What happens to all these sandbags when the 2018 Flood Threat is over? Were they secured in an appropriate fashion? Were they overfilled? Were too many filled? Can they be held over till the next threat of flooding? Who authorized that they be filled? Who paid for the sand? Who will move them? Where will they be moved to? Even well meant actions have unintended consequences.
Sandbags were filled by volunteers. These volunteers did not notify the town governing body . They were filled on city property, with sand paid for by the town and extra loads of sand billed to the town. The effort was posted on a facebook site, which the found out about hours later. Although the intentions were good , the question of the burden of liability came up. We were informed at a disaster emergency meeting that the liability would fall directly on the organizer. There was a video posted on how to properly fill sandbags, but evidently were not viewed. A request to use town equipment was also turned down because of liability. There many people on town property, with many vehicles also parked there, tables set up for snacks and food, minors and pets. The town had Release and Liability Waivers at town hall for volunteers to sign for themselves and minors, in case of injury at the site and in the future that would absolve that everyone organizing that effort, none were signed. The town has been skewered for not caring about the citizens on the east side, when in fact , every single home had been visited personally and emergency information left. DES director has informed us that they will move the sandbags and store them at the county. Because of the material of the bags and moist sand as fill, it is very doubtful that they will be able to be stored for any length of time. The town will invoice the costs to FEMA, but it is doubtful that the costs will be reimbursed.