Freeman: Harvey Recovery will cost “Millions”

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Port Arthur, TEXAS-  While Port Arthur officials are still determining the extent of damage from Tropical Storm Harvey, Mayor Derrick Freeman said Thursday the recovery costs will be in the “millions of dollars.”

Freeman said that from 80 to 85 percent of the city’s structures were affected by the storm.

There are 25 contractors working to remove debris from city streets, Freeman said during a news conference. As of Thursday, contractors had collected 57,000 cubic yards of debris out of an estimated 1.2 million, he said. The debris is being taken to three sorting sites – Jade Avenue, 60th Street by Adams Park, and 19th Street – where it is separated into appliances, electronics, construction materials and organic matter.

Freeman said the city is looking to add another sorting site on the southeast side of the city.

City Manager Brian McDougal said the city’s police, fire, safety and maintenance vehicle fleet is 40 percent operational after “almost total loss,” but he said city services have returned to regular working order.

“I’d say we’re back to normal service,” McDougal said. “We’re fully operational, but we’re having to use subcontractors, and some of our staff are using their own vehicles.”

McDougal said the police fleet wasn’t significantly damaged during flooding, but the city lost a large number

of public works, parks and fleet maintenance vehicles, including most of its garbage trucks.

“When you see a city worker, I ask that you give them a pat on the back,” Freeman said. “Our city workers have been through a lot, just as our citizens have been, but yet they came to work to try to get our city back online and to provide all the city services that we offer.”

Freeman said the city has begun the process of bringing back residents who evacuated to other regions in Texas. Evacuated residents will be brought to the “soft-shell community” of shelter tents at the Robert A. “Bob” Bowers Civic Center.

The large-capacity tents, which were set up last week, on Thursday housed 300 to 330 flood victims, Port Arthur Deputy Fire Chief Robert Havens said. City officials said those numbers could grow to 750 as displaced residents return home from shelters in Dallas and other Texas cities.

“The greatest thing that stands out to me is the resiliency and strength of the citizens of Port Arthur,” Freeman said. “The way they’re bouncing back has given all of us a tremendous amount of encouragement.”

Freeman said evacuees returning to Port Arthur can register for shelter when they arrive at the Civic Center, but if they have living arrangements elsewhere in the city, they will need to be picked up.

“We want to get our citizens home,” Freeman said. “I’ve been telling people, ‘Don’t get too comfortable in other cities, because we want our citizens to come home and help rebuild our wonderful city.'”

Freeman encouraged residents who have been rejected by FEMA to visit a representative at the FEMA Disaster Recovery Center at 3535 Gates Blvd. in Port Arthur. The DRC is open from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. daily. Freeman said representatives are on-site to help residents with FEMA registration, disaster unemployment, SBA loan applications, legal aid and hazard litigation.

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