Town of Olds administration is hoping there will be no major snowfalls for the remainder of December in order to preserve its 2011 snow-clearing budget.
The town has expended about 85 per cent of its budget allotment for snow removal in 2011, and Larry Wright, the town's director of operations, said town officials are keeping their fingers crossed that it won't snow a lot before the new year.
“If we have a December like we had last year and the year before, though, I'm sure it will create a lot of contract haul work in January,” he said.
The town budgeted $18,000 for salt and sand to be used at intersections throughout town, but Wright said with significant snowfalls that occurred in the first quarter of 2011, the town spent about $8,000 of that budget.
“To prepare for this winter … we spent about $17,000 in October to build up our sand and salt (supplies). We've probably exceeded our budget by about six to $7,000 there,” he said.
Wright said the town also budgeted about $78,000 for 2011 for outside contractors to haul the snow that town staff plow. But significant snowfall in the first quarter of the year meant the town used up $67,000 of that budget.
“We did a tremendous amount of cleanup (in the first quarter) on about four major roads … and we just seemed to get done one, and then we'd do another one. Part of our problem (in the first quarter) was that our old (snowblower) kept breaking down and so we had to have contract support equipment come in from many different directions,” he said.
As a result, the town spent about $100,000 to replace the 30-year-old unit. Wright said so far this season, that expenditure has been money well spent, as it allows staff to throw the snow onto adjacent lots, saving the town the expense of having to haul the snow away. Another big help to the town has been the purchase earlier this year of a sidewalk snowblower, which drives down the sidewalk and throws snow onto adjacent lots, clearing the sidewalk in one pass.
“We spent $125,000 obtaining that unit and it's already paid off big-time,” he said.
The town has also used up about $5,000 more in contract support with recent snowfalls, but Wright said because of budget constraints, the town has attempted to use as much of its own labour as possible.
The town doesn't count its own labour and equipment costs in the snow-clearing budget.
Wright said there are a few priority areas that the town tries its best to clear first before other areas of town. The sidewalk on the north side of Highway 27 and the north side of 57 Avenue leading toward the hospital are two priorities the town has. Additional priorities include bus routes and around various seniors' residences.
Wright said in light of past complaints about snow in front of Sunrise Village, it is now on the town's priority list.
“One of the other areas we're pretty intent on is the seniors' residence beside the hospital. We've raised the bar on that one and we're monitoring it more closely now,” Wright said.
The town is monitoring issues as they come in and Wright said staff is hopeful that the map the town has published will help residents understand how the town prioritizes its snow clearing.
"One of the other areas we're pretty intent on is the seniors' residence beside the hospital. We've raised the bar on that one and we're monitoring it more closely now."Larry Wright, director of operations, Town of Olds
