A long-term recovery committee has started meeting in Andover to continue relief and rebuilding efforts after the April 29th tornado.   The committee will work to coordinate efforts between the City of Andover and Butler and Sedgwick Counties.  The committee includes emergency management officials, business and government leaders and staff from local relief agencies.

The committee will be working to share information, simplify resident access to resources, and resolve cases with unmet needs.

The United Way of the Plains has been administering a disaster relief fund for Andover, and it has received more than $760,000 in donations from 1,538 donors.   United Way’s Vice President of Marketing, Angie Prather, said in a press release that this is not the final total that will be collected, and the agency is still being contacted by individual donors, companies and organizations who are continuing to raise funds for the people affected by the tornado.   Case management will be ongoing for several months, and at this point 200 names have been submitted to the United Way.

The City of Andover is working through the insurance claim process and city staff are continuing to assess total damages to city-owned facilities.  The Lodge in Central Park, which was a public meeting facility, is a total loss.     Andover mayor Ronnie Price told KFDI News that homes are the greatest need, and the main issue has been finding a place to stay for displaced homeowners.  He said there are still some people staying in hotels.    Price said it will be a long recovery process, but the people are upbeat and he’s encouraging them to see this as an opportunity to rebuild.

No additional volunteer workdays are being planned, but if a need develops the city will post messages on social media.

Donations are still being accepted and they can be made through unitedwayplains.org