Geneva’s streets will be repaired, but the process took four months and is not over yet.
GENEVA , Ala. - Geneva is moving forward with recovery efforts four months after an EF-2 tornado tore through the city’s downtown in January. The city received a $300,000 emergency grant to repair streets, sidewalks and downtown parking lots deemed a safety hazard since the storm.
The bricks are still crumbled and the streets still cracked from the January tornado.
“It’s a load off of us, I can tell you, because it is a burden knowing you have more expenses that you have not budgeted for for the year. It could not have come at the right time,” said Mayor David Hayes. The grant covers city infrastructure but not private property. Rocky Motley, who owns the former Osceola Hotel building, will not receive any of the grant funds.
Motley said he has poured more than $100,000 into the building over the years. Since the storm, he has spent thousands more trying to tear it down after the city issued a public nuisance notice deeming it unsafe.
“The mayor came down one time and assured us that the city was behind us. They were gonna help us. They’ve threatened us. They’ve tried to hurt our other businesses,” Motley said.
“It’s not the city’s responsibility to insure the property or to take care of the property. That’s the owner’s responsibility. But it is the city’s responsibility to make sure that any dilapidated buildings or unsafe structures are protected,” Hayes said. With apparent tornadoes hitting Houston and Henry Counties Monday night, Hayes offered advice for those communities just starting their recovery.
“Make all the phone calls they can to their state and local officials because that’s where it starts. Our hearts go out to them because we’ve been through it,” Hayes said. Geneva’s streets will be repaired, but the process took four months and is not over yet. For the communities hit Monday night, it’s just the beginning.
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