Although it is no mystery to residents, Mountain View County (MVC), as well as the region in general, has been pummelled with wintry weather recently, leading to less-than-ideal road conditions.
Mountain View County staff and contractors have been out clearing highways and county roads since the beginning of December ñ and officials say the 2013 snow removal budget was overshot by about $600,000.
The budget for 2013 was just over $2.1 million, and MVC director of corporate services Greg Wiens explained to the Gazette why the snow removal budget went over.
"So we're sitting at about 2.7 million with still more expenses that will come in over the next couple weeks here related to 2013,î said Wiens.
County councillors were given an update on the snow budget on Dec. 8.
The reason officials went over budget that much is because of the unusually high volumes of snow the county has received, as well as the wind, which has kept the roads frosty, said Wiens.
Officials were on budget up until the beginning of December, when the snow began to fall in earnest, he said.
"So more snow than usual and a lot of blowing snow, and I don't think there's anybody who isn't spending more on snow removal than they anticipated, because it is an unusually high snowfall year,î he noted, adding that the situation is similar across West Central Alberta.
The county keeps funds in reserves for snow removal for unforeseen circumstances like seen this winter, so the overshot budget is not something that should cause alarm, he added, noting there are also other sections of the county budget that officials will be able to pull from.
Crews worked hard to get the roads cleared for when schools in the area were scheduled to start up again on Monday, Jan. 6, according to Ryan Morrison, assistant director of operational services for MVC.
"We're pretty happy, from where we were at Friday (Jan. 3), to where we're at today (Jan. 8) we're very pleased with our program,î said Morrison.
"The big challenge we had was weather, because everything we plowed Thursday and Friday all blew back in. We were making good progress but we were really just burning diesel fuel.î
But on January 4 and 5 crews made a comeback and were able to get all the major routes cleared for both school buses and other motorists, he said.
Officials are trying to keep a number of (snow clearing) machines on the road, but the staff is in various states of on-call and holidays, with some making up for time spent working through the Christmas holidays, he said.
"There were guys who worked during Christmas who took time off during the first part of the new year, so it changes day to day right now with the staff levels, but what we're trying to do is man nine graders and 12 trucks,î he said.
The county has brought in more contractors this year to help with the snow removal than in any of the previous years that Morrison has been on staff at MVC, he said.
"We were trying to get some more contractors with graders with wings on them but lots of the guys who handle the equipment were busy out plowing oil rigs and lease sites and such, but anything they could help us with, they did,î he said.
Moving forward, he said crews will continue working on roads and routes that have not gotten much attention yet.
"We will be there,î he said. "We might not be there immediately, but we will come and plow that road out, and if people have a problem, they can feel free to call us in the office so we can record it and communicate it to the outside staff.î
Residents who have concerns about the state of their roads are encouraged to call 403-335-3311 and ask to speak to Ken Bellamy or Morrison.
