City tackles first snow clearing on its own

Last week the city passed its first test in clearing the streets of snow.

By Charles Sercombe
The city was able to test out its new snowplowing strategy this week.
And according to Mark Ragsdale, the Director of Public Works, the plan not only worked, it saved the city a ton of money.
The cost for plowing and salting every street, he said, was $3,000. Had the city relied on its contractor, he said, the cost would have been about $45,000.
Recently, the city purchased four trucks and outfitted them with snowplowing equipment. The cost was covered by a state grant. The work is being done by city employees.
Prior to this year Platinum Landscaping was the city’s contractor for snow plowing. In the winter of 2013-14 the city paid the company over $800,000 for snow plowing and salting. Platinum is contracted to only plow the city’s main streets and emergency routes, which amounted to about a dozen streets.
The company is still technically a contractor for the city. City Manager Katrina Powell said it will be used in cases where there is heavy snowfall and a backup is needed.
Speaking about doing the work with city equipment and employees, Powell said: “We’re trying really hard to do it in the most economic way.”
Under a former state-appointed emergency manager, most of the work previously performed by the Public Works Department was contracted out. It now appears Powell is reversing that decision and bringing more work back into the department.
Although city officials praised the job done by the Public Works Department, there were some residents saying on Facebook that their streets were never cleared.