The Dec. 9 blizzard raised two issues with how West Salem street crews handle snow along Highway 16: how to handle copious amounts of the white stuff on the sidewalk and boulevard, and whether businesses along the county-plowed highway should be getting free snow removal service by the village.

As explained by Public Works Director Scott Halbrucker, because of equipment limitations, village crews spill snow back onto Highway 16 when cleaning the sidewalks. That doesn’t make the county plow truck drivers who are responsible for clearing Highway 16 very happy.

Halbrucker also said the village has historically cleaned the sidewalks of businesses along the busy highway, while some business owners go as far as clearing their parking lots and pushing that snow onto the sidewalk for the village to remove.

“I’m just curious why the business owners never had to clear the sidewalks in front of their own businesses,” he said.

Village ordinances states that businesses are responsible for clearing their own sidewalks, without exception.

“I have a problem with our crews doing in front of businesses on Highway 16, when they don’t do it any place else,” said Trustee Diana Engel. “I’m not saying it’s a problem, I’m just concerned.”

She then said the village might need to reconsider its position.

To further compound the problem, the businesses and the village have nowhere to put the snow after it has been cleared. When the county clears the highway, plows fill the boulevard and throw snow on the sidewalks.

By the time the village can get to the boulevards, the snow is often encrusted and difficult to dislodge.

“We’re not going to tear up our equipment, but we tear up the sod with our loader,” Halbrucker said. Crews dealt with the same problem last year.

He then offered up three bids for skid-steer-mounted snow blowers for the board to consider, the cheapest being for $5,100. Board members, perhaps suffering a bit of sticker shock, asked that Halbrucker seek out lease agreements or a less expensive arrangement.

Trustee Jim Koelbl suggested the village send letters to the businesses on Highway 16 instructing them to remove their own snow. Other board members suggested possibly assessing fees to the businesses whenever the village removes their snow.

It was eventually decided to send the matter to the Street Committee for a recommendation.

“I just feel that there’s too much here for us to deal with as a (board),” Engel said.

Other business

In other action, the board:

Appointed Village President Dennis Manthei to serve on the West Salem Area Community Foundation board. Per the organization’s charter, Engel, who served two three-year terms, is not eligible for a third term.

“It’s a very worthwhile organization,” Engel said.

The board voted 5-0-1 for the appointment, with Terry Hanson absent and Manthei abstaining.

Heard a presentation on crimereports.com by Police Chief Charles Ashbeck. The board passed a motion to support using the program that monitors crimes and displays them using Google Maps. No motion was needed to approve spending $500 to continue using the program.

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