Town crew prepares for snow removal

Though it’s a blessing for some and a burden for others, the snow is on its way and most of the country got an early taste of winter a couple weeks back. Of course, with the snow comes the necessity of clearing the streets.

Thermopolis Public Works Director Ernie Slagle said “in the heat of the battle,” while it’s still snowing, the top priority is the highways. That means from Broadway west to the historical marker, Sixth Street south to just past the Children’s Resource Center, all the way up hospital hill to the turnaround area, the airport hill and 14th Street.

Once the snow stops, it’s a move to the second priorities, which are the downtown area, Springview from Arapahoe to Park, the hills such as Arapahoe from 6th to 14th Streets, Amoretti from 6th to 14th, Cedar Ridge and Mountain View. Anything after that is third priority.

If a winter storm happens to come in and dump extreme amounts of snow, Slagle said they basically blade snow up to the middle, open intersections and load it off of the highways, downtown and 14th Street. He added there are areas, such as from 12th and Broadway out to the historical marker, that now have sidewalks; snow in such areas used to be blown off to the side, but now people complain when it’s blown onto the walkways.

Slagle recalled a storm from a couple years back when there was well over 20 inches of snow, and required some help from private contractors to load up snow.

As to where the snow is dumped, Slagle’s grateful the State has allowed some space by the rodeo grounds and National Guard Armory for it. Snow is also dumped over by the town shop. Additionally, Jerry Williams has provided some land he owns for snow dumping. Slagle noted with the Williams property they go back in the spring when everything has melted and do a cleaning day, as there is a lot of debris in the snow.

Slagle noted the community really appreciates and wants the snow removal. “We are expected to do it, so we do it,” but at cost to the taxpayers. Snow removal costs the town quite a bit of money, Slagle said, including wear and tear, dump trucks, plows, sanders, fuel, manpower and overtime. He estimated around $80,000 is normally budgeted for snow removal, but with big storms that might require independent contractors it could be up to $140,000.

To aid in the removal of snow, Slagle said the town now purchases an ice slicer, which “is worth its weight in gold.” He added the substance is used on corners and on hills, and it does a great job. Previous materials used were coal slack from the Grass Creek Coal Mine, mixed with sand and rock salt. It worked well when there was sun, he said, and couldn’t be used in the downtown area because business owners would get upset when it was tracked into stores.

The purchase of a snow blower for the Bobcat was also approved by the town council, though Slagle pointed out the attachment works well if the snow is right; in cases where it is heavy and wet, like in the recent storm, it doesn’t work as well.

Slagle understands many people want their streets to be the first cleared, but explained if the snow is plowed up it has to be moved, and they don’t want to get carried away and wind up with too many windrows and not enough time to clear them before the next snow.

With regard to how much snow we might see, Slagle said he buys every Farmer’s Almanac — noting some people swear by them and others laugh at them — and according to what he’s read the winter in this area is expected to be moderate to mild, but that doesn’t mean Mother Nature doesn’t have other plans