POA vows to be ready when Old Man Winter arrives
Posted on Wednesday, October 31, 2007
URL: http://www.nwanews.com/bvwv/News/5201/
Bella Vista gets snow — wet snow, dry snow, sticky snow, frozen hard-toremove snow, snow with ice underneath it and snow with ice on top of it.
If the snow falls fairly early, such as in December, the ground may still be warm, which means it probably won’t stick well, said Kirk Allman, street superintendent for the Public Works Division of the Property Owners Association.
Later on, in February, after weeks of cold weather, the snow will likely hang around and freeze, making it very hard to remove.
The job of snow and ice removal here falls under the jurisdiction of the POA, a responsibility it has not yet transferred to the city.
“ This winter, it will be business as usual, ” said Allman.
While no specific date has been mentioned for transferring that work, there is a timetable, Mayor Frank Anderson said.
“ The responsibilities for the day-today street department operations will transfer to the city mid-year, next year. ”
In the meantime, if need be, city streets will be cleared and cleaned of frozen precipitation in a very organized manner.
The POA street department’s
The main arteries include Lancashire Boulevard, Highlands
Secondary roads are those that have many smaller roads running off them but are not as busy as the main roads.
Before street department employees can plow snow or sand the roads, they have to get the equipment ready — convert trucks into sanders, load them with a mixture of sand and salt, and put on chains.
But before they can do that, they need to know when to expect snow. When the weather looks bad, Allman said, they stay in touch with the National Weather Service in Tulsa, Okla.
“ We talk to them a lot. ”
Even before that, every year in October, after the craft festival ends, they check over all of their equipment, do any necessary maintenance and practice getting ready for a big snow.
Employees also have training sessions, in which they review all the routes, talk about safety tips and deal with the stress of driving the hills and curves during stormy weather, Allman said.
During the preparation for winter snows and ice storms, the road crews talk about contingency plans, such as what to do if a driver can’t get to work because of the snow or ice, is sick or may have gone on vacation, he said.
Every year he has new drivers who need training, Allman said, and even experienced drivers may need a brush-up.
When a storm hits, Allman puts 14 vehicles on the roads. The department has six snowplows / sanders and eight dump trucks with sanders and snowplows.