KALAMAZOO, MI (WKZO AM/FM) – The cleanup continues in Kalamazoo after last month’s ice storm that temporarily paralyzed the region and left thousands without power.
City Manager Jim Ritsema says they brought on extra staff to handle 1,300 calls to the Kalamazoo Department of Public Safety and over 100 calls to remove downed trees.
He says they had over 110 city employees working the response, 70 of them in Public Safety. The other 40 were in Public Services, clearing roads and keeping water and wastewater working.
Seven full time employees and equipment came from the City of Grand Rapids to help out.
Ritsema says the city has opened a drop site for brush at 322 East Stockbridge. Residents can also leave brush by the curb and city crews will pick it up in the next few days.
Ritsema says they have hauled away 900 truckloads of debris so far and have spent about $500,000 to cover their costs for the response to the emergency, and that will rise as the clean-up continues. They hope to get the state to reimburse them for those expenses.
reporting from John McNeill
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