, weather permitting.

The building was damaged by a violent storm in April of this year.  Other nearby buildings were also damaged, as were other City buildings at Cedar Lake and the Southeast Wastewater Treatment Plant.

Public Safety Station

According to city manager Alan Gill, it wasn't just high winds that damaged the roof of the new public safety center but a microburst.  Gill says that the first floor of the building is undamaged and most of the second floor is usable as well.  Only the section of offices used by Chief O'Guinn suffered too much damage for occupancy currently.  No idea as to when repairs commence, how much they will cost or which insurance company will pay for them.

Roofers Arrested

Looks like the C'dale Police have arrested 7 roofers in recent days for operating within the city without having the necessary license:

In response to complaints and concerns, the City of Carbondale Police Department, the City of Carbondale Building and Neighborhood Services Division, and the Illinois Department of Financial and Professional Regulation conducted compliance checks in Carbondale on roofing contractors. Investigators met with contractors and determined if they were properly licensed in the State of Illinois.

As a result of the compliance detail, investigators arrested the following seven people and charged them Licensure Requirement 225 ILCS 335/9(1) Class A Misdemeanor. Each person posted bond and was released pending court:

Bryan L. Adams (Adams Const.) – Marion, Il

Robert M. Gunter (Gemini) – Royalton, Il

Thomas R. Norris (N & S Const.) – Christopher, Il

Brian F. Kennedy (Brian Kennedy Const.) – Pomona, Il

David M. Mitchell (Mitchell Exteriors) – Murphysboro, Il

Jonathan E. Gille (Property Clean) – Herrin, Il

Charles L. Hardy (H&D Contractors) – Equality, Il

The goal of the compliance check is to ensure quality services for the citizens of Carbondale by licensed contractors. All persons and companies doing roofing work in the City of Carbondale must be registered as a roofing contractor with the City’s Building and Neighborhood Services Division. Roofing repairs should be made by qualified roofing contractors who are licensed by the State of Illinois.

Homeowners and contractors are required to contact the City of Carbondale before initiating repairs to properties to determine if the extent of repairs will require a building permit. Replacement of shingles and minor repairs do not require a permit. A building permit will be required for roofs that require structural repairs or new roof decking and sheathing.

Persons and companies doing plumbing work must be licensed by the State of Illinois as a Plumbing Contractor. Persons or companies doing electrical work must be licensed by a municipality within the State of Illinois as well as registered with the City. The Building and Neighborhood Services Division maintains a list of licensed roofers and electricians that are registered with the City.

For information on how to become registered or licensed as a roofer, a plumber or an electrician or for a listing of registered roofers and electricians contact the Building and Neighborhood Services Division at (618) 457-3237.

Speaking of Storm Damage

Purina announced it will donate $10,000 to help repair the damage to SIUC's Horse Research Center. Good but that stills leaves $440,000 in damage still needing repair.

Ch ch changes

The long empty Taco Bell on East Walnut is well on its way to being razed and Great Wall Chinese Buffet out by University Mall finally has its sign almost replaced after the storm damage last May. From what I understand, the reason it has taken so long to replace so many of the storm damaged signs in town is that most of them are free standing. The business insurance policies I've see typically have a clause exempting damage to signs not attatched to the building from coverage. Repairs to free standing signs typically are expensive, hence it takes awhile for the business owner to come up with the capital or loan to get them repaired.

Temporary New Business

John Beal Roofing has moved into the empty Merle Norman space next to Gold's Gym. From what the folks at the post office have told me, there are quite a few roofers and contractors that have rented post office boxes and set up temporary offices in town as a result of the storm damage. They've been telling the woman I spoke with they expect to be here at least a year before all the damage is repaired.

City Council Meeting

Which I missed as I got there just as Mayor Cole closed the meeting. Did see Councilman Jack on crutches. In case, you're wondering he was out running with his dog at night, missed a step and severely sprained his ankle.

Did get the opportunity to speak with City Manager Alan Gill for a few minutes. Guess he took pity on me because I got there late as he did pass along some info about the storm status.

Debris pick up has been extended through the next day or two. City employees have gone through neighborhoods and created a list of properties that still have debris piled up. As they sweep through the neighborhoods and clean up the piles, that address gets checked off and won't be picked up again.

The city has hauled away about 200,000 tons of trees and other vegetable matter. That's enough material to cover SIUC's football field seventeen stories high. The city got a burn exemption from the state because there is no practical way for the city to dispose of it any other way before it becomes a health hazard. Cost of the cleanup to the city right now is about $3 million.

A mpa on display somewhere in city hall shows property damage throughout the city, ranging from red (total loss) to green (minimal or no damage). The only red area is on the north side of the city, near the Crossings trailer park. Mr. Gill wasn't certain if that was an area with anumber of trailers that had been destroyed or a large peice of property with only one building on it. Interestingly, the map shows that most property damage took place on the south side of C'dale, though you'd think, as Mr. Gill did that, based on trees down, the north side got hit worse. Apparently, the trees didn't do nearly as much damage in the northwest as the winds did to buildings on the south, SIUC in particular.

Disaster Area

Not sure what conclusion to draw from this but Florida is already asking for President Obama to declare flooded counties in the state a disaster area, which I don't find any indication that federal disaster area status has been sought for the Jackson and Williamson county region. The last reference to Carbondale I find from FEMA is about a boil water order and a mention that no federal disaster assistance has been sought (Scroll down). State distaster status yes, but not federal.

Storm Aftermath Death

The Carbondale PD website reports the death of Samuel Casey,38, of Florida. One of hundreds of lumberjacks that arrived in town following the storm, he was crushed while removing a tree on North Beadle. His is the first death I am aware of linked to the storm's aftermath. Thanks to D. Gorton for pointing this out.

Carbondae Police Website

Some sort of glich with the Carbondale Police website sent me out 47 notifications of the latest update about the recovery within about half an hour.

Storm Recovery

Here's today's update on the storm recovery, as well as the most recent list of those with permits to do cleanup in the city.

City Response

Here's the most recent update from the city regarding its status and storm response. There's a meeting at city hall tomorrow at 1 p.m. where I imagine Mayor Cole will pass along the current status of the city.

Plant Sale

From Roxanne Conley:

The Evergreen Garden Clubs annual plant sale date has been changed to
this Saturday May 16th, 7am - 2pm at Turley Park in Carbondale.
Due to recent storm damage the greenhouse providing the plants has ask that we have the
plant sale as soon as possible.
Hanging baskets, planters, annuals, perienniels and tropical plants will be available.
Proceeds from the plant sale benefit community garden projects such as the butterfly garden at Turley Park, landscaping at Good Samaritan House and Habitat for Humanity homes as well as a host of other projects.

Also, "Plant it Pink" tulip orders will be take a benefit for the American Cancer Society - Cancer Action Network.

Storm Recovery

Most customers in the 62901 Zip code have power back, with only about a dozen still without, at least according to the Ameren website. Ameren estimates it will take about six months for them to compete their part of the cleanup. I spoke to one local contracter who estimated it would take at elast that long for homes in Carbondale to get restored to their pre-storm state.

City Council Meeting

Mayor Cole called an emergency meeting of the city council at 5 today to update council members on the status of the storm cleanup.

The city estimates it has lost the following in tax revenue:
Sales Tax--$75,650
Home Rule Tax--$82,885
Use Tax--$5000
Electric Utility Tax--$1,900
Hotel tax--$9,110
Total estimated lost for May 8th through the 13th--$187,545

Plus estimated loss of motor fuel taxes of $6,645. Total estimated tax revenue lost by the end of the emergency will likely run around $500,000

There are a couple of major damages to city property. There's about $70,000 damage to the roof at the Eurma C. Hayes Center and the Northwest Wastewater Treatment Plant suffered about $500,000 in damage.

Roughly 150,000 cubic yards of trees and other plants were destroyed during the storm and are in the process of getting removed at a cost of $990,000. Current estimates are 2100 trees lost within the city of Carbondale and another 1000 on the SIUC campus. A couple of people at the meeting expressed the opinion later that these figures are probably pretty low. Money for the cleanup is coming from the city's general fund, which has about $5 million in it for just this sort of emergency. Plans are for the city to offer free hauling of trees and branches until May 24. Reisdents are resposible for getting branches and trunks to the curb, then the city will haul them off, but they the mayor emphasized the city would only do this for the next two weekends but would make as many sweeps during this period to clean everything up.

Also, in order to make this easier, city residents are to treat this as a snow emergency and refrain from street parking in areas so marked. Regular updates are posted on the Carbondale Police and Explore Carbondale websites.

After hearing the update, the council then passed a resultuion extending the city's Disaster Emergency status until May 31. Afterpassing this, the mayor closed the meeting at 5:26, then took questions from council members, residents and the press.

According to Mayor Cole, Carbondale is far ahead of its sister cities in assessing damage and arranging for debris pickup. There are still about 15,000 people without power in Jackson County, 20% to 1/3 of them in Carbondale. Crime has been remarkable low, which the mayor attributed to the 24 hour presence of both uniformed and plainclothes police. There have been a couple of burglaries, the perpetrators of which were caught almost imeeediately. About 100 vendor permits have been issued for landscapers, eletricians and tree removal and there have been problems with only a couple of them. No instances of outright fraud have been reported.

There has been no federal disaster assistance as of yet and the only assistance from the state has been the loan of trucks and prisoners from the department of corrections.

Sometime next eyar will see the city start developing plans to reseed and replant the thoushands of trees lost during the last few days but this weill be a (very) long term process.

Criminal Stupidity

One local thief got turned in by acquaintances after they found out, while I heard that the police picked up some others that were trying to steal the generators the railroad had put out to power the crossing gates and lights. That's gotta indicate a monumental lack of disdain for the welfare of others