Post Falls snow berm program in limbo
<p>A plow operator works the streets of Post Falls last winter. The fate of Post Falls' snow berm removal program will be discussed at tonight's city council meeting. The number of homes who receive the courtesy service has grown from 83 in 1999 to 428 last winter.</p>
POST FALLS - A Post Falls snow berm removal program that has grown five-fold during the past 14 years could be eliminated due to inadequate manpower and equipment to handle the number of requests.
The city council will discuss the fate of the program tonight at 6.
The city since the early 1990s has offered the free service in which seniors or those with disabilities can request snow berms be removed from their driveways.
The city provided the service to 83 homes when it started keeping track in 1999. The number has grown over the years and was at 428 last winter.
Terry Werner, the city's public services director, said city staff is recommending that the program be eliminated.
"The snow berm reduction program we have in place has grown over the years to where it is not manageable with our present equipment and staff," Werner wrote in a memo to the council.
Werner said the system has been abused by some.
"We have seen instances under the present policy where snow berm removal requests have been submitted and assistance provided to individuals who had the ability or resources to either remove or have the berm removed using their own resources, which was not the original intent of the policy," he wrote.
A second option, he said, would be to keep the program, but base the need on income levels and a doctor's signature.
"The present form we use for doctors' release are being signed by office staff and others, but not the medical doctor," Werner wrote. "We had a form recently signed off by an eye doctor."
Werner said, if the program is eliminated, relying on civic groups to help out when possible was discussed.
Other area cities and highway districts either offer no such snow berm program or use "gates" on their snow removal equipment to shield snow from being left in front of private drive approaches. Gates are intended to reduce the size of the snow berm, but don't entirely remove the berm from the driveway.
The cities of Rathdrum and Coeur d'Alene use gates. Hayden eliminated its snow berm removal program last year due to similar concerns Post Falls has.
Werner said, if the Post Falls program remains the same, more plows and personnel would need to be added to keep pace with the growth of the program.
Under the program, plow operators remove berms as they plow. Service recipients have a marker on their property.
The total cost of the program last year with 22 snow plow events was $25,416. The administrative cost was $11,492 of the total amount.
The cost of the program comes out of the street maintenance fund, so whatever is spent on removing snow berms results in less that can be spent on asphalt and chip sealing during the summer, city officials said.
It takes staff 13 to 14 hours to remove snow from the roadways in Post Falls.
At a recent city council workshop on the snow berm removal program, council member Skip Hissong said driver fatigue and safety should be considered in the mix.