Montgomery County Commissioners halt debris pickup amid $10 million dispute

MONTGOMERY COUNTY, Texas -- Montgomery County Commissioners authorized an immediate halt to all debris removal operations in the county following disputes over the cost following storms in May, the derecho and Hurricane Beryl.

What's happening?

During the Aug. 27 session of Commissioners Court, commissioners expressed dissatisfaction with a request from CrowderGulf, LLC, for an additional $10 million in funding for debris removal in the county.

"We've already picked up more debris than we anticipated," Jason Millsaps, the executive director of the Montgomery County Office of Homeland Security and Emergency Management, said. "There's still a lot of debris to be picked up."

Millsaps said the county has picked up 1.2 million cubic yards of debris with another 400,000 cubic yards estimated to be picked up from roadways. However, some commissioners expressed doubt regarding the source of the debris being from actual storm damage.

"I've witnessed, in The Woodlands, trees being cut down that are standing dead; trees piled up in the right of way, and then (the county) picking it up, and that has to stop," Precinct 3 Commissioner James Noack said.

Millsaps also said the county has an agreement with the Texas Department of Transportation to pick up debris from residential properties along the state right of way. In exchange for the pickup, the county was granted a right to reimbursement from TxDOT for any funding available from the Federal Emergency Management Agency for debris cleanup.

The breakdown

Commissioners allocated $14.6 million for debris removal on July 16, but the new cost estimate from CrowderGulf anticipates a total of $24 million in debris removal.

Precinct 4 Commissioner Matt Gray asked whether the commissioners could handle the remaining debris pickup instead of contracting to another company, but Millsaps said that process would include moving, grinding, and disposing of 400,000 cubic yards of vegetative debris, which could take several months for the commissioners' offices to complete.

"I'm not spending the next six months picking (up) my stuff," Precinct 2 Commissioner Charlie Riley said. "I've got too much to do."

Without the funding approval, Millsaps said all debris pickup operations would have to cease until a funding agreement was reached.

What's next

Commissioners agreed to hold a special meeting on Sept. 3 to hear a representative from CrowderGulf explain the reasoning behind the high cost of debris removal. Until then, debris pickup operations will cease starting Aug. 27.

This article comes from our ABC13 partners at Community Impact Newspapers.