Press Release: Assistance for Cleaning Out Houses

Press Release:  Assistance for Cleaning Out Houses
Date:  July 18, 2007
Location: Coffeyville, Kansas
Authority: Cindy Price – PIO

Assistance is available for elderly and handicapped residents living in the flood areas who are unable to clean out their homes.  To receive volunteer assistance, residents should call 620-251-0981 or 620-332-2537.  Volunteers will be assigned to residents needing assistance to remove debris from the homes.

Property owners in the flood area are responsible for removing debris from all structures.  The debris is to be taken to the curb, and no oil is to be washed off debris.  Household hazardous waste and appliances should be separated from the other debris.

Structural assessments have not been done on buildings in the flood area, however, once the assessments are completed, property owners will be responsible for the demolition of any structure which needs to be razed.  The City of Coffeyville has no plans for demolition of any structure in the flooded area.

Following the flood, structures were inspected and placards placed on each structure with an advisement for occupancy.  A red placard stating “do not enter, do not occupy” means the structure is not safe to enter due to significant structural damage.  The majority of the houses in the flood area received a red placard stating “enter at your own risk; do not occupy.”  This placard means the structure may not be safe to enter due to serious structural damage.

An orange placard reads “limited entry,” and means enter at your own risk, do not occupy.  The yellow placard means the house is habitable, however, repairs are required; and a green placard means the residence is safe for occupancy.  These placards are advisements only based on an emergency assessment survey.