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Snow-removal complaints pile up too
(by Joseph Koziol Jr. - February 11, 2009)
Snow-removal complaints pile up too
By JOSEPH KOZIOL JR.
Complaints about snow removal in the City of Chardon have been piling up too this year.
City Council's service committee looked at those complaints last week, deciding that the weather, not the city, controls much of how the snow removal goes. But the committee said it's important to hear from residents, even if only to give them a sympathetic ear and explain how snow-removal efforts work.
Gayland Moore, the city's public service director, said officials are attempting to determine which plow works best for clearing sidewalks. The one the city had been using for the task was destroyed in the February 2007 fire at the city's service garage. Since then, the city has been trying various machines to determine which is the best one to buy. The city has tried two new machines and is waiting to try a third, he said.
But he said problems with snow remaining on sidewalks after the cleanings are due more to the amount of snow the city has seen than the capability of the machines.
He said, as the snow piles up along the sides of the sidewalks, the machines can push snow to the side, but it cannot make it over the piles. As a result, he said, the snow falls back onto the sidewalk and is packed down by the passing machine. "It takes a couple passes when it's this deep," Mr. Moore said.
Although a snow blower used by the city can do a better job, he said, it moves at snail's pace, inching along.
City Manager David Lelko said while a 4-foot-wide V-plow can clean the city's sidewalks in an eight- to 10-hour period, using the snow blower for the same task would take days.
He said residents have to remember that the city saw its third heaviest snowfall for a January last month.
Although Councilwoman Deborah Reiter said she is seeing a lot more complaints this year, Mr. Lelko said complaints typically come at this time of the year, especially with this amount of snowfall.
Councilwoman Leslie Bednar said clearing sidewalks is the responsibility of the property owners and not the city. She said the city provides the service like "icing on a cake" but is not obligated to do so.
She said some homeowners may not be able to physically shovel their walks or lack the equipment, but it is ultimately their responsibility.
Councilwoman Mary Bramstedt said it is a service residents have come to rely on, because it has been done by the city for decades.
Mr. Lelko said he has gotten complaints about the condition of the city parking lots during snowstorms. He said, when cars are parked and people clear them off into the lots, the situation becomes worse, because plows can't get in between the cars to clean.
He said the condition of parking areas depends on when snow falls. Typically, he said, the city attempts to clear the sidewalks and parking stalls along Chardon Square during the overnight hours. However, when storms decide to arrive just before the morning rush hours, vehicles begin to park along the square, keeping crews from cleaning there.
Mr. Lelko said he also hears complaints from neighborhoods that they have not seen a plow for three hours.
Mr. Moore said some of the routes plow trucks take can take up to three hours to complete.
Police Chief Timothy McKenna said those with complaints should bring them immediately to the attention of the city's administration. Too often, he said, when residents wait a week or two to complain, many of the details may be lost.
Councilman Philip King said anyone who thinks Chardon is lacking for its snowplow services needs only to make a trip to Cleveland, where people have to step over mounds of snow to navigate sidewalks.
Councilwoman Deborah Reiter said those with complaints should bring their issues to the council committee meetings. There, she said, they can at least get an explanation for why the situation is the way it is.
Mrs. Bednar said just be able to vent can often be the only release residents are looking for. "People just want to know they've been heard," she said.
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