About $160,000 in damages

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Courtesy Photo Trees and other debris littered Eagles Park and much of south Dickinson after the July 8 tornado. Dickinson Park Board members discussed the cost of cleanup Friday at its meeting.

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About 305 trees, four structures and more than 3,100 feet of fencing belonging to the Dickinson Park District were damaged during a July 8 tornado, James Kramer, director of Parks and Recreation said during a Park Board meeting Friday.

The district’s expenses are about $160,000, with insurance covering all but $60,000, Kramer said. However, damage could end up being another $150,000 to $200,000 when all data is collected, Kramer said.

He said the Federal Emergency Management Agency should cover what insurance doesn’t, but damage must total at least $1 million on all city property for FEMA to help.

Without its help, Kramer said the district is responsible for the bill. Should that happen, it would have to use money from the emergency fund, Kramer said.

The Gress Softball Complex in south Dickinson received the most damage of any park property, Kramer said.

“The last count of (damaged) trees at Gress Complex was well over 200,” Kramer said, adding several lights were also damaged.

He said a bathroom roof there was also lifted during the storm. Gress Complex is running normally again, Kramer said.

“Seeing Gress Complex yesterday versus the day after or two days after (the tornado), it’s just a night-and-day difference,” said Mike Lefor, Park Board chairman.

Eagles Park had quite a bit of damage around the boundary between a trailer court and the park, Kramer said. “Some of their trees fell onto our fence and a lot of our trees fell into their property.”

Kramer said the National Guard and the Forest Service helped with cleanup and it is about 80 percent complete.

The board is considering making some improvements in the cleanup process, including making softball diamonds at Gress Complex bigger and add lighting to it.

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