Kirksville spends $100,000 more on snow removal

Posted: 03.01.2010 at 9:48 PM

KIRKSVILLE, MO. -- It comes as no surprise to anyone in the Heartland – Kirksville has had to put a lot more work into keeping roads clear this winter than the past.

Snow removal has cost the city over $112,000 more this year than last year.

But City Manager Mari Macomber says just because it’s costing more doesn’t mean they don’t have the money to pay for it. She says that’s partly because winter technically falls in two budget years.

“Even though we’ve spent $100,000 over what we typically spend, we’ll still have funds available to purchase the salt that we’ll need to carry us into the winter months at the end of 2010,” Macomber says.

Below KTVO has posted Kirksville’s snow removal policy:

City of Kirksville, Missouri

Public Works Department/Street Maintenance Division

Snow and Ice Control Program

Introduction:

Efforts to provide snow removal and ice control on Kirksville’s 125 miles of streets and

alleys rests with the Street Maintenance Division of the Public Works Department.

These guidelines are not intended to create any duty to any individual member of the

public or to protect any particular or circumscribed class of persons. All or parts of these

guidelines may be affected by at least one or more of the following which will delay all or

some of the services provided:

 equipment breakdowns

 vehicles disabled in deep snow

 weather so severe as to cause crews to be called in from the streets, i.e. whiteout

conditions

 equipment rendered inadequate by the depths of the snow or drifts;

crew breaks, and breaks required for refueling, refilling of material spreaders and

installing chains or new blades

 and unforeseen emergencies

Attempts to clear city streets can be exercised at any time of the day or night; and in

that regard, snow and ice control efforts should be considered as emergency work.

Considering that snow and ice removal is emergency in nature, the work must be

accomplished as expeditiously as possible and consequently, planning and equipment

preparation is normally completed prior the arrival of the snow season. Preparation for a

snow and ice removal program can be, and frequently is, made extremely difficult by the

combination of factors that arise during the snow and ice season. Rate and

accumulation of snowfall, moisture content, temperature, time of day or night, wind

velocity, and duration are all factors that interact to create a unique aspect for each

storm with the result that no two storms are ever identical.

Because the nature of snow and ice, control operations are emergency in nature, widely

scattered and of large scale; advanced planning and organization for removal of snow

and ice is desired. Once a storm begins there is little time to effect efficient operational

procedures of a major scale.

Weather Forecasting:

The key element in implementing an efficient snow and ice control program is weather

forecasting. Advance warning of weather conditions building that will effect this

immediate area is important as well as having warning while the crews are out working.

The advance warning will also advise as to the method of snow and ice control to be

implemented for a particular storm.

The Public Works Department relies on local and national weather service broadcasts

for weather information. In addition, the Police Department has available in their office,

a 24-hour weather channel. The Public Works Department will continue to rely on these

services plus actual field conditions in the immediate area to determine when to

mobilize and what equipment and materials to utilize.

Personnel:

Personnel can be assigned to 12 hour shifts (7:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m. and 7:00 p.m. to

7:00 a.m.) and the 12 hour shifts are continued until such time as the snow has been

sufficiently removed to go back to normal 8 hour work days. While snow removal

operations are performed by personnel of the Street Division, assistance may be

required from the Utility Maintenance Division. Should conditions warrant, in the opinion

of the Public Works Director, private operators and equipment may also be employed.

The Departments Fleet Maintenance Garage will also provide personnel on standby in

order to repair equipment after normal work hours.

Alerting Snow and Ice Control Personnel:

Snow and ice control operations may be conducted on a 24-hour basis, 7 days a week.

Therefore, the Public Works Department is prepared to shift from the normal work week

any time it becomes necessary to institute snow and ice control operations. Should

conditions warrant holding city crews for snow and ice control work during the normal

working day those individuals assigned to the day shift are held over for an additional

four hour period with the night shift personnel leaving at 11:00 a.m. and reporting back

at 7:00 p.m. in order to comprise two 12-hour shifts. In order to maximize the use of city

equipment, operators & other departments may be assigned to the Public Works

Department for the duration of the snow and ice emergency.

In the event it becomes necessary to begin snow and ice control operations during off

duty hours, police officers may direct the police dispatcher to initiate the first crew

response by notifying street supervisor or his designee, a current telephone call list is

used to notify affected personnel. Dependability and cooperation among department

personnel is essential to effective snow and ice control operation.

General Snow and Ice Control Procedures:

The City has been divided into six major snow and ice removal areas. Personnel are

assigned to each of the areas by the Street Supervisor.

Each street in the City has been classified as a priority one (1) or priority two (2) street.

Streets in the Priority I category consist of those streets that are hospital and

emergency routes and major traffic carriers. Priority 1 streets will be cleared of snow

prior to implementing snow and ice control operations on priority 2 streets. The only

exception to this clearing operation is when an emergency situation arises (See

Emergency Procedures Section.)

The following general guidelines have been established for snow and ice control

operations in Kirksville.

1. Snowfall accumulation of up to two (2) inches, more or less, are generally

handled (depending on weather conditions) by applying salt brine, salting,

sanding, or combination of salt, sand, and calcium chloride. No salt will be placed

on newly constructed streets for a period of at least one year.

2. Plowing operations generally do not begin unless snowfall accumulations

measure more than two inches and show is falling and/or weather forecasts call

for additional accumulation. Salting and snow plowing operations may be

conducted concurrently and some of our vehicles can perform these dual

operations at any time. De-icer abrasive addition can be used before the 2”

accumulation.

3. The Public Works Director may make arrangements for private equipment to

be used in the Central Business District. As additional private equipment is

obtained beyond that needed for the Central Business District, assignments will

be made to assist City crews in other areas of the community on the basis of a

particular area’s need.

4. Snowplow operators are instructed to plow the street as close as possible to

the curb line with minimum number of passes. Where sidewalks are close to the

curb, drivers are instructed to minimize pushing snow onto sidewalks. In these

locations snow may be stored in the street near the curb.

5. City-wide snow emergency parking restrictions will be implemented when

snow conditions warrant. The Public Works Director, as directed by the City

Manager, will place restrictions into effect after consultation.

These practices are of a general nature only and will depend to a great degree

on storm factors, i.e. wind, temperature, moisture content, etc.

Equipment:

Of the total City equipment available for snow removal, it is the intent of the Public

Works Department to utilize as much of this equipment on the street as possible;

however, it is impractical to assume that all equipment will be operating and provisions

must be made for equipment downtime.

Depending on storm conditions, additional equipment may be obtained from private

firms to support the snow removal effort. The size of the fleet is adequate to handle the

majority of snow and ice storms reasonably expected in an average snow season.

Exclusive of minor vehicle repair, the goal is to keep operational at least eighty percent

of all Street Division equipment.

Emergency Situations:

Provisions must be made for situations involving emergencies; therefore, in the event

Public Works receives notification of an emergency situation equipment necessary to

handle the emergency has been resolved. In order to eliminate false emergency calls to

the Public Works Department, it is preferable that emergency calls be routed through

the Police Communications Center, those individuals in the Public Works Department

receiving emergency calls will inform the caller that the Police will be notified of the

emergency situation so as to be able to assist in handling the situation and to preclude

false calls.

The Chief of Police is authorized to publicly announce that non-emergency travel is not

recommended when, in his opinion, snow and ice conditions warrant such warning.

Regulations as to the operation and parking of motor vehicles during Snow

Emergencies are to remain as ordained by Ordinance, Section 15- 432, and made a

part of this program by reference.

In order to facilitate removal of snow, some City streets are designated Snow Routes by

Ordinance and all parking will be banned on these streets whenever snow plowing and

removal operations are hampered or could be hampered by parked vehicles.

Declaration of the parking ban on these streets will be made by an announcement to the

news media.

Enforcement of this Ordinance Section 15432 requires dose cooperation between the

Public Works Department and the Police Department.

Standard Operating Procedures:

This S 0 P contains statements of policy and directives basic to the organization and

operation for the chemical and abrasive program and snow plowing program.

1. The City Manager, the Public Works Director, and the Street Supervisor or his

designee, are the only individuals authorized to institute a snow and ice control

program. Field operations shall be directed by the Street Supervisor who may

delegate authority to begin snow and ice control operations.

2. Supervisors shall be responsible for providing snow and ice control maps

and/or written route descriptions to equipment operators. Equipment

operators/drivers are expected to keep this information available in the vehicle

and to request additional copies of this information if it has been lost or damaged.

3. Equipment operators and other personnel required in snow and ice control

operations can be assigned to twelve hour shifts (7:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m. or

7:00 p.m. to 7:00 a.m.) until such time as the streets are cleared of snow. The

Street Superintendent or his designee shall determine shift assignments.

Chemical And Abrasive Material Spreading:

Generally, five combinations of material will be used for snow and ice control

operations. These are salt brine, straight salt, salt mixed with slag mix and calcium

chloride, salt mixed with slag mix or other abrasive, or straight abrasives. Rates of

material spreading and combinations of the various materials will depend on the

prevailing weather conditions and the Street Supervisor or his designee shall determine

the application rate and materials to be used.

Snow Plowing Operations:

1. The guideline to be used to begin snow plowing operations is generally when

accumulation has reached two inches (2”) more or less on the majority of the

Priority 1 streets and snow is falling and/or forecasts predict significant additional

snowfall. Abrasives or de-icers may be used before snow accumulates to this

point.

Every street has been assigned a plowing priority. These designations will either

be Priority 1 or Priority 2. In any given area Priority I streets will be plowed before

Priority 2 street are started. If all the Priority 1 streets have been plowed and the

Priority 2 streets has commenced and it begins to snow again sufficiently to

require re-plowing, then the Priority I streets would be reinstated before resuming

work on the Priority 2 streets.

2. The Street Supervisor and Equipment Operators are expected to be

knowledgeable of areas where sidewalks are close to the curb and where

medians exist and must make every effort to avoid plowing snow onto sidewalks.

Supervision will inform equipment operators new to a particular area where

sidewalks are close to the curb. Drivers are not to turn around their equipment or

vehicles in residents’ driveways unless absolutely necessary.

3. Drivers will not plow or remove snow from known private drives or streets.

Time limitations prevent the removal of windrows, as well.

4. Equipment operators are expected to inspect equipment prior to leaving the

Public Works yard area to be sure equipment is in proper working condition.

Brakes, lights, horns, turn signals, plow and/or material hydraulic steering, cutting

blades, edges, snow chains, fluid levels and tires should be checked. Operators

must check fuel tanks before taking the vehicle into the field. Any malfunction of

the equipment must be reported to the operator’s immediate supervisor and to

the Central Garage Supervisor.

5. Snow hauling operations in the Central Business District will be done when

snow accumulations measure more than 2 inches. If forecast calls for

additional accumulations, snow will only be removed from driving lanes. When

snow storm has ended, snow will be removed from streets and parking areas.

This will be done at night when practical, so as to avoid heavy traffic.

6. Individuals operating vehicles and equipment who are involved in an accident

are required to report the accident to their supervisor at once. In addition, all

operators are expected to contact the Police Communications Center before

vehicles involved in such accidents are moved. Operators must also complete

and submit an accident report to their immediate supervisor as directed.

7. Equipment operators are instructed to obey all traffic regulations during snow

removal operations.

Cul-De-Sacs:

Most snow removal equipment cannot plow circles because of the tight turning required.

As a result cul-de-sacs are plowed by smaller equipment and after all the other

residential streets are done.

Mail Boxes:

It is the property owner’s responsibility to clear snow from a mailbox. When plowing

snow, mailboxes are sometimes unavoidably blocked by operation.

The City will inspect the mailbox after receiving the snowplow damage request. If it is

determined that the mailbox was physically hit by a snow plow, the City staff will install a

standard wooden post and metal box. If the resident has a custom mailbox and it cannot

be repaired, the City will reimburse the resident $50.00. If the damage was caused by

windrow, wet, or heavy snow, etc… the City will not compensate the resident for the

damage.

Ordinances Included By Reference:

Ordinance Section 15-432 Emergency Snow Routes; Ordinance Section 15-462 -

Restricting Parking in Business District.

Snow Route Area Maps:

The Public Works Director shall maintain in his office the map showing the Priority 1

Streets. Criteria for determining Priority 1 streets includes such items as bus routes,

primary routes to emergency facilities and major arterial streets.

CURRENT CITY ORDINANCES REGARDING SNOW AND ICE

Sec. 21-5. Property owners and occupants to clean sidewalks and remove snow.

The owners, agent or occupants of any real property within the city shall keep the

sidewalk along and in front of the property owned or occupied by or under their charge or keep

clean from mud, dirt, filth, snow and ice, and, after a snowfall, such owners, occupants or

persons in control or charge of such property shall, within twenty-four (24) hours after such

snowfall, cause such snow on their sidewalks to be removed.

(Code 1974, § 21-4)

Sec. 21-6. Placement of snow or ice on streets and sidewalks.

It shall be unlawful for any person or persons to remove any snow or ice from private

property and place or cause to be placed such snow or ice on any public street, alley, sidewalk,

or other public place without prior written approval of the city manager or director of public

works.

(Code 1974, § 21-4.1)

Sec. 15-343. Parking during snow emergencies.

(a) Whenever snow has accumulated or there is a possibility that snow will accumulate to such

a depth that snow removal operations will be required, the city manager or his designated

representative may declare a traffic emergency. Until such traffic emergency is terminated it

shall be unlawful to park a vehicle on any street designated as an emergency snow route. The

city manager or his representative may put into effect a traffic emergency on parts of or all snow

emergency routes as necessary by declaring it in a manner prescribed in this section.

(b) Upon declaration of a traffic emergency, notice thereof shall be given through the local

press, radio, television or other media. The traffic emergency shall be terminated by notice

given substantially in the same manner as was declared. The termination will be effective

immediately.

notice of a traffic emergency has been given. Any vehicle parked on an emergency snow route

after such period of time may be removed or caused to be removed by a police officer to a place

of safety and the vehicle may not be recovered until the towing and storage charges are paid by

the person claiming the vehicle.

(d) Any owner or operator of a vehicle who shall violate the provisions of this section shall,

upon conviction thereof, be fined in an amount not to exceed twenty-five dollars ($25.00).

(Code 1974, §§ 13-7--13-9)

Sec. 15-432. Emergency snow routes.

(a) Whenever snow has accumulated or there is a possibility that snow will accumulate to such

a depth that snow removal operations will be required, the city manager, or his designated

representative, may declare a traffic emergency. Until such traffic emergency is terminated, it

shall be unlawful to park a vehicle on any street designated an "emergency snow route." The

city manager, or his representative, may put into effect a traffic emergency on parts of or on all

snow emergency routes as necessary by declaring it in a manner prescribed in this section.

(b) Upon declaring a traffic emergency, notice thereof shall be given through the local press,

radio, television, or other media. The traffic emergency shall be terminated by notice given

substantially in the same manner as was declared. The termination will be effective immediately

following notification.

notice of a traffic emergency has been given. Any vehicle parked on an emergency snow route

after such period of time may be removed or caused to be removed by a police officer to a place

of safety, and the vehicle may not be recovered until the towing and storage charges are paid

by the person claiming the vehicle.

(d) The following streets are hereby established as emergency snow routes within the city:

(1) North and south streets:

TABLE INSET:

Street name From To

Boundary LaHarpe Michigan

Osteopathy Hamilton Potter

Third Pierce Jefferson

First Patterson Shepherd

Franklin Patterson Pierce

Marion-Green Jefferson North Junction 6 & 63

Cottage Grove Place LaHarpe Hamilton

Cottage Grove Hamilton N.E. Lift Station

Halliburton Jefferson LaHarpe

Business Route 63 Patterson Highway Junction

Jamison Highway 6, east Highway 11, east

Elson Potter Buchanan

(2) East and west streets:

TABLE INSET:

Street name From To

LaHarpe First Cottage Grove Place

Hamilton Osteopathy First

Paterson First Cottage Grove

Michigan Boundary Osteopathy

Normal Cottage Grove Jamison

Pierce Osteopathy Third

Jefferson Third Cottage Grove

Potter West City Limits North Junction 6 & 63

Illinois Main Baltimore

Harrison Main Baltimore

Harrison Baltimore Junction Route 11, east

(e) In addition to the above, the following streets are also designated as emergency snow

routes and, in addition, will be those streets which will have the snow from the streets hauled

away.

(1) North and south streets:

Street name From To

Main McPherson Harrison

Elson Jefferson Buchanan

Franklin Pierce Buchanan

(2) East and west streets:

Street name From To

Jefferson Marion High

McPherson Main High

Washington Main High

Harrison Main High

Missouri Main High

(f) Any owner or operator of a vehicle who shall violate the provisions of this section shall,

upon conviction thereof, be fined in an amount not to exceed twenty-five dollars ($25.00)

(Ord. No. 10949, § 5, 9-24-90)

Sec. 15-42. Towing and impoundment of certain vehicles.

(a) Authority of police officer (or other government agent) to tow abandoned property on the

right-of-way and public lands. Vehicles may be towed when they:

(1) Are used in a crime (from public or private lands).

(2) Fail to comply within the allotted time of any snow removal or other traffic emergency

notification.

(3) Are abandoned on the public right-of-way or other public land. Any law enforcement officer

within the officer's jurisdiction, or an officer of a government agency where that agency's real

property is concerned, may authorize a towing company to remove abandoned property (any

unattended motor vehicle, trailer, all-terrain vehicle, outboard motor or vessel removed or

subject to removal from public or private property whether or not operational) to a place of

safety as follows:

a. Any abandoned property on the right-of-way of any state highway left unattended for more

than forty-eight (48) hours; or abandoned property on any public street, alley, or parking lot left

unattended for a period of forty-eight (48) hours or more and which has been tagged with an

official forty-eight-hour notice by the police department provided that commercial motor vehicles

not hauling waste designated as hazardous under Title 49, Section 5102(a), United States

Code, many [may] only be removed to a place of safety after the owner or owner's

representative has had a reasonable opportunity to contact a towing company of their choice.

b. Any unattended abandoned property illegally left standing upon any highway, street, alley,

public parking lot or bridge in a position or under such circumstances as to obstruct the normal

movement of traffic where there is no reasonable indication that the person in control of the

property is arranging for its immediate control or removal.

c. Any abandoned property which has been reported as stolen or taken without consent of the

owner.

d. Any abandoned property for which the person operating such property is arrested for an

alleged offense for which the officer is required to take the person into custody where such

person is unable to arrange for the property's timely removal.

e. Any abandoned property which due to any other state law or local ordinance is subject to

towing because of the owner's outstanding traffic or parking violations.

f. Any abandoned property left unattended in violation of a state law or local ordinance where

signs have been posted giving notice of the law or where the violation causes a safety hazard.

(4) Any government agent other than a law enforcement officer authorizing a tow in which the

abandoned property is moved away from the immediate vicinity in which it was abandoned shall

report the towing to the Missouri State Highway Patrol within one (1) hour of the tow along with

a description of the abandoned property sufficient to make a criminal inquiry as required.

(5) Neither the law enforcement officer nor anyone having custody of abandoned property

under his direction shall be liable for any damage to such abandoned property occasioned by a

removal authorized by section 304.155, RSMo or by ordinance of a county or municipality

licensing and regulating the sale of abandoned property by the municipality, other than

damages occasioned by negligence or by willful or wanton acts or omissions.

(6) Any person who removes abandoned property at the direction of a law enforcement officer

or an officer of a government agency where that agency's real property is concerned shall have

a lien for all reasonable charges for towing and storage until possession of the abandoned

property is voluntarily relinquished to the owner of the abandoned property or to the holder of a

valid security interest of record.

(7) Any municipality or county may adopt an ordinance regulating the removal and sale of

abandoned property provided the ordinance is consistent with section 304.155 to 304.158,

RSMo.