Assembly honors snow-removal agreement

November 6, 2005

DARRELL L. BREESE\Frontiersman reporter

PALMER - John Duffy, manager of the Matanuska-Susitna Borough, and Robert Doyle, chief school administrator for the school district, had a gentleman's agreement to share the expenses of dealing with the snow load on the roof of Susitna Valley High School after it was discovered in August that there were potential seismic and structural deficiencies with the roof.

Despite a disagreement developing between the two on which group should be responsible for the project, Duffy asked the assembly to honor the borough's commitment to pay for half the original cost of shoveling the snow from the roof.

Initially, permanent closure of the school was considered as the only option, but further study, by Burkhart Croft Architects, determined that the school could remain open if an aggressive snow-removal program were established.

&#8220A vigilant monitoring and snow-clearing plan would not only eliminate the risk of roof failure,” Blase Burkhart, of Burkhart Croft Architects said in a letter to the borough, &#8220it would also eliminate the routine barrage of extremely dangerous snow and ice slides. The affect would be a much safer environment than Su Valley High School has experienced in many years.”

He added that roof snow removal is not an uncommon management strategy in Alaska.

&#8220The city of Valdez monitors each of their municipal buildings every year,” he said.

Based on that finding, Duffy and the borough committed to use remaining funds from two previously completed projects to pay for their half of the snow- and ice-removal program determined necessary.

Funds from a 2001 project to replace cement asbestos board at the Butte Elementary School gym accounted for $10,951, and the remaining $34,836 comes from the balance of a $50,000 Americans with Disabilities Act school renovation project. The funds were transferred into the Public Works maintenance fund to be used for snow removal at Su Valley High.

The $45,787 represents the borough's half of the estimated cost of the original snow-removal agreement, which called for the removal of snow when approximately 18 inches had accumulated on the school's roof. That plan, developed by Burkhart Croft, the borough and school district officials, calls for a once a month scheduled removal of snow, to keep the snow load below 55 pounds per square foot until corrective action can be taken in the summer of 2006.

Snow load is determined by measuring the water content of snow. The easiest way to do this is by filling a 3-pound coffee can with snow, melting it and then measuring the amount of water resulting from the process. The depth of the water in the can is then multiplied by 5.2 to determine the weight per square foot. But the borough purchased a special device that will automatically produce a reading after each new snowfall.

Initial bids for the project came in at approximately $5,000 per removal.

The final negotiations between the borough and the school district broke down when Doyle proposed a more aggressive schedule of removal, leading Duffy and Public Works Director Keith Rountree to walk out of the meeting.

Doyle proposed removing the snow when 6 inches accumulates, and the same firm that was the low bidder for the initial plan returned a bid of $5,300 per removal under the new plan.

Duffy said the new plan is entirely in the hands of the school district and that the borough did not have to commit the funds originally pledged, but instead he stuck to his commitment.

&#8220We had a gentleman's agreement, and I felt it was best to honor that,” Duffy said following a unanimous vote by the assembly authorizing setting aside the funds. &#8220I may not agree with the course that the school district is taking, but the borough committed to paying for half the removal, and we need to keep our word on the matter.”

Based on historical weather data collected by the Western Regional Climate Center, the Talkeetna area receives approximately 10 feet of snow each winter and would require the snow to be removed six or seven times. Under the school district plan, there would be approximately 18 days when the snow would need to be removed.

&#8220It doesn't make much sense to me,” Rountree said. &#8220Not only will it cost a lot more, it is a little overkill. But I guess it is best to err on the side of caution.”

The borough's state lobbyist, Jerry Mackie, hinted during a presentation to the assembly earlier in the meeting that there might be a possibility of getting some money from the state in next year's budget to either repair or replace the school building.

Contact Darrell L. Breese at 352-2267 or at darrell.breese@ frontiersman.com.

(Possible Pull out Box)

Average monthly snowfall for the Talkeetna Area

Data from the Western regional Climate Center

September 1.2 inches

October 11.6 inches

November 19.2 inches

December 22.8 inches

January 18.6 inches

February 20.0 inches

March 17.1 inches

April 9.2 inches