Offers debris removal help

SOUTH FORK- Rio Grande County Road and Bridge Director Patrick Sullivan gave a report to the Rio Grande County Board of Commissioners during their meeting on Wednesday, Sept. 16. In his report, Sullivan spoke to commissioners about the recent snowstorm that ravaged the Valley at the beginning of September and how much of an affect it had on the South Fork area.

Sullivan stated that although the entire county was dealing with the aftermath caused by the early season snowstorm, it was the South Fork area that seemed to have received the brunt of damages. Sullivan stated that the South Fork area had an excess of fallen trees along the river and throughout neighborhoods like Indian Trails and Alpine Village.

In an effort to help clean up the debris from the fallen trees, the Town of South Fork offered drop off locations for residents to drop debris and the county agreed to help dispose of the material. Sullivan stated that the county needs to rework some of the available funding within the budget to help pay for the dump disposal fees but that they had some reserved funding that may be able to help with costs.

Sullivan also took a moment to explain that some residents from the South Fork area that resided on private land were calling and asking that the county workers come onto the property to gather fallen trees. “We have no issue helping people get rid of these trees, but it is too risky for us to go down, say a two mile long private drive, to get trees and accidentally hit a well head or something like that. If residents could gather the tree limbs or other debris and bring it to the main road, without blocking anything, it would help us get everything collected and help them in the process.”

Sullivan stated that as of right now, there is one main pile of trees located at the South Fork Community Center where people can drop off material so it can be hauled to the dump for disposal. By the end of the conversation, it was estimated that the damage in South Fork alone would cost the county about $15,000 in dump fees by the time the situation is cleaned up.

For more information or to schedule a pickup, please contact the South Fork Town Hall at 719-873-0152 or the Rio Grande County Road and Bridge at 719-852-4781. “We are getting to everyone as quickly as possible, it will just take some time,” finished Sullivan.