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ROAD AND BRIDGE COMMITTEE CITY OF RAMSEY ANOKA COUNTY STATE OF MINNESOTA The Ramsey Road and Bridge Committee conducted a regular meeting on Tuesday, October 14, 1997, at the Ramsey Municipal Center, 15153 Nowthen Boulevard NW, Ramsey, Minnesota. Members Present: Councilmember Sheila Beyer (arrived at 5:58 p.m.) Councilmember Natalie Haas Steffen Councilmember Gerald Zimmerman Also Present: Mayor Tom Gamec Linda Waite Smith, Acting City Administrator City Engineer Steve Jankowski Public Works Supervisor Merle Mevissen CALL TO ORDER Councilmember Zimmerman called the regular meeting of the Road and Bridge Committee to order at 5:40 p.m. COMMITTEE BUSINESS Case #1: Consider Revision of Snow Removal and Ice Control Policy City Engineer Jankowski commented on how it's a good practice to periodically review and update City policies and how a written snow and ice control policy serves multiple purposes. It describes the level of service which can be expected by the public and can be used to help employees and public officials answer questions relative to snow and ice control issues. While a written policy cannot guarantee against lawsuits, it can help to reduce the City's exposure from tort litigation. He presented the current policy which was adopted in May 1996. In 1996/1997, the City was divided into seven major plow routes and five cul-de-sac routes. For the upcoming snow season, Public Works Supervisor Mevissen is reviewing the addition of 3.22 miles of roadway that were added in 1996, to determine whether modifications to the current routes are necessary. Mr. Mevissen feels that the routes can be plowed within the eight-hour goal for a typical snowfall. However, there have been 12 additional cul-de-sacs and seven dead-ends which have been added since the previous snow season. If an additional cul-de-sac route is recommended, it would be necessary to contract the additional work as there are currently no City units available. The cost of contracting out would be about $5,000, based on an average snowfall season. Mr. Jankowski continued that staff is requesting Council to discuss whether it wishes to increase the level of service with regard to snow and ice control. One method would be to schedule one unit to work the main roads during the storm from the period when the Public Works crew leaves in the late afternoon until they return to begin the full-scale snow removal operation. This unit would patrol the arterial streets, salting or plowing as may be necessary to keep these passable during the storm. The unit would need to have a cell phone for emergency Road and Bridge Committee/October 14, 1997 Page 1 of 3