LUMBERTON — Crews will be rolling on Lumberton streets Friday picking up household and tree debris left by Hurricane Matthew’s flooding.
Initially, Southern Disaster Relief will bring six crews to assist Lumberton employees in that job, according to Public Works Director Rob Armstrong.
The city last week was all but set to sign a debris collection contract with a different company, Texas-based TFR. But when the city called the company to notify it the bid had been accepted, the company realized it had made a math error in the low prices that won the city contract. On Monday, the City Council voted to extend a contract to Southern Diaster Relief, the second-highest bidder. It is based in South Carolina.
Armstrong shared an update on debris collection during the City Council’s Wednesday Council Policy Committee meeting. According to Armstrong, the company estimates it can clear the roughly 475,000 cubic yards of debris that needs to be picked up in Lumberton in 45 days. The overall contract price depends on how much debris the company collects. Vegetative debris will be hauled to a temporarily drop-off site on Saxon Avenue before being chipped, Armstrong said.
The city received eight proposals for the work and scored each company on 24 cost-based measures, including pickup of white goods, hazardous materials and leaning trees.
A month after Hurricane Mattew, many Lumberton streets are lined with piles of insulation, carpet, furniture and more. Since the Oct. 8 storm, the city has been playing catch up to collect trash, recycling and other waste that has accumulated.
