Wymore’s Brush Pile Problem Continues to Grow

By Gordon HopkinsAs the City of Wymore continues to struggle with the brush pile resulting from the cleanup after the devastating storm that struck the weekend of June 11 and 12, the problem continues to grow and become more complicated.Unfortunately, some people have been using the pile to dump trash without authorization. The city has received two bids for chipping and removing the brush pile. When that finally happens, the city will likely have to clear out all the trash before chipping can begin, thus creating more work.In addition, it turns out those participating in unauthorized dumping are breaking more than one law. The land where the brush pile sits belongs to the Burlington Northern Railroad and anyone on that land without permission is trespassing.The matter was discussed at a meeting of the Wymore City Council on Wednesday, November 16, 2022. City officials are uncertain if there is a lease with the railroad or other agreement to use the land. Wymore Fire Chief Mark Meints said, “So today I met with a special agent from Burlington Northern Railroad. She's going to come down. Another agent's going to come take a look at it. In the meantime, they're trying to locate any type of paperwork or old lease or anything that property is leased to the city. She said, anyway, there's down there right now is trespassing. Even if the city has a lease on it. Unless they give people permission to be there, they're still trespassing.”Although the brush pile is on railroad property, it is still the responsibility of the city to clean up the pile. Meints said, “We produced the mess. We're going to have to clean it up no matter what.”Burning the pile is not an option. Both Meints and the fire marshall have said the pile is too big to burn. Chipping the pile to haul it away is the only other viable alternative.Unfortunately, chipping is not a cheap solution. Bids received by the city are reportedly in the range of approximately $75,000 to $80,000, which includes chipping and removal.Fortunately, the city will not have to foot that entire bill. Sedlacek reported at a previous meeting that NEMA (Nebraska Emergency Management Agency) will pay for half, “They will reimburse 50 percent, minus your threshold (state threshold for the disaster) and minus anything insurance covers.”The council did not act at the time. Meints told the council, “I would think that we want to get the pile cleaned up pretty soon.”

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