Agenda - Public Works Committee - 04/17/2001

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P.W. CASE #: 1 SUMMARY FOR 2000-2001 SNOW REMOVAL SEASON By: Grant Riemer, Public Works Supervisor The following is a general overview of the City of Ramsey snow removal operation for the 2000-2001 season. Operations Number of snow events requiring full-scale operations: 11 Number of days spent sanding/clean up work: 17 Most of these snowfalls landed into the 2"-6" accumulation range. Primary Routes One of the goals of the public works department is to keep what we consider, the primary routes used by residents open at all times. These routes are selected for their ability to get the greatest number of residents to a county, or state highway, as quickly as possible. The primary routes are plowed continuously in the event of heavy snowfall, and are plowed before we start full operations. After a plowing operation, or in the event of slippery conditions, two trucks spread pure salt over these selected roadways in an attempt to keep them as clear of snow and ice as possible. As a result of this policy, the majority of the straight salt we use is spread on these routes. Salt Usage Salt usage was almost identical to the was up from the 199%2000 season. During that winter we used 290 tons to spread on the roadways for ice control. This season we used 480 tons for this purpose. In addition to the pure salt we spread on the road, we also mix approximately 360 tons of salt into our sand pile for use in ice control. We currently have approximately 100 tons of salt left over. This excess salt is being stored at the MNDOT station in Anoka, and will remain as carry over inventory for our use next season. Sand Usage This winter we distributed approximately 1500 tons of salt/sand during the maintenance of the city roadways compared to 1200 tons used last season. Weather Service As you may or may not be aware we use a private weather service to provide us with a more detailed forecast. The weather service forecasted most of the storms accurately, and gave us advance warning of weather systems moving into our aria. The service contacts us by fax during business hours, or will locate us by cell phone, or pager if we were away from home after hours. We also fax the forecast along to city hall and the police department to alert them of potential trouble.