Hail damage to city government buildings, vehicles may surpass $50M

James Mayse, Messenger-Inquirer, Owensboro, Ky.Messenger-Inquirer

The March hailstorm that struck Owensboro damaged almost all of city-owned buildings and half of the city’s fleet of vehicles.

City commissioners were updated about efforts to calculate the extent of the damage Tuesday evening.

While Loss Prevention Manager Brent Kelley told city commissioners estimates are still coming in, City Manager Nate Pagan said after the meeting that the damage could exceed $50 million.

The March 15 storm dropped hail that ranged from golf-ball to baseball size across the city.

“It was one of the most intense hailstorms in recent history,” Kelley told commissioners.

The city had filed three insurance claims, covering buildings, vehicles and outdoor property such as street lights, signs, generators and benches.

The city is insured through the Kentucky League of Cities. KLC and the city both have reinsurers.

Of the city’s 220 structures, “87% of them took some type of hail damage,” Kelley said.

Consultants are inspecting buildings and are taking samples of the roofs, “to give us an analysis of if we need to replace the roofs,” Kelley said.

“We are still finding damage today,” Kelley said.

After the meeting, Kelley said the city has already received damage estimates on 22 of its buildings.

The estimated cost range of buildings and outdoor features ranges from $250 to $750,000, Kelley said. Public Works is making repairs of items such as lights, benches and small trailers.

“We are obtaining new estimates daily” from the insurance adjusters, Kelley said.

Of the city’s fleet of 325 insured city vehicles, 163 were damaged. About 34% of public safety vehicles, particularly OPD cruisers, had damage, Kelley said. Damage to vehicles ranges from $600 to $22,000, with the city garage doing repairs to headlights, taillights and mirrors.

The claim “will be open for 36 to 42 months” on the vehicles, Kelley said. “With the buildings, it will be even longer than that.”

No city vehicles were totaled, and even the ones with the most damage will be repaired “to keep them moving, to keep them presentable to the public,” Kelley said.

The city’s playground equipment in parks “held up amazingly well,” Kelley said.

Moreland Park seemed to take the most damage, but cost estimates are still being prepared on all the parks, he said.

When asked about how the storm will affect the city’s insurance rates, Kelley said, “Unfortunately ... if you live in Daviess County, it doesn’t matter if you have damage or not, our insurance is going up.

“They are comparing this to the tornado of 2021” that struck the Mayfield area, Kelley said. “They are actually saying this is more significant, based on the amount of damage inside the city limits.”