What a difference a year makes
Published: 1/15/2003
Last year at this time, many people were commenting to me about how mild the winter was and how the Town must be saving lots of money. My comment then and always is, "We save money until the weather changes. It only takes one big storm to bring us back to reality".
We need only look at the statistics for snowfall to make my point. By January last year we had a total accumulation of 8 inches of snowfall; our Highway crews had been out approximately six times to salt or plow the roads using approximately 900 tons of salt.
During the entire snow removal season (from November 2001 to April 2002) a total 57 inches of snow was recorded in the Monroe County area. During this period the Highway crews went out 36 times to salt or plow roads using a total of 4,456 tons of salt. From a budget standpoint we were looking good. Our purchase of salt was down, our overtime hours were down.
Then comes the new snow season. Since November of 2002, we have recorded a total snowfall of over 70 inches, which is nine times greater than for the same period last year. The highway crews have already been out over 40 times to salt or plow roads and have used over 4,500 tons of salt which is more than we used all of last year. In addition, a tremendous amount of overtime has been required of our employees in order to combat the storms we have had. Needless to say the reduced costs realized at the end of April 2002 were quickly eaten up in November and December.
What is most impressive to me is the quality job that the men and women of our Highway Department do in assuring that our roads are safe for the travelling public. Bar none, I believe that their work is clearly the best. I have residents tell me all the time that they know when they get to Pittsford in the winter because of the good condition of the roads.
This does not happen by accident. We have a committed crew of individuals that starts with our General Foreman, Jim Scherer along with our other foremen, John Cufari and Larry Shwoch. These individuals bring a tremendous amount of skill and experience that allows them to guide the crews in dealing with the many and variable road conditions they must face.
Combating snow and ice is a function of snowfall and temperature. Since salt is only effective to around 15°F, it is therefore easier to fight a larger amount of snow at 30° since you can plow the larger amount of snow from the road and then get the salt to complete the job. A lesser amount of snow at 10° is more problematic since there may not be enough snow to plow and the salt (and sand added at low temperatures) is acting more as a grit then a clearing material. Under low temperatures the crews are often required to go out multiple times to assure that there is the right amount of grit on the roads, especially on hills, curves and intersections.
In combination with great leadership, we also have a group of committed Town employees who work for our Highway Department. Most of the overtime they get comes at extremely odd hours of the day. Our crews report in around 4:00 a.m. to prepare the roads for your morning commute.
There are also times when the need to do their job comes at tremendous sacrifice. A good case in point was this past Christmas morning. As most of us were waking up to enjoy the beautiful snow that had fallen and open gifts with our families, the Highway Department was on the job. The crews worked from five o'clock that morning to seven o'clock that evening missing out on the entire day with their families.
There are also times when the weather demands a tremendous amount of endurance and stamina on the part of our employees. For example, during the period of January 2nd to January 5th, it snowed or rained continuously requiring that the Highway Department work for a stretch of 50 hours. It is easy to see how this job requires special skills that are necessary to operate a vehicle for long hours and under unpredictable weather conditions.
We are proud of our Highway crews and we thank them for the job they do to keep our roads open and safe. I encourage you to drop a note of thanks to give them your support and in acknowledgement of the personal sacrifice they make throughout this season.
Other Supervisor columns are available here.