Spring has nearly sprung in Elmira, which means it’s time to survey the damage to lawns from the sidewalk snowplows. Yet as of Tuesday, Woolwich Township had only received 33 complaints from residents concerning their torn-up lawns, a dramatic decrease compared to years past. During the 2010-2011 winter season, for instance, there were 68 complaints, and in 2009-2010 there were 59. Township staff attributes the reduction in calls to the milder temperatures we saw this season.
“There is a lot less snow, there’s no question,” said Richard Sigurdson, engineering manager for Woolwich.
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The reduction is likely a welcome sight to residents as the program has been the source of complaints since its inception in 2004, with residents pointing to slow service, poor clearing of snow and ice, and ripped up lawn edges.
According to the contract that the township signed with Creative Asphalt and Landscape Works of St. Clements, the contractor must pay for any damages done to sod during the winter snow-clearing season.
Any damage done to other lawn features, such as in-ground sprinklers, are dealt with on a case-by-case basis.
The current three-year contract is set to expire at the end of this season, meaning Woolwich will begin looking at its options moving forward, including input from Elmira taxpayers, who are assessed a special-area levy to pay for clearing every sidewalk in town.
The township budgets $70,000 a year for the service, but the amount charged to residents only reflects what they actually pay, and in recent years the township has been in a surplus position. Last year, for example, about $59,000 was spent, which equaled a levy of $12.17 for a house assessed at $254,000.
Mayor Todd Cowan said he has only heard a handful of complaints this year from residents that he has talked to about the service, and said that the township is now in the position of deciding how they want to move forward with it. He says that they must weigh the benefits of the service against the drawbacks, which include not only damaged sod but complaints about slow service and poor work in clearing away ice and snow.
“It’s not that people are against the sidewalk clearing, it’s that they’re against the damage and all the associated complaints,” said Cowan.
“There seems to be quite a majority of people that like it because to have someone come and do the sidewalk in front of their house for $12 for the whole year is a great deal.”
Cowan added that before the tendering process begins, staff will tabulate all the complaints to get a better idea of what the problems are, and where they are. He said that problems have arisen in discrepancies between old and new sidewalks. The blades on the contractor’s snowplows are designed to clear newer sidewalks, not old ones that are up to a foot narrower. Those, and other details, would need to be ironed out should the township decide to continue with the service and tender a new contract.
“We’re looking at all the options. We haven’t made a decision one way or the other if we’re keeping it or if we’re killing it,” said Cowan.
