ROGERS, Ark. — After weeks of initial recovery efforts, city councils across Northwest Arkansas are now in a phase of approving funding for the removal of debris left after multiple tornadoes in the region on May 26.
On Tuesday, the Rogers City Council approved moving $8.5 million dollars from the city’s savings into recovery funds to keep track of the money spent for later reimbursement.
Rogers city officials say that $8 million of that fund will go towards debris removal and the other $500,000 will go towards emergency protective measures.
While over $1.5 million has already been spent towards cleaning up around 245,000 cubic yards of debris, Rogers says the $8.5 million moved could just be the tip of the iceberg.
"I'm not sure what the timeline is, but I think we're talking months here. Everybody is dedicated to getting Rogers cleaned up," Rogers city spokesperson Peter Masonis said.
More rural areas like Decatur or Little Flock were also severely impacted by Memorial weekend's storm.
"They're averaging right now, picking up close to 4,000 cubic yards of debris each day, and have been for the last 13 days. So I expect them to surpass 50,000 cubic yards of debris by the end of the day," Little Flock Mayor Jeff Van Sickler said.
The Little Flock City Council approved a resolution for $150,000 dollars towards debris clean up and emergency recovery.
Van Sickler says the city hasn't spent much of that money yet.
"As far as the widespread funding, we're hoping that all of that's covered within the 30-day emergency window through FEMA," Van Sickler said.
Bentonville is also moving forward with debris clean up after city council approved a roughly $7.1 million dollar agreement with Looks Great Services and Thompson Consulting services.
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