Subadan: We had order in the middle of chaos

ALBANY — Even for those who’ve racked up hour after hour doing storm recovery work, the number Albany City Manager Sharon Subadan revealed at the Albany Utility Board meeting Thursday morning was jaw-dropping.

$6,402,782.23.

“As of today, that’s how much the city of Albany has spent on power restoration after Storm A and Storm B,” Subadan said of the Jan. 2 and Jan. 22 weather events that left five people in the community dead and left a path of devastation throughout the city.

The staggering total Subadan dropped on the Utility Board included the installation of 349 power polls, replacement of 221 transformers and either splicing or re-running miles of power lines that were knocked down during the storms.

“Just when we thought we were coming up for air after Storm A … the second storm hit us,” the city manager said while summarizing storm recovery efforts for the Utility Board and introducing the moving video “Albany, GA: Through the Storm.”

Subadan also offered the board the reality of storm-related costs.

“People have said, ‘Well, FEMA’s going to pay for all of that,’” she said. “No, FEMA will pay for 75 percent of our costs, if they are adequately documented. If we’re lucky, the state will pay 10 percent of the cost, and the city will have to pay 15 percent, minimum.

“Maybe this will answer the question people have asked me about being so stingy with our reserves. This is why. We didn’t end up saving ours for a rainy day, we saved it for our windy days. People have said we ought to give rebates or make purchases that are outside our budget with money in our fund balance. No, this kind of emergency is why we have reserves.”

Noting she had been “eviscerated” by some in the community via social media after announcing in an Albany Herald interview that the city planned to offer $50 rebates to any storm victim who was without power for three days or more, Subadan opened her report on the “goodwill rebates” by noting wryly, “I guess you can file this under ‘no good deed goes unpunished.’”

The city manager said she and staff had kicked around ideas on how to offer some form of relief to the many residents of the city who’d been victimized by the two storms, and they finally settled on the $50 rebates, which she said are in the Utility Authority’s budget.

“The rebates, I want to point out, are not the only things we’ve done for our residents,” Subadan said. “We’ve waived deposits during this time, suspended disconnections, waived late fees and worked with residents who had to relocate from one place to another because of storm damage to their homes. But we just wanted to come up with a way to reach out to our residents and give them some relief.”

Ward III City Commissioner B.J. Fletcher, who attended the meeting, expressed disappointment at residents who’ve registered complaints about the rebates.

“If I may, I’d like to say how disappointed I am at people in the community who’ve done nothing but criticize the city for offering this goodwill gesture,” Fletcher said. “I don’t know whether to call it a rebate or a debate. But one thing that really hits me is that we’ve had all these complaints out there on social media, but yet none of those people doing the complaining are here today. I’m disappointed they’re not here to talk with us head-on.”

Subadan said residents whose electricity had been off for more than three days can register for the $50 credit at Utility customer service or, from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. through Tuesday, at the Albany Civic Center.

“We haven’t worked this out yet, but there’s a possibility we’ll find a way for after-hours sign-up for people who are at work from 8 ‘til 5,” she said. “We also will make arrangements (to get sign-up forms) to the elderly and the homebound.

“Some people have said that we should just make the rebates available to everyone, but there has to be some kind of guidelines. My electricity was off for 15 minutes. I shouldn’t be eligible to get the same rebate as someone whose electricity was off for three days or longer. The form we’re asking people to fill out is simple. We’re asking for customers’ addresses, their account number and for them to sign a paper saying their electricity was off for at least three days. That’s as simple as it could be.”

Mayor Dorothy Hubbard said the fact that utilities crews had necessary power poles in their inventory was an important factor in power restoration.

“If our folks hadn’t had the foresight — and this board hadn’t moved ahead with getting the needed equipment in our inventory — I can guarantee you we wouldn’t be where we are in the recovery process right now,” Hubbard said. “Two things that hit me as I’ve watched this whole thing unfold: We have a lot to be thankful for, and — with all the help we’ve received from our Electric Cities of Georgia partners and other surrounding communities — we were not in this alone.”

Board member Sam Sneed, who did search and rescue work while in the U.S. Navy, said the community was blessed that there were not more deaths, especially given the destruction of the Jan. 2 storm.

“There is no scenario, including a nuclear blast, where there could have been that much damage and destruction and no lives were lost,” Sneed said. “That was a miracle.”

Subadan also addressed criticism aimed at the city’s initial response to the Jan. 2 storm.

“At no point during either of these storms were we under-resourced,” she said. “I can’t say enough about our ECG partners. On the night of Storm A, while I was in my closet at home, I texted the general manager of Thomasville and told him, ‘It’s bad, we’re going to need you.’ He texted me back and said they’d be there at daybreak. And were they, Jimmy (Norman, the city’s director of Utility Operations)?”

“Yes, ma’am, they were there at daybreak, and so were others,” Norman replied.

Subadan continued her remarks.

“We had order in the middle of chaos,” she said. “There’s been a lot of criticism leveled at us, a lot of second-guessing and a lot of Monday-morning quarterbacking. But we had a well-organized operation. I’m very satisfied, very proud of the work that was done by everyone involved. As an organization, we rose to the occasion.”