Newnan council approves pre-event disaster contracts for FEMA assistance, debris removal and monitoring

The Newnan City Council unanimously approved three pre-event contracts intended to speed emergency response and secure FEMA public-assistance reimbursement if the city faces a major storm or other disaster.

Staff presented the trio of agreements — professional consulting for FEMA public assistance, debris removal, and debris monitoring and planning — as precautionary steps that the city would only activate if an event required outside contractors. Mr. Craver told the council the consulting contract is specific to times when the city seeks FEMA reimbursement and recommended Goodwin Mills Kwood based on the firm’s prior work after the 2021 tornado and its top score in the selection panel.

The council asked whether the city would pay anything if the contracts are not used; staff answered that there is no annual retainer and the cost to the city is zero unless services are engaged. Regarding debris removal, Mr. Craver explained the published pricing model: a topline per-cubic-yard pickup charge plus additional management fees that together determine the ‘‘all-in’’ cost the city would face if debris must be collected and managed off site.

Robert Ransby, representing GMC during discussion of planning services, said the contracts include planning and grant-writing support the city has used before: “We have used that component of this contract…to write successful grants for us under this particular contract,” he said, describing prior work during storm response.

Council voted to award the FEMA consulting and monitoring contracts to Goodwin Mills Kwood and the debris-removal contract to Southern Disaster Recovery. Each award passed by voice vote with no recorded opposition. Staff said the monitoring and planning contracts are three-year agreements with optional renewals that could extend the total term if exercised.

What happens next: contracts will be executed so staff can call on these vendors if a disaster exceeds local capacity or when FEMA reimbursement is sought. The city emphasized that routine storms that do not trigger external response would not activate these contracts.