Cleanup in the Town of Chesterton after last week’s tornado will take--at least--the better part of a month.

And it will cost--at least--$30,000 to $40,000.

That’s Street Commissioner John Schnadenberg’s estimate of the situation on the ground, as he explained to the Town Council at its meeting Monday night.

Phase I of the cleanup was completed within the first 48 hours or so: the clearing and opening of roadways, Schnadenberg said.

Crews are now well into Phase II: the removal of downed trees from public rights-of-way and the collection of brush from curbsides. “We started in South Park Acres and moved north,” Schnadenberg said. “Right now we’re in the area of Fourth Street and Wabash Ave. and Third Street and Michigan Ave. Then we’ll move across the tracks into the Pinney’s Court area, which was very heavily damaged.” Schnadenberg reminded property owners that tree-service contractors are obligated to dispose of trees removed from private property.

In Phase III--which has only just begun--crews will identify public hazard trees in need of removal, those whose splitting or weakening threatens persons and property. Already 20 to 25 hazard trees have been found, Schnadenberg said, some of which the Street Department has the capability to remove, others of which will have to be put out of their misery by contractors. Schnadenberg added that he does not himself feel comfortable--for liability reasons--advising property owners on the health of trees in their own yards. But he would be willing to put them in contact with a reputable tree service.

Finally, Phase IV: chipping. At the moment crews are taking tree debris to two staging areas, Coffee Creek Park and the far west end of Dogwood Park, to await chipping. “There’ll be an ongoing expense with that,” Schnadenberg said. He did add that, as the chips begin to accumulate, the Street Department will be happy to deliver loads of them, free of charge, to residents who request them. “If you live within town limits or very close, we can drop chips off.” In response to a query from President Emerson DeLaney, R-5th, Schnadenberg said that it won’t be safe to leave the tree debris unchipped for any longer than 30 days. “It gets dry and becomes a fire hazard.”

All of which led Schnadenberg to this conclusion. “We need to think about where we’re going to get the funds for this,” he said.

Given the fact that tornado-related damage falls well short of the $8 million threshold required for a disaster declaration--and therefore well short of the point at which the town could apply for federal or state recovery funds--we’re sort of on our own, Schnadenberg said.

With the price of a grinder at $285 per hour, and Street Department overtime exhausted months ago from one of the harshest winters in memory, the tornado could end up proving to be a budget buster.

Members agreed by consensus to hold a special meeting at 8 a.m. Thursday to discuss CEDIT funding. Expect recovery expenses to be on that meeting’s agenda.

In related business, Town Manager Bernie Doyle told the council that he and Fire Chief Mike Orlich are preparing a first draft of an after-action report on the town’s response in the hours and days after the tornado. “What worked, what didn’t work, what could have been done better,” he said.

A final draft of the after-action report should be completed in time for the council’s next meeting, Sept. 14.

But Doyle did appear to hint at the gist of it. “I saw the town come together and work very well together,” he said. “It was textbook. I know now we can handle a truly catastrophic event, God forbid it should ever happen. I am very proud of what the town did.”