Debris pickup in Pinehurst will conclude by the end of February. City Administrator Robbie Hood addressed the Pinehurst City Council on Tuesday informing them of his intention to cease the removal of debris caused by Tropical Storm Harvey on the last day of this month.
Contractors are taking care of the debris removal which is left. Hood indicated the city would continue to help citizens move existing debris closer to the street for removal. No new debris will be picked up after March 1. “I’m tired of looking at the debris it’s depressing. We’ve done everything we can to help the citizens as far as getting the debris removed,” Hood expressed. He also complimented and thanked Republic Trash Services for their cooperation during the months of removing debris from Pinehurst.
Prior to Hood’s pronouncement, Code Enforcement Officer Harry Vine talked to the council about Pinehurst producing a new Floodplain Map for the city. The current map was adopted in 1983 and showed a Basic Flood Elevation or BFE for Pinehurst of 8.4 feet. Vine believes the BFE should be raised to 9 feet.
Pinehurst resident Jo Anna Wright is a single disabled citizen whose house had water come in during both Ike and Harvey flooding when she had five and a half feet of water in her residence. She is tired of living in fear of water flooding her home. Wright said she cannot afford to pay her flood insurance after it was raised to $1500. She wants the Basic Flood Elevation to be raised to 9 feet which would mean a cheaper cost to have her house raised, but she knows many of her neighbors cannot afford for the BFE to go to 9 feet because they cannot pay to have their houses raised.
Hood recommended the City Council delay taking action on adopting the new map and BFE at this time. Hood explained, “We have several questions that we need to be answered by FEMA, and when we get those answers we’ll bring it back to a future agenda item for their consideration.”
Accountant Keri Michutka presented the annual audit report to the council. As of September 30, 2017, the City of Pinehurst had a total fund balance of 1.3 million dollars. The unassigned fund balance was 1.2 million dollars which represents about eight months’ worth of expenditures for the city which is a good financial position according to Michutka. Pinehurst City Secretary Debbie Cormier said in praising the work of Michutka that this was the easiest and smoothest audit she has experienced since coming to work with the city.
Pinehurst will be involved in two special events in the month of April. The annual Spring Cleanup will be held Saturday, April 14. Citizens of Pinehurst can bring items they want to throw away to the HEB parking lot on MacArthur Drive on April 14 between 8:00 AM and 12 Noon. There will be large dumpsters and city employees to help dispose of non-hazardous items.
The second date is Saturday, April 21, for the second annual Shred It and Forget It sponsored by the Sabine Federal Credit Union. Citizens of Pinehurst and all members of the credit union can bring documents and other paperwork to be shredded for free at the Sabine Federal Credit Union on Strickland Drive on April 21 between 9:00 AM and 12 Noon. Last year’s Shred It and Forget It accumulated 18,000 pounds of shredded paper.
At the close of the meeting Hood took the opportunity to introduce Daniel Henry who has been working with the City of Pinehurst. Henry is involved in a work program run by the Texas Workforce Commission following Tropical Storm Harvey. Hood said Henry has worked hard for the city removing debris from the roadways and helping move the city closer to the light at the end of the tunnel.
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