The Elizabethtown Town Council heard an update from department heads regarding the aftermath of Hurricane Matthew during the noon work session on Monday.
Public Works Director Pat DeVane said that he was skeptical when forecasters predicted the storm to make a hard right turn and head out to sea. DeVane said on Saturday October 8, he was at the Public Works department trying to secure things and as the winds and rain picked up he told the board he measured 13 inches of rain at public works. About two weeks before that, DeVane said the town had received about 7 inches of rain.
DeVane said by the time the wind arrived late Saturday afternoon, trees began to blow down. He added that Elizabethtown was fortunate when compared to towns such as Lumberton and Fair Bluff.
DeVane said there were some roads in the town that were washed out and some “trying times with water and sewer.” He said the Lower Street Lift Station did overflow. DeVane also reported there was some force main damage at the Locks Road Lift Station.
DeVane said overall, the lift station with generators performed well. The lift stations that do not have generators, town staff took a portable generator and traveled from station to station to keep the pumps running.
The town’s wastewater treatment plant was also reported to have performed well. DeVane said there were trees down on Scout Lane which is the only access to the wastewater treatment plant. DeVane said town crews cut their way into the wastewater treatment plant by Monday and found the generator had about 10 gallons of gas left in the tank of the generator at the site when they arrived with a fuel truck.
He said a new generator had to be purchased for town hall when the generator on hand would not start. “We were pretty lucky to find a generator and get it going,” said DeVane.
He said about 395 tons fo debris have been removed to date and he said the town staff is thankful for the help they received from the public works crews of the town of Maiden and town of Rutherfordton. They sent manpower and equipment and spent several days removing trees and and opening up roads in the town. He added their assistance with the road clean up allowed town staff to take care of other issues.
DeVane explained to the board that during the initial clean up phase, a private company had arrived to help clean up but they could not reach an agreement on the price. DeVane said that by Tuesday, he simply told the company to leave. DeVane explained that Madden was able to find a mutual aid agreement from other cities and eventually Rutherfordton and Maiden reached out and sent crews to assist.
“We are still picking up debris today. We’ve got some more debris to pick up,” said DeVane.
He said at Tory Hole Park, the town saw many of the picnic table wash away. DeVane added that most of the tables have been recovered. He also said the boat launch was damaged, and Wildlife Resources Commission has removed the floating dock for repairs.
DeVane said that the Locks Road Park was also damaged but that the lighting has been restored and he expected the boat ramp to reopen Monday afternoon.
He added that the communication with Duke Power could have been better.
When asked about communications with town employees, Madden said when the cell towers went down, their communications were cut off.
“It was a very helpless feeling,” said Madden.
He added that the fire service and police officers did not totally lose communications as their radio communications continued to work throughout the storm and its aftermath.
Police Chief Tony Parrish said that following the storm the police department received assistance from sheriff’s office volunteers and the Gaston County Sheriff’s Office assisted Elizabethtown Police Officers by monitoring the downtown and allowing officers to respond to other calls. Parrish said overnight there were eight officer including deputies from other counties.
Fire Chief Nick West said there were two phases to their response. The initial phase began when the rain and wind arrived. He said they responded to call s until it was determined that was simply too dangerous to continue to do so.
Chief West said the department had three water rescues and a fatality on Rosindale Road. He said post storm, the department assisted with rescues in White Oak and Harrells.
“I’m proud of the volunteer response,” said Chief West.
He said the department also assisted with passing out food and water as well.
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