AUSTELL - Austell Mayor Joe Jerkins said the city has cleaned up roughly 75 percent of the debris from homes and properties ravaged by record flooding one month ago.

At its Monday meeting, the City Council will likely consider the 19 proposals from firms or individuals to get the rest of the residential wreckage removed, he said. The bids were due Oct. 16.

"We might just hire an individual," Jerkins said. "There's not much left."

Jerkins said some of the proposals include a one-person operation using a tractor and trash truck, at a cost of around $150 per hour. That person would be accompanied by a monitor, who would document the work so the city can recoup expenses from the Federal Emergency Management Agency.

"That's possibly what we'll do," he said, adding that he had not yet seen the specifics of the proposals, which were sent to the Public Works Department. Repeated phone calls and e-mails to public works officials throughout the week went unreturned as of press time.

Jerkins said some of the larger companies that put in bids might not want to do the work anymore since the city has "cleaned up most of it." He said city crews will be back out this morning to continue debris removal.

The city has been working with Maitland, Fla.-based Beck Disaster Recovery company, which was awarded a 30-day, no-bid contract late last month to document the work for FEMA reimbursement. Jerkins said the city will start filing for reimbursement next week. He did not have a recent estimate on the amount for which the city could be reimbursed. Initial estimates from BDR were around $8 million just for cleanup.

As for demolitions, Jerkins said about 10 houses came off their foundations and will probably be condemned - "and then it will go from there - a lot more I'm sure."

The Sept. 21 floods damaged about 700 of Austell's 2,500 homes.

Jerkins said the city's main barn, where heavy city equipment is stored, was inundated with about 7 feet of water, causing about $7 million in losses to the building and its contents.

At Legion Park, one building was definitely destroyed, and a second will likely have to be condemned. He said the park's five ball fields, fences, light poles and bleachers were severely damaged or "washed away."

Insurance companies have been working to get a lot of the city structures and property cleaned up, he said.

Also in Austell, the FEMA Disaster Recovery Center at the Threadmill complex, 5000 Austell/Powder Springs Road, will close Friday.

On Monday, the Small Business Administration will open a disaster loan outreach center at the same location. The loan center will be open 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday. The SBA offers low-interest loans to flood victims.