The city of Wimberley is winding down cleanup of tree and limb debris resulting from the recent ice storm.
Approximately $65,000 was approved by the Wimberley City Council over several meetings in February and March for pickup of downed branches. The city contracted with Waste Connections to provide curbside pickup within the city limits. The truck and a massive grabber arm navigated throughout the town, picking up the piles deposited along the roadsides and taking multiple loads daily to the transfer station located on Carney Lane.
While this special curbside pickup service has now been concluded, Texas Disposal Systems will continue to pick up trees and brush bundled into four-foot lengths during regular trash pickup days. Hays County’s transfer station on Carney Lane will also continue to accept the debris during normal hours and at their regular rate.
The pickup required significant oversight by the city’s public works team to provide direction to the truck drivers. City Administrator Tim Patek and Public Works Assistant Damien Grimaldi rode along with the drivers and were “boots-onthe- ground” to ensure thorough service.
City staff were hands-on during this cleanup initiative, Mayor Gina Fulkerson noted.
“From Public Works to Planning to Parks staff, everyone pulled together to get Wimberley back to normal,” she said. “And our office team kept track of labor and volunteers.”
In addition to the curbside trucks, the city removed debris in Blue Hole Park and other public spaces and mulched the collected foliage for use in the parks.
Wimberley was one of the harder-hit areas of the county, along with Dripping Springs and parts of Driftwood, according to county officials. The storm spurred some power outages that were quickly restored, but the storm debris took longer to clean up.
“The state [of Texas] has announced that the ‘disaster threshold’ for storm damage has been reached, meaning that the city may be reimbursed for cleanup costs,” said Wimberley City Administrator Tim Patek. “We have been keeping detailed records of expenses and labor and continue to keep them updated with the Texas Department of Emergency Management.”
“We appreciate our community partners, including First Baptist Church and Cypress Creek Church, for pitching in with chippers and many helpful volunteers,” said Fulkerson. “Our friends and neighbors are truly an inspiration during emergencies like this.”
