Lack of white stuff has public works' budget back in the black

Around this time last year, the city was still digging out from under the 21 inches of snow that fell on Sedalia during the 2011 blizzard. By comparison, this week’s temperatures of low 40s seem downright balmy.

“We’re very glad we’ve had such a mild winter. I’d almost rather not talk about it, don’t want to jinx us,” Public Works Director Bill Beck said with a laugh.

According to the National Weather Service, between November 2010 and March 2011, Sedalia received 40.5 inches of snow. The biggest snow event, the Jan. 31 blizzard, dumped nearly 22 inches of snow in a day, setting a record and requiring three weeks to clean up at a cost to the city of $61,811. This year’s lack of snow should be celebrated, Beck said.

“We have a budget for snow cleanup, just like any other city that gets snow in winter,” Beck said. “But you can’t ever prepare for a storm like that. Cities in Minnesota or Michigan, where snow like that happens at least once a winter, can prepare their budgets for it, but that was a 20-year storm for us.”

Beck said cost of snow cleanup is relative to temperatures and rate of snowfall.

“If the temperature is freezing or below freezing, it’s harder and takes more to plow and clean,” Beck said. “By comparison, if the sun is out, that helps melt the snow, it’s as simple as that. Also, if snow falls quickly, then stops, that allows our crews to go out and clean it up quickly. If it takes longer, or starts and stops, that adds time.

“Look at it this way, our first snow last winter was a little more than an inch, but cost the city around $48,000. A few weeks later, two inches fell but only cost the city $8,000 because the temperatures weren’t as cold.”

That money goes toward fuel, blades and repairs for the city’s seven snowplows, man-hours and overtime. The biggest part of the budget pays for salt to treat the streets, Beck said.
“Going back to that $48,000 event, $22,000 of that was spent on salt alone,” he said. “Of course, it’s sometimes too cold for salt. If it gets below 0 degrees, we have to add a chemical mixture to the salt to make it work effectively.”

Beck said the city was concerned about the weather this year, adding that the public works department generally budgets for a few two- to seven-inch snowfalls. So, far there has been only one snow in early January that was just more than an inch. The NWS is predicting snow for Monday, though it should only be 1 or 2 inches, said Mark O’Malley, a meteorologist for the NWS in Pleasant Hill.

“We’re looking at temperatures starting to drop and feel more like a typical February winter,” O’Malley said. “This hasn’t been the warmest winter on record, but I’d say we’re in the top 15 or so since we started keeping records in 1889.”

According to O’Malley, this season’s warm weather is attributed to a jet stream pattern that kept cold air in northern parts of the hemisphere, near Alaska and Siberia.

“It’s extremely cold up there and has persisted for several months now, that’s why you’ve been hearing all the stories about massive amounts of snow in Alaska and the big freeze in Eastern Europe,” he said. “Only recently has the jet stream pattern changed to allow more typically cool air to travel south.”

O’Malley said the old wives tale of a mild winter following a harsh one is just that, an old wives tale.

“Two years ago we had a cold, snowy winter and then last year was the same,” he said. “There’s no real way to predict from year to year until you get closer to the date. In that same vein, it’s still too early to predict how our spring will turn out, if it’ll come early or be wet or dry.”

O’Malley did offer some good news, no blizzards or heavy snowstorms are expected for the rest of the year, something Beck and his public works crew appreciate.

“We’re always prepared for snow events, but happy when they don’t happen,” Beck said. “I think residents are always great about being patient with us when there is snow. We work the best we can, as fast as we can, to get everything cleaned up and sometimes it just takes a little longer.”

Beck is also keeping an eye on the public works department’s budget as the end of the city’s fiscal year is quickly approaching.

“I would say our average budget is between $80,000 and $100,000,” Beck said. “This past summer we had the tornado and some major wind storms so we thought we’d be over budget this year. But because we’ve had such a mild winter and haven’t had to use money for snow removal, we’re going into our new fiscal year in the black, which is always a good thing for our tax payers.”

For more information about upcoming winter weather, go to weather.gov.