Town's Irene Cleanup Bill Tops $121K

Thousands of powerless households, dozens of blocked roadways, three days of school closures — these were the numbers that marked . And now another: over $121,000.

That's the estimated cost of the town's post-storm cleanup, according to the ' latest quarterly report. 

From Aug. 28 — — through Sept. 9, town crews and a complement of four contractors worked to clear large quantities of fallen trees and debris from public property. 

Included in that $121,000 tally: the cost of moving 832 tons of brush and logs out of town ($25,000), overtime for town employees (more than $23,000), and the cost of hiring those contractors (more than $73,000). The total does not account for the additional cost of overtime.

But provided federal funds come through, the town "can expect to recover 75 percent or approximately $91,000," the department reports.

Not surprisingly, Irene also caused a spike in tree-related work requests to the town "that the department will be dealing with for months to come."

According to its data, DPW received a total of 454 requests in the first quarter of FY 2012 (July-September) — 37 percent higher than the long-term average for the season. Of those, 60 percent pertained to trees.

The department also distributed some 2,400 sand bags prior to Irene's arrival.