Palmer snow removal criticized

PALMER -- A resident of north Palmer complained during last week's Palmer City Council meeting that snow removal from city streets has been inadequate this winter.

Larry Hill said secondary roads are not getting plowed, at least in the city's north area, and fire hydrants remain covered with snow.

"I don't know where the money is going but it's not going to snow removal," Hill said. "In the past, city maintenance crews have been excellent but something's going wrong."

Council members listened patiently as Hill mentioned several dates when, he said, there was a lengthy delay before any plowing occurred. Even when crews arrived, Hill said, removal efforts were often cursory at best.

"I appreciate those remarks," Mayor Jim Cooper said when Hill had finished. "You have our attention."

Later, council members discussed the issue and said Hill was not out of bounds with his concern, although city crews have been doing their best and have been hampered by such things as the recent wind storm, which created hard-packed drifts. For example, Cooper mentioned a drift on Alaska Street that was so hard it spun a grader around when the machine tried to move the snow.

Fire Chief Dan Contini, serving as acting city manager in Tom Healy's absence, agreed that the wind storm delayed street clearing.

"They're doing as much as they can," he said of city crews. "They're busy."

Still, Contini acknowledged room for improvement, saying, "We're not doing as well as we have."

Council Member Tony Pippel agreed. "There's a basis of legitimate complaint in there," he said.

Council Member Brad Hanson noted that the city is now clearing sidewalks, something it didn't do in years past.

"I think they've been doing a pretty good job," he said.

Council Member John Combs sided with Hanson, and relayed a compliment from those at a Neighborhood Watch meeting he recently attended. Those citizens made a point of telling him to thank city officials for good snow removal this year, Combs said.

The city contracts with private dump truck owners to haul snow away. The council supported a suggestion that Contini look into the possibility of also contracting on a temporary basis with private snowplow operators to speed up the process.

All things considered, Cooper said, Palmer residents have it pretty good.

"If you want to see snow removal -- or lack of it -- go to Anchorage," he said.