Public Works: Snow Plan in Place for 2012

The Public Works Department is armed with salt, liquid calcium and trucks at the ready for any potential snowfall heading Lacey’s way.

“It’s jut like any other year,” Public Works Director Casey Parker said. “I put together my snow plan, which is a plan that breaks the town up into various areas and then I assign people and supplement with subcontractors.”

The township was divided into 21 different areas, in which 24 employees, 24 subcontractors and five Lacey Municipal Utilities Authority snowplows will be assigned, he said.

“Progress is dependent on the amount of snow that we get,” Parker said. “The more snow, the tougher it is and the harder it is to get around. When we get a monster snowstorm like December [2010], they’re very difficult.”

In that situation, , Parker told Patch after the blizzard.

Equipment has been worked on and maps and descriptions of areas have been provided to all subcontractors, he said. Parker organizes “plowing teams.”

“That’s the best way to do it, in my opinion,” he said.

Approximately 400 tons of salt has filled a Public Works storage unit and the Public Works Department recently rented frontend loaders for the leaf pickup program, Parker aid. Those loaders will be held onto for snow removal.

“Without those, it makes it difficult to get through and remove the snow,” he said. “Those loaders are very productive when you get heavier events.”

But are they ready?

“Are you ever ready?” he said. “Certainly we have a plan in place. Everybody knows what their responsibilities are. Everybody is in position to deal with a storm or storms as they come. I just hope they’re not as violent as they’ve been.”

Between Public Works, the LMUA and subcontractors, there are about 53 pieces of equipment good to go “when everything is perfect and running,” he said.

“Unfortunately as time goes on and with a big storm, equipment breaks down,” he said. “It dwindles rapidly…. Certainly we would like to have double of that but snow removal in itself is extremely costly.”

“You’re working on something that eventually melts away,” he said. “There’s nothing to show for it and it’s a very expensive venture. From our end, we hope we have a calm winter.”