The City of Sapulpa held a press conference today at 2 pm at City Hall to inform the public of the status of recovery operations from Sunday morning’s two EF-1 tornadoes. Mayor Reg Green read a Proclamation issued by the City of Sapulpa declaring a “State of Emergency” with respect to the Tornadic Storm of May 26, 2019. City Manager Joan Riley stated there was a great deal of volunteer help, coming from as far away as Virginia and Alabama.
City Attorney David Widdoes said that this resolution allows the City, on a case by case basis, to go onto private property with the owner’s permission, to help mitigate debris and damage from the recent storm. This means that the City, time permitting, will pick up brush, fallen trees, and debris at the curb. Citizens are asked to place it all next to roadway, and it does not have to be cut up to a specific length. Steve Hardt, Public Works Director, asked that the debris from fallen trees, etc., not be placed next to water meters, gas meters, power supply boxes and cable boxes.
Related: Here’s the list of all the dump sites in Sapulpa for trees and other debris.
Public funds normally cannot be used to assist with privately-owned situations such as fallen debris, except in the case of a state of emergency. This may also allow some funds to be freed up to help assist in repairing of private roads that were washed out by last week’s flooding.
Related: Multiple bridges and roads are washed out all across Creek County.
Widdoes announced that at the request of Mark Lawson, State Representative, that a uniform message from the City of Sapulpa, stating what the city will do, be published and also placed on social media.
