Ramsey Resident - 2022 - January/February

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Snow and Ice Control Help Keep Snow Away From Fire ? e City uses a variety of methods to provide traction on streets in the com- munity. Hydrants Sand on its own does not have ice-melting capability. Sand is primarily used as an abrasive to provide temporary traction and works best on hard packed snow. When used on ice, sand has a tendency to “bounce” when it comes out of the truck and end up at the side of the road. ? e City uses a salt/sand mixture of approximately 15 percent salt and 85 percent sand. ? e salt prevents the sand from freezing and provides some ice-melting capability to the mixture. ? is sand/salt mixture is only used in extreme cold weather or freezing rain. Pure salt is used on all of Ramsey’s primary roads and intersections to help Please help keep snow control ice. Salt has a practical working temperature of 15 to 20 degrees Fahren- away from ? re hydrants. heit. Water normally freezes at 32 degrees, but with the introduction of salt, the Snow piled or shoveled close freezing temperature is lowered to the 15 to 20 degree range. As temperatures to hydrants restricts opera- go down, the amount of deicer needed to melt a given quantity of ice increases tion during a ? re emergency. signi? cantly. Salt is ? ve times more eﬀ ective at 30 degrees than at 20 degrees. A? er a snowfall, the Before a dry de-icing chemical can act, it must dissolve into a brine solution. Public Works Department is Brine is the term used to describe the salt and water mixture. responsible for clearing snow Ramsey, like many communities, is now “pre-wetting” their salt. ? is is from City streets. Depending accomplished by placing a brine tank on the rear of the sanding truck to wet the on the amount and type of salt when it comes oﬀ the spinner. ? is provides moisture to make brine and snow, this could take several speeds up the melting process. In addition, the wet salt has less of a tendency to days. ? e City is requesting bounce or be blown oﬀ the road. An overall savings in lost or wasted salt can be your help in keeping our ? re as high as 20 to 30 percent with the use of pre-wetting. hydrants accessible. Please With over 185 miles of roadway and approximately 860 intersections, the clear a four-foot circle around City relies on the Police Department and citizens to alert the Public Works the hydrant near your home Department to problems that may occur because of extremely cold temperatures. to ensure easy access for our Traﬃ c can also cause slippery areas by tracking the salt out of an intersection or Fire Department. by packing down the snow before the salt has a chance to work. Maintenance If you have any questions crews do initial salting as they are plowing the City roads a? er a storm and or comments, please contact sometimes problem areas occur before they can get back to complete the salting Utilities Supervisor John operation. Nelson at 763-433-9861 or If you have any questions or concerns, please call Public Works Superinten- jnelson@cityoframsey.com. dent Grant Riemer at 763-433-9863 or email griemer@cityoframsey.com. A Few Friendly Reminders ? e City would like to remind you that garbage and recycling containers should be kept oﬀ the street. Placing them in the driveway or behind the curb allows snow- plow drivers to plow curb-to-curb and lessens the chance of tipping over containers. Basketball hoops should also be kept out of cul-de-sacs. Parking is not allowed on any public street between the hours of 2:00 – 6:00 am year round. Vehicles in viola- tion will be cited and may be towed. 14Ramsey Resident • January/February 2022