You are 1 of 620 cyclists
that have been on
bikeiowa today
View ALL Banners
Support the Sport
BIKEIOWA © 2010
All rights reserved.
|
| |
| |
Norwalk, IA
Heavy snowfalls this winter have taken a toll on the
Norwalk Public Works Department’s street equipment. Labor
costs to clear the snow are also having an impact on the
budget.
“It has been an odd year,” said Norwalk Public Works
Director Tim Hoskins last week. “Typically an average snow
will come and go in a short period of time and we can
clean up after it and have everything tucked away in a day
or two. Every snow we’ve had so far this year has been
rather long in duration, which stretches our resources man-
power wise.”
Hoskins has had his crew working 12-hour, overlapping
shifts. As a result, labor costs are increasing for his
department, but it’s too soon in the season to tell how
much of an affect it will have, Hoskins said. Salaries are
paid using the road use tax fund, which primarily covers
street expenses. Employees are also utilizing comp time to
keep costs down.
“The morale of the crews has stayed really high although I
think even working through the Christmas holiday weekend
was a little bit tough on them,” Hoskins said. “They’re
still approaching their job with a real positive attitude.”
Hoskins has used about one-fourth of the money budgeted
for materials costs. There is still more than $23,000 left
in that fund. Crews have been holding back on using some
street materials since it is so early in the season. The
extremely cold temperatures have also made salt use
ineffective.
The department has also had equipment failures this season
because of the large snowfall amounts. Some trucks have
experienced metal fatigue, transmission failure, and
hydraulic hoses and cylinders have broken. The windshield
of the city’s loader was damaged during the first December
storm. Most recently, the engine of the city’s road grader
broke. Since it was not cost effective to repair it, the
City Council authorized on Jan. 7 for Hoskins to lease a
road grader for up to two months.
“Those items may tax our budget right now more than
anything,” Hoskins said.
On Jan. 7, the council also approved Hoskins’ request to
stop removing snow from the bike trail along Iowa Highway
28 through town. The department had been trying to keep
the trail open, which caused higher piles along the road
and trail and created a visibility issue at the
intersections.
Similarly, Norwalk has a snow-removal ordinance for
property owners with sidewalks, but Hoskins is not
enforcing the rule because of the heavy accumulations
unless he receives a valid complaint. However, citations
may start to be issued for people who blow or push snow
back onto the street once it has been cleaned.
“It’s one of the things that has almost become epidemic
here,” Hoskins said. “We haven’t actively issued citations
for that yet, as it becomes more of a problem to keep
streets cleaned we may be forced to do that.”
Norwalk police officers have been issuing warnings and
citations for people who leave vehicles on the streets
when the snow ordinance is active. During the first night
of last week’s storm 42 warnings and eight citations were
written, Police Chief Ed Kuhl said.
“We’re treating it as a new ordinance just to make sure
people were aware it was there,” Kuhl said.
“Going forward
we’ll be more inclined to write citations.”
Kuhl stressed that parking is not allowed on the streets
again until the snow ordinance is no longer in effect.
“People think (the plows) have been through then I can
leave my vehicle on the street again and that’s not true,”
Kuhl said.
|
| |
(388 views)
Source: http://www.desmoinesregister.com/article/20100116/INDIANOLA01/100114055/-1/ENT05/Snowfalls-maintenance-woes-impact-Norwalk
Note: Some or all of this material may be copyrighted.
|
| |
|
| |
back
|
|
 |
|
|
 |
|
|
 |
| |
This site is 100% carb free and contain no trans-fats. Consume all you want!
This personal non-commercial site exists soley for educational purposes to educate the public on bicycling related issues for the state of Iowa
|
|
