In the wake of this week's ice storm, the city of Blytheville plans to apply for federal funding to help with the cleanup effort.
A government contractor was in town Thursday, speaking with local officials.
Tom Trizna of Cieres Environmental was in Blytheville to offer the company's services if the city gets Federal Emergency Management Agency money.
"We're a private government contractor with a 30-year history," Trizna said in the mayor's office, after visiting with Blytheville Mayor Barrett Harrison Thursday. "We were the prime contractor for Katrina."
He said FEMA officials will visit with Harrison and Mississippi County Judge Steve McGuire for an applicants briefing.
"I'm a little ahead of the game," Trizna noted. "But we're out talking to mayors and public works guys to get on their notification list, should they elect to take advantage of the still unawarded FEMA reimbursement. Each municipality is guaranteed a minimum of 75 percent reimbursement for every dollar they spend."
Cites must solicit bids first before selecting a government contractor.
Harrison said the city of Blytheville will request funding from FEMA.
He noted the state will likely pick up 12.5 percent of the tab, leaving the city owing the other 12.5 percent.
"That takes the burden off of Public Works," Harrison said of using a government contractor.
The mayor said the company will bring in workers and equipment for quick cleanup.
"Don't misunderstand, they're not going to clean up their yards," Harrison said. "It still has to be taken to the curb just as if we were going to keep it up."
He added residents have "an incredible amount of work ahead of them" just to get the debris to the curb.
"What we'll do is try to pick a date and tell everyone they need to get everything to the curb by that date," Harrison said. "What they can't get there, we'll come back later on as we would have anyway and pick it up. Obviously, the more we can get out there, the more that's going to be taken care of by help from the federal government and the quicker the town gets cleaned up."
Harrison asked for residents' patience "and (to) understand how big this problem is."
He said once the ice melts, officials will get a better idea how much damage exists.
"There's so much of it hid right now," the mayor said.
Damage to trees will be revealed this spring.
"This spring we're going to see what we lost," Harrison said.