Snow removal is primarily the responsibility of the Streets Division but it is truly a collaborative effort.
•Police monitor street conditions and enforce snow-related ordinances.
•Mechanics keep plows ready to operate and conduct repairs as necessary during storms.
•Staff from Parks, Wastewater, and Building Maintenance help when workload warrants.
•Residents help by complying with snow-related ordinances and reporting slippery intersections or other unsafe areas they encounter.
City plows are usually called out 12 - 16 times each season for major plow events. This year, crews have already been called out 20 times with March and April still ahead of us. Like most cities, we have nearly exhausted our salt supplies and are now mixing sand with salt. This should suffice for now, but it will require additional street sweeping and stormwater basin cleaning in the spring.
The city has 8 plows, 3 loaders, a 4WD tractor with a plow, 4 small plows, and a road grader to handle approximately 150 lane miles, 220 cul-de-sacs, and over 20 public parking lots. The Streets Division has 8 full-time maintenance operators who are supplemented by staff from Parks, Wastewater, and Building Maintenance for assistance during snow events.
For safety and convenience, major streets are plowed first, then secondary and residential streets. Crews follow weather reports to ensure maximum plow coverage before high traffic periods. It typically takes 8-10 hours to clear the entire city. With only a handful of certified staff to plow, proper rest is needed before returning to the streets in the interest of safety. With heavy snowfalls, crews return to priority areas before clearing lesser-used streets. Residents are asked to be patient.
Park Maintenance is responsible for snow removal on approved city sidewalks, city building parking lots and sidewalks, and city park parking lots. We have one sidewalk snow removal machine. The removal of a 3-5 inch snowfall takes about three days to complete.
It is inevitable that driveways will be blocked during plowing operations. We apologize for the inconvenience.