The Saluda Board of Commissioners announced Monday the city received a $55,695 reimbursement from the state for expenses incurred earlier this year to clean up after an ice storm.
The city spent approximately $72,000 cleaning up damage from the storm and was able to recoup about 75 percent of those costs.
“It was [because of] a big effort on everybody’s part that we got that money,” said commissioner Leon Morgan as he made the announcement. “It’s a lot to say for the staff that they were able to get everything done. If we hadn’t filed, we would have never gotten (the money).”
The city is using $3,500 of the money to finish paying for a used dump truck that has snow scraping capabilities. The city had budgeted $8,000 for a truck. The 1996 model will replace the city’s former 1984 model. Prior to that the city’s truck was a 1975 model.
The rest of the money is required to be used in specific ways. The city agreed to put $28,000 in its Powell fund, which is used to repair roads. The city is also placing $17,695 in contingency and $10,000 in capital outlay. The $3,500 will come out of the $10,000 capital outlay funding.
Saluda declared a state of emergency when a Feb. 5, 2010 ice storm “caused widespread and severe damage, including but not limited to downed trees, power lines, causing road blockages and property damage,” according to the city’s state of emergency resolution.
Saluda officials did not hear from the state on the reimbursement for months and sent letters to state representatives throughout the year to ensure the state acted on the city’s claim.
The February 2010 ice storm hit other areas of Polk County, but was the most severe in the higher elevations of Saluda, where power was out for several days. Last winter was one of the worst winters the area has seen in years.