A special Kemmerer City Council meeting was held Monday, April 15, to discuss the city’s snow policy. Updates to the policy included snow removal for private business parking and earlier removal of snow berms.

Councilmember Robert Bowen said, “I know it puts more time in the trucks for the crew, more on gas money and adds dollars to the budget, but it will get us ahead of the game.”

Kemmeer Public Works Director Chad Nielson said he recommends leaving the snow removal policy on berms as it is.

“If we get into putting snow in the middle of the streets, we have to get into off-street parking and give our department the ability to move cars,” he said.

Nielson said he is concerned that if parking restrictions are not easily enforced, parked cars will interfere with snow removal.

Bowen agreed with Neilson.

“If there is no off-street parking available and people are parked in the road, that throws a wrench in your operation,” Bowen said.

Neilson said if the council wants to change the policy to push snow berms into the middle of the streets, they will comply, but said his department will need a larger budget.

“I will move the snow any way you guys want me to move it, but you have to finance it on the back end. You can’t have caviar tastes with a top ramen budget,” he said. 

Nielson said if the snow is not removed efficiently, there will be problems. He told the council that, though this past winter was a so-called easier winter, he is struggling to stay within budget because the cost of everything has increased.

“My prices have doubled in some cases,” he said, noting that if there is a change in the policy there must be efficiency.

Keeping the policy as it is and not piling snow in the middle of the road is a more efficient way to move snow, Nielson said.

“If it is up to my discretion as a public works director, the policy will be the same as we have done it for the last 20 years. It is the most efficient and fair way for everybody” he said.

Acknowledging that the current policy is not perfect, Nielson said, “We have to get as much done quickly with what we have.” He said if the council wants the department to move snow to the bottom end of town, it will cost more and there will need to be a budget discussion.

Councilmember Marlin Batista said, “I’m a huge fan of in the middle but I understand that if there is no off-street parking it doesn’t work.”

In addition to adding off-street parking, other concerns are the upcoming growing pains that the town will experience.

Noting this growth, Nielson said, “We might have to put the industrial park a little higher on the list.”

He also said the subdivisions that are scheduled to be built will add to the public work department’s workload. To save money on snow removal, Nielson said they need to limit private property snow being pushed to the street.

“That is just too much snow. It is tough to keep up with” he said.

Restrictions on residential snow being pushed to the streets would save the department money but may force more people to park on the streets due to lack of access to their driveway.

Kemmerer City Administrator Brian Muir said there needs to be some boundaries around the amount of snow moved from private property to city streets. Controls to limit residential snow pushed to the streets may include fines in the future.

Residents may start getting tags on their cars as warnings before getting a ticket. Limiting street parking, with possible exemptions, may be an option, though it would put a burden on some.

With moving parts, such as off-street parking, high winter winds, varying snow conditions, limited funding, and community growth, the town faces challenges with snow removal but hopes to resolve issues as efficiently as possible. Utilizing the public works department snow removal resources of five employees, a blade, a loader, dump trucks and a blower, the city wants to be careful to be fair and equitable to residents.

As some streets are prioritized, the council turned to public input. Councilmembers agreed that the public has the right to have a say in the snow removal process. Kemmerer resident Randy Burris spoke to the council, saying the issue of snow removal could be a simpler process.

“As citizens, we know what we are supposed to do. We know what it costs, and we are willing to pay that price,” he said.

Policy verbiage updates are required to ensure that the city is properly prepared and funded to remove snow safely and efficiently.

Muir said, “I appreciate the concepts. I want to make sure that there are no conflicts in the code.”

He said it will take time to read the ordinance and bring something back to the council. The council discussed having policy changes in place before the department’s next budget cycle.