TAMPA, Fla. (WFTS) — In front of Al Chisholm's house sits a sight he's sick of seeing.
"It's a constant reminder of Milton, and I'm ready for Milton to go. Milton's been gone what, two weeks, and I'm still looking at Milton aftermath. Time to go," he said.
His storm debris is bagged, stacked, and ready to go.
"I'm sick of looking at this," he said. "On the other side is a driveway. On the other side, I can't even get in."
Now, all that's left is waiting for the City of Tampa to haul it away.
"This has been long enough," he said. "I'm ready for it to go so we can clear things up around here."
The City assures people that even though debris remains, it's working hard to pick it up.
Larry Washington, the city of Tampa's Director of Solid Waste and Environmental Program Management, explains how heavy this lift has been.
"We have over 150 boots on the ground, personnel consistently collecting waste. Whether it's debris from your house or debris from the streets and the trees. We have team members working 12 hours a day, 12 hours a day, seven days a week," he said.
In the two weeks since the storm, the city has collected more than 150,000 cubic yards of debris, which is about 800 truckloads.
But Al Chisholm's frustration lies in the fact he hasn't seen or heard anything about the removal on his street.
And he was shocked to find out there is a way to get some more information.
The City has an interactive map. It shows where the first phase of debris removal has been completed, the neighborhoods where it's in progress, the neighborhoods next in line, and the ones that have yet to be assigned.
To streamline the process, the city is divided into the same sectors that Tampa Police uses.
"As we continue to run through the routes that are currently assigned to our teams, which we use police grids. So we use police grades to help us clean up each sector of the city. And then with that, we check it off on our debris collection map," said Washington.
But the map left Chisholm with more questions.
"Are we next as in tomorrow, next week, next month, next when?"
Larry Washington explained why it's so hard to answer those questions.
"Once we get to the end of this week, we'll be able to give you a potential timeline, he said. "It's hard to give a set timeline, and currently, we still have individuals cleaning out their homes, especially the ones that were affected by the rise in water off of the river. They're pulling things out of their homes right now."
While we can't give Al Chisholm an exact day or time, just a little more answer has eased his concerns.
"Knowing that we're next, it's a good thing."
The city is still working through its first pass for debris pickup.
After the first pass is complete, they'll do two more passes.
Residents are also invited to drop off their debris if they can.
Mayor Jane Castor tells us the city has more than 100 trucks just from contractors out running picking up debris, including household and vegetative debris. In addition to that, they have 32 in-house trucks moving.
"So far, we've had the focus on the household debris from Helene first, and then that was the majority of the household debris," Mayor Castor said. "There won't just be one sweep. We're going to continue sweeping these neighborhoods. Palmetto Beach is done. Davis Islands, done. And when I say done, that means the vast majority first round pickups have been done. A lot of South Tampa still have some pockets in South Tampa, in Port Tampa and along the eastern side of the Hillsborough River. A lot of times, a lot of our community is forgotten that the east side of Hillsborough River flooded in some instances."
The City also has sites available for debris drop-off, including 22nd Street Park, Gadsden Park, and McKay Bay.
"All of those locations are free. So if you want to help out your neighbors and get that debris up and out of your community a little bit quicker, we support that 100%," she added. "We have a long way to go. We set the timeline at 90 days. That really is FEMA's deadline to get all of our debris, both household and yard waste, picked up in three months. And we have no doubt that we're going to be able to do that in 90 days, but we also need the community's help to be able to accomplish that."
Washington has reminders for homeowners that he says will make pick-up move more quickly.
"As far as getting scheduled now, we've come across a few challenges thus far, and I want to remind the public that the faster that we can collect or the faster that we can make these adjustments, the easier it is, and the quicker and if more efficient process it will be moving forward when we collect your waste," he said.
That includes:
- no obstructions, such as cars, within 3 feet of the debris
- no debris underneath power lines or trees.
- make sure you separate your piles into demo and construction debris, vegetative debris, and appliances
- don't add to debris piles during pick-up
"And lastly, please stay patient with us. We're collecting the entire city, not just pockets, not just the hardest hit areas in the city, but the entire city. And a collection process of this magnitude just simply takes time."
Florida unlicensed contractor faces a bond normally reserved for murderers and violent criminals.
