Less than two weeks after the deadly west blast the city is making plans to move forward. The city held a town hall meeting Sunday to explain what next in the recovery process.
West Mayor Tommy Muska talked about the cleanup efforts and rebuilding homes and the city. He told residents that they're responsible for cleaning up all the debris on their properties. He did say that the service should be covered in their insurance but it could also count towards their limit so be aware.
Muska said he is working with TCEQ to get permission to temporarily reopen the old west landfill for people to dump the rubble.
"We can take this debris out there and sort it. We could recycle a lot of the debris. The bricks could be recycled, the metal. Some of it can't be, but some of it can be and so, if we can recycle some of this it will help. One, the cost of the landfill charge and two, it'll be better for the environment," said Muska.
Debris also includes items like, box springs; mattresses and house hold appliances that were destroyed.
Since the explosion, Muska said the city has gone through large amounts of bottled water and they're littering the streets. Tomorrow republic trash services will be bringing green recycling bins to place around the city.
He's encouraging residents to recycle as much as they can. He says he wants this to be a green recovery process.
According to Mayor Muska, he has several proposals on the president's desk. He says and if they receive government aid, some of the money would go toward cleaning up debris city wide.
City leaders also spoke about rebuilding homes and hiring contractors. They warned residents to do research and lookout for themselves and their neighbors.
"I don't want to add insult to injury and have unscrupulous people come in a take advantage of [residents]," said Muska.
They say they're working on putting together list of questions homeowner should ask any contractor before any work is done. They hope this list will be up on the city website Monday. Officials say they're also working on a process of making any contractor register as a way to verify them.
Throughout the meeting Mayor Muska kept reiterating residents need to look at the positives.
