Agenda - Council - 05/10/2005 - Laserfiche WebLink

Home

REPORT FROM PUBLIC WORKS By: Public Works Staff Background: The Public Works Committee met on Tuesday, April 12, 2005 and discussed the following seven cases: CITIZEN INPUT Nolqo CASE #1 SUMMARY FOR 2004-2005 SNOW REMOVAL SEASON Background: StaW presented a brief review of the 2004-2005 snow removal season. The snow removal season consisted of 4 major plowing events and 20 minor events. Major events consist of calling in a full crew, plus part time staff. Minor events normally consist of sanding imersections, plowing/sanding main routes, drift control, etc., the first full scale plowing operation was on January 13, 2005. This winter the City lost its oldest piece of snow fighting equipment to mechanical failure. Due to the cost of the repair and the age of the equipment (1972 motor grader) it was decided to retire the equipment instead of repairing it. Staff will be looking at some type of equipment rental agreement, possibly for the coming season, and eventual replacement in the near future. Overall the snow removal fleet is in good shape. For the upcoming year staff Will continue to analyze equipment needs and make budget requests for new equipment needed to maintain the goal of an 8 hour plowing event for a 2-4 inch snowfall. Start noted the table contained in fhe staff report that represented general statistic regarding thc plowing operation. It was also noted the overall scope of the operation continues to change. Continued development and growth in our City will place more demand on our stall' and equipment. Ramsey Town Center will bring with it the challenges of parking ramps, contract hauling, snow removal operations instead of a snowplowing operatiOn and the coordination of everyone in the area to accomplish the task of clearing a downtown al'ca as quickly and economically as possible. Sidewalk maintenance is another area that is expanding quickly. Currently staff Plows the school walking area on the same priority as the streets, with the rest of the sidewalks done 1-2 days after the Streets are cleared. Demand is increasing to accomplish system wide clearing of sidewalks at the same priority level as our streets. Public demand that the skating finks be cleared the day of the storm is also increasing. With the population growing and the increased use of park facilities this request for service will continue to rise. Action: