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P.W. CASE <br /> <br />SUMMARY FOR 2001-2002 SNOW REMOVAL SEASON <br /> By: Grant Riemer, Public Works Supervisor <br /> <br />Background: <br /> <br />This case is meant to be a brief review of the 2001-2002 snow removal season. This <br />season was unique in the fact of the unseasonably warm weather we enjoyed for most of <br />the winter. This warm weather had an adverse affect on our plowing operation though, <br />because of the lack of frost. Lack of frost makes for soft shoulders and sod damage in the <br />easement. Our first full scale plowing operation was on November 26, 2001, which was <br />preceded by heavy rains on November 24, 2001. This was pretty much the pattern for the <br />season. The Public Works Department implemented a program where the City supplied, <br />free of charge, wooden lathe to residents to mark the boulevard. This program was <br />beneficial in two areas, it helps our plow drivers locate the road edge, and they also <br />replaced the metal fence posts residents were using, which we consider a safety hazard. <br />We had over 120 residents participate in the program this year. We hope the response <br />will be even greater next year. <br /> <br />Our equipment held up well with only one major repair in the form of a transmission <br />failure on one of the large plow trucks. Overall our snow removal fleet is in good shape. <br />The average age of our plow fleet is about 9 years old. One concern is unit 604, which is <br />a 1972 WABCO motor grader. It is running fine at the moment and is only used for <br />snow removal. The concern is, if it breaks down parts may be hard to find because of its <br />age. Possible options if it breaks, and is not repairable, would be to replace the unit with <br />the purchase of another plow truck. Replacement cost would be approximately $100,000. <br />Another option would be to consolidate that particular plow route in with the others. This <br />would lengthen the overall operation time by 1 - 2 hours on a normal snowfall of 2-4 <br />inches. Right now it takes about 8 hours for the larger equipment to complete their <br />routes, with the smaller trucks, doing cul-de-sacs, taking about 9-10 hrs to complete their <br />routes. <br /> <br />The following table represents some general statistics regarding our plowing operation: <br /> <br /> 1998-1999 1999-2000 2000-2001 2001-2002 <br />Full scale operation 10 N/A 11 11 <br />Sanding operations N/A N/A 17 29 <br />Salt amounts 154 290 480 510 <br />Salt/Sand amounts 1400 1200 1500 1350 <br />Complaints 67 N/A 137 87 <br />Sod damage 18 N/A 37 38 <br />Mailbox damage 7 N/A 10 7 <br />Misc. 42 N/A 90 42 <br /> <br />Average <br /> <br />360 <br />1360 <br /> <br /> <br />