Minutes - Public Works Committee - 04/19/2005

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Public Works Supervisor Riemer presented a brief review of the 2004-2005 snow removal season. He advised 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 intersections, 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) we 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 our 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 our goal of an 8 hour plowing event for a 2-4 inch snowfall. Public Works Supervisor Riemer noted the table contained in the staff report that represented general statistics regarding the plowing operation. He advised that the overall scope of our operation continues to change. Continued development and growth in our City will place more demand on our staff 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 area as quickly and economically as possible. Sidewalk maintenance is another area that is expanding quickly. We currently plow the school walking area on the same priority as our 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 rinks be cleared the day of the storm is also increasing. With our population growing and the increased use of our park facilities this request for service will continue to rise. Public Works Supervisor Riemer stated the Public Works Department continues to work on its goal to remove mailboxes from cul-de-sacs. With relatively few mailboxes remaining (less than 25) to be moved this goal will be accomplished this summer. Councilmember Olson asked what the cost of the grader was going to be. Public Works Supervisor Reimer stated it is $1,200 a month and so much an hour, and the cost of a grader would be $170,000 to $180,000. Chairperson Elvig asked if they could look at anything used. Public Works Supervisor Reimer stated that they could, and there are a lot of trade-ins normally from other cities, but he didn't think they would go with another grader that they were going to buy. He stated they only use them 12 times in the summer. Mayor Gamec indicated that another truck would be more feasible. Public Works Committee / April 19, 2005 Page 2 of 21