Saving a Million – American Values Alive and Well in Utah

Posted by Tina

A storm recently ravaged communities in Utah around Bountiful. The estimate for damage and clean up was around $1 to $2 million but the taxpayers were saved a lot of money by the quick response of the community:

BOUNTIFUL — The Davis County wind storm cleanup was completed Friday and thanks to volunteers and neighbors helping neighbors, the cost came in way below the estimate.

After the Dec. 1 wind storm tore through Davis County and caused more than $100 million in damages. At the time, the cleanup of debris alone was expected to cost about $2 million. But the final price tag was just $300,000.

County leaders say that quick, almost overwhelming response is what helped the cleanup effort come in so far under budget.

“They all realized that the happiest day you have is the day you spend helping somebody else,” said John Petroff of the Davis County Commission.

In the end, federal contractors were left with only the heavy work: clearing large trees to keep them from ending up downstream.

“Really all they left us were the huge diameter trees that were anything where you needed professional contractors to come in,” said State Conservation Engineer Bronson Smart.

“I think it’s just a testament to the volunteerism in Utah, and the things we can do when we all work together.”

Meanwhile…

The press won’t cover it but four weeks after Sandy things aren’t so rosy! Despite warm and fuzzy presidential photo ops, complete with promises that government is on the job, residents there are angry and frustrated as they are told to clean up debris themselves!