What will happen if we get a hurricane and things pile up, including flooding homes?
I wrote that the debris pickup would be John Whitmire’s first major test, well he is failing.
Let us see how long that debris will be left out there throughout the city before people get tired of seeing it. Failure to pick up the debris will rest solely on Whitmire’s shoulders. Kathy Whitmire lost as mayor because she failed that test.
From KHOU 11 – video below
Piles of debris line the streets in the Timbergrove Manor neighborhood. One of the piles you can spot when driving through the neighborhood is outside of Chuck Booth’s home.
“Most of the stuff the guys put up front and the city did take it,” Booth said. “But then, all of the main stuff as you can see, they haven’t come.”
A large tree in Booth’s backyard was knocked down by the derecho that hit the Houston area nearly three weeks ago. Last week, he got the debris moved out front to be picked up, but it’s still there and now he’s worried.
“I’m gonna have to figure out how to get rid of it on my own and I only have a Toyota,” Booth said. “It’s not going to fit in the trunk.”
Booth said he called the city Monday morning and was told to log onto the city’s storm debris tracker that hasn’t been working all weekend. He left a request for help over the phone.
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“I feel like it’s a lost cause,” Fertitta said.
KHOU reached out to the city to speak on camera about the debris tracker but was declined. The city said it’s working to verify debris data and will have an update on the tracker later this week. The debris removal efforts are expected to last two to three months.
Some of the residents here that they called 311 and have been placed on hold for over an hour.
Whitmire needs to get his head out of Metro and start paying attention to what is happening. Instead of going to Gulfton, maybe he needs to visit Timbergrove Manor.
So when KHOU attempted to contact the city, what happened?
KHOU reached out to the city to speak on camera about the debris tracker but was declined. The city said it’s working to verify debris data and will have an update on the tracker later this week. The debris removal efforts are expected to last two to three months.
From ABC 13 the following;
“Debris removal efforts are expected to last two to three months, and Solid Waste Management employees work daily to clear the debris,” Public Information Officer Rene Schwartz told KPRC 2.
The City of Houston’s Solid Waste Management Department (SWMD) has also delayed the release of a new tool designed to help residents track the progress of storm debris cleanup. The Storm Debris Collection progress tracker was intended to allow Houstonians to monitor daily debris collection efforts following the devastating Derecho.