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HomeMy WebLinkAbout4.C.2. Approve Resolution 7373 Adopting a Revised Snow Plowing/Ice Control Policy. Consent Business 4. C. 2. SI AKC`PEE TO: Mayor and City Council Mark McNeill, City Administrator FROM: Mike Hullander, Public Works Superintendent DATE: 10/15/2013 SUBJECT: Approve Resolution 7373 Adopting a Revised Snow Plowing/Ice Control Policy. (A, E) Action Sought Motion to approve Resolution 7373 Adopting a Revised Snow Plowing/Ice Control Policy. Background Public Works is requesting Council approve and adopt the revisions to the Snow Plowing/Ice Control Policy. The current policy and resolution was adopted in 1997 and since that time operating procedures and best practices in snow removal have changed. Staff has reviewed policy's from other community's, our current practices, and is recommending ap roval of the revisions. Recommendation Staff recommends approving and adopting the revisions in the Snow Plowing/Ice Control Policy. Budget Impact Snow Plowing and Ice Contol funds are in the Street Maintenance General Fund Budget. This revision will have no additional impact. Relationship to Vision A. Keep Shakopee a safe and healthy community where residents can pursue active and quality lifestyles E. Deliver effective and efficient public services by a staff of welltrained caring and professional employees. Requested Action Motion to approve Resolution 7373 Adopting a Revised Snow Plowing/Ice Control Policy. Attachments: Snow Plow/Ice Control Policy I RESOLUTION NO. 7373 A Resolution Adopting A Snow Plowing/Ice Control Policy For The City Of Shakopee WHEREAS, the City Council of Shakopee believes that it is in the best interest of the residents for the City to assume basic responsibility for control of snow and ice on City streets; and WHEREAS, the City will provide such control in a safe and cost effective manner, keeping in mind safety, budget,personnel and environmental concerns; and WHEREAS, the Public Works Department is given the responsibility for ensuring adequate snow and ice control on City streets; and WHEREAS, the Public Works Department has prepared an attached Snow Plowing/Ice Control Policy. NOW, THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED BY THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF SHAKOPEE,MINNESOTA: that the attached Snow Plowing/Ice Control Plan is hereby adopted for the City of Shakopee. NOW, THEREFORE BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED: that this resolution supersedes Resolution No. 4786, which adopted the 1997 Snow and Ice Control Plan. Resolution No. 4786 is hereby repealed. Adopted in session of the City Council of the City of Shakopee, Minnesota, held this day of , 2013. Mayor of the City of Shakopee ATTEST: City Clerk I CITY OF SHAKOPEE SNOW PLOWING/ICE CONTROL POLICY Formatted:Indent:Left: 0",First line: 0" PURPOSE AND NEED FOR POLICY The City of Shakopee,being a growing City,needs to annually review and adopt a policy regarding efficient and timely removal of snow and control of ice in order to best provide for safe travel for the greatest number of persons.This policy outlines the responsibility within the Public Works Department in order to accomplish this goal. POLICY Each year the Public Works Department prepares a map of the City showing the City maintained street system. The City is divided into routes in which ice control and snow removal will be performed by City employees and private firms under contract to the City. The routes are periodically revised to correspond with budgetary,equipment and personnel resources available. Equipment is assigned to each route based on availability and the effort required for the control of ice and snow. The start of ice and snow control operations for any storm is dependent upon immediate and anticipated conditions. The most critical time periods are weekday morning and evening rush hours. When feasible,the City will attempt to remove ice and snow from City maintained major streets prior to these rush-hour periods. Normally major streets and hazardous areas are done first. Once the priority areas are plowed and opened,the remaining streets in the residential,commercial,and industrial areas will be plowed and sandedice control materials applied. PROCEDURES AND RESPONSIBILITY The Maintenance Division, with the assistance of the Police Department, monitors street conditions and is responsible for making the decision to call out personnel and equipment to begin snow and ice control operations. The Public Works&pen,iser-Superintendent has the responsibility of determining plow routes and sequencing of operations, in accordance with priorities as established in Exhibit A. The SuperAseF-Superintendent shall retain the latitude to adjust sequencing or route assignments based on storm conditions, equipment availability and/or other conditions warranting changes. EXCEPTIONS 10152013 City of Shakopee I Snow Policy I Page 2 of 7 In the event of equipment failure,extreme snowfall or other unanticipated events including the necessity of resting snowplow crews,deviation from these standards may be appropriate. STORM CLASSIFICATIONS AND PLOWING OPERATIONS Class A Storm: A Class"A" snowstorm is one with an accumulation of less than 2" in depth. This storm consists of the application of ice control materials only and does not normally involve plowing.All main arterial,collector streets and snow emergency routes may plowed prior to salt application During a Class"A" storm, some intersections,hills and curves are sanded salted where needed.Critical areas,such as areas that historically freeze or drift,are also saxdedsalted.If the storm is a freezing rain or an ice storm,additional areas may be sandedsalted. Class B Storm: A Class "B" snowstorm has an accumulation of between 2" and 8". This storm involves both a plowing and a sanding-saltine operation. A Class `B" snow storm alert initiates the full snow plowing operations of the Public Works Department. All Equipment Operators are dispatched to their respective routes. A normal plow operation starts at 2 A.M. All main arterial, collector streets and snow emergency routes will be completed first. Following those, the local streets, cul-de-sacs-and, alleys,and downtown parking lots are done. Class C Storm: This storm is one of extremely heavy snowfalls, consisting of 8" or more in depth occurring over a period of 24 hours or less. During these storms, accompanying high winds also create visibility problems for motorists and our snowplow operators. A Class"C"storm is the most severe and could have life threatening situations arise, if emergency vehicles become bogged down and paralyzed. Operators and equipment are dispatched to the same routes as with a Class `B" storm. The most effective way to contend with a major snowstorm is to plow with the storm as it continues. This means that often we are plowing streets several times during the duration of the storm. HOW SNOW WILL BE PLOWED 10152013 City of Shakopee I Snow Policy I Page 3 of 7 Snow will be plowed in a manner so to minimize any traffic obstructions.The center of the roadway will be plowed first. Snow shall be plowed and pushed from left to right with the discharge going onto the boulevard area of the right-of-way without regard to sidewalks and/or driveways except in the Central Business District. The City shall not be responsible for plowing snow from streets into any sidewalks and/or driveways.When a plow goes on a bridge,the driver shall slow down so that snow does not go over the bridge if possible.In times of extreme snowfall, streets will not always immediately be able to be completely cleared of snow. PARKING The City of Shakopee has adopted various ordinances for parking restrictions, which are modified periodically and in Chapter 10 of the Cijy code. HAULING OF SNOW Where there is no room on the boulevard for snow storage and where accumulated piles of snow create a hazardous condition,the City shall remove the snow by hauling. Operations will not commence until other snowplowing operations have been completed. Snow removal operations shall be at the discretion of the Public Works Director and/or Supen,iserPublic Works Superintendent. I� ALLEYS Alleys will be plowed rwith zxrz crFfF}}};t}}$tiR1}of not less than Q Downtown alleys will be sanded-salted at each plowing; residential aI ved alleys shall only be sanded salted when conditions warrant it. Gravel alleys may receive an application of 1/8" rock chips when warranted. LS ICE CONTROL The City is concerned about the effects of sand-and-salt on the environment and will limit its use for that reason. Therefore, it is the policy of the City to utilize sand-and salt, where necessary, to rovides for traction,but is not intended to provide bare pavement during winter conditions. Application of the saadfsalt mbwae-is generally limited to priority routes, steep grades and high velume intersections. Application is limited on lower volume streets and cul-de-sacs. Applieafien mix4Hres dit The City cannot be responsible for 10152013 City of Shakopee I Snow Policy I Page 4 of 7 it damage to grass caused by the ice control operations-and therefore will not make repairs or compensate residents for salt damage to turf areas in the street right-of-way. SIDEWALKS/TRAILS The Public Works Department maintains sidewalks on collector streets, as per Council direction on December 6, 1994. Some sidewalks and trails are plowed by the City.Refer to the most current Council approved sidewalk and trail map. Due to limited personnel available,the department will plow these sidewalks only after the majority of the streets are plowed. The designated trails and sidewalks should be cleared as thoroughly as possible but need not be cleared of all ice and snow nor need they be maintained to bare pavement. MAILBOXES in those instanees in which the U.S.Pestal Sen-iee dees net provide deer-te deer-immediately adjaeefit to the stfeet etffb. While the installe6en ef fflailbexes en City owned ,it right of way it efmitted the '71. all sk ,.f damage a--r mailbex is damaged thFough eentaet by snow r-emeval vehieles.if a mailbox is damaged >the City, mailbox is damaged dtie to i di ♦ eeataet, ifieluding the force of generated by tl-snow snew removal vehiele,the City will ass ibility. The City's possible,This is efien quite diffiettl*d-1-He te the.-Aerhang ef the plow ex4efiding abetA 2 feet beyend this, thei.. ..,.Rbo•°.Residents are responsible for clearing snow away from their mailboxes Mailboxes may be impacted by City snow removal activities The City will conduct a review of each mailbox incident to determine whether the Ci1y will replace or rp ovide reimbursement for the mailbox. Only mailboxes actually hit by a snowplow will be the responsibility of the City. The City will not be responsible for damage to mailboxes or support posts caused by snow or ice coming into contact with the mailbox If the City determines a plow hit the mailbox the City will replace the mailbox with a standard size non-decorative metal mailbox and replace the support post as necessary with a 4" x 4' decay resistant wood support post both installed by the City. Alternatively, the Ci will reimburse the mailbox owner a set fee,periodically set by City Council for the replacement of the mailbox and post by others.Mailbox shall be installed er the specifications shown on Exhibit B. TRASH RECEPTACLES 10152013 City of Shakopee I Snow Policy I Page 5 of 7 i Ii Garbage awaiting pickup should be set back at least two feet behind the curb line not in the street. UTILIITY STRUCTURES Except as otherwise provided in any license or franchise agreement,the City will only be responsible for damage to utility pedestals and transformers within the right-of-way resulting from direct contact by City snow and ice removal equipment. City liability shall be limited to actual costs to repair the damages as documented by invoices submitted to the City by the utility. The utility is responsible and is encouraged to mark their structures. LANDSCAPING Landscaping, including nursery and inanimate materials that are installed or encroach on City owned right-of-way is permitted,but the owner assumes all risk of damage. The City will assume no responsibility for damages incurred as the result of snow removal and ice control activities, except that the City, at its option, will repair er replaee-sedand re-seed grass only on City owned right-of-way that is removed as the result of plowing activities. LAWN SPRINKLING AND LIGHTING SYSTEMS The City will assume no responsibility for damage to underground lawn-sprinkling systems; exterior lighting systems and similar landscaping installed in City owned right-of-way. SNOW STORAGE Ongoing snow and ice control efforts require the use of City owned right-of-way and easements for storage of plowed snow. Depending upon the volume of snow,storage within right-of-way could create sight obstruction at intersections, because it is impossible financially and practically to remove all snow from intersection corners. COMPLAINTS Complaints regarding snow and ice control or damage shall be taken by the Public Works 10152013 City of Shakopee I Snow Policy I Page 6 of 7 Department during normal working hours and handled in accordance with the City's complaint procedures. Complaints involving access to property or problems requiring immediate attention shall be handled on a priority basis. Response time should not exceed twenty-four ({24}) hours for any complaint. It should be understood that complaint responses are to ensure that the provisions of this policy have been fulfilled and that all residents of the City have been treated uniformly. It is the City's intention to log all complaints and upgrade this policy, as necessary, in consideration of the constraints of our resources. 10152013 City of Shakopee I Snow Policy I Page 7 of 7 EXHIBIT A PLOWING/&kNDPWICE CONTROL PRIORITIES PRIORITY"A" Snow Emergency Routes.These are high volume routes which connect major sections of the City and provide access for emergency fire,police and medical services. PRIORITY"B" Streets providing access to schools and commercial property. PRIORITY"C" Lower volume residential streets. PRIORITY"D" Cul-de-sacs,Alleys,Sidewalks/Trails PRIORITY"E" Hauling of snow from Downtown Area and other areas as necessary. 10152013 City of Shakopee I Snow Policy I Page 8 of 7 EXHIBIT B CITY AND USPS MAILBOX SPECIFICATIONS Formatted:Heading 1 , Formatted Height — 48 Inches above street level Have box extend as for in front of support post as possible. (This prevents possible snow plow damage). Address must be on side of box from which carrier approaches in letters a minimum of one inch high. (or on the front where boxes are grouped). Box must be located so carrier can serve without leaving vehicle. NOTES: Mailbox should not extend beyond back of curb. 18" All posts to be a minimum of 18" behind back of curb. 950 PINE L N. Dimensions per U.S. Postal Service 18" MIN.. cEa RNsEo STANDARD PLATE MAIL BOX INSTALLATION 3/05 610 Engineering Department 10152013 City of Shakopee I Snow Policy I Page 9 of 7