City of Lee's Summit Response to Winter Weather
01-06-10
8:02 p.m.
City of Lee's Summit Response to Winter Weather
Melissa Bedford Fears ,
Public Communications Coordinator
At 1 p.m. on Wednesday, the City of Lee’s Summit started a partial activation of its Emergency Operations Center (EOC) as weather reports about the City’s latest storm continued to mimic the characteristics of the blizzard conditions the community underwent during the Christmas holiday.
Lee’s Summit Mayor Karen Rose Messerli, City Manager Stephen Arbo, Deputy City Manager Brian Scott and the members of the Management Team representing each City Department met to discuss the organization’s team approach and strategies to deal with the City’s latest winter storm.
The EOC will be manned by staff from the Fire Department, Police Department, Administration Department, Public Works Department and Codes Administration Department for the next 48 hours and could be extended based on storm incident requirements.
The storm is categorized as a Level 4, which is defined by the City’s Snow Plan as “blizzard conditions.” During Level 4 events, the City recommends that citizens remain indoors because of the limited visibility resulting from high winds blowing and drifting snow. City road crews will continue to plow and treat roads, but due to the extreme cold, normal plowing operations may be modified for emergency response purposes.
Weather forecasts call for accumulations of 4 – 4.5 inches from snowfall today continuing overnight into Thursday. Winds are also expected to increase Wednesday night gusting up to 35 miles per hour and temperatures are expected to plummet to dangerous lows the next few days.
Blowing and drifting snow as well as the intensity and duration of the storm will mean City crews will have to repeatedly plow arterials and collectors. Also, with temperatures dipping below freezing, the salt used to treat ice and snow events will not be as effective. The City primarily uses 100% salt to treat ice and snow events, but may use a salt/sand mix if conditions warrant.
The City’s team approach to tackling the storm is also demonstrated with the cross-departmental staff working together to ensure that City’s operation continues around the clock. “We have a dedicated team of 60 staff lined up to run 30 pieces of equipment around the clock,” said Public Works Director Chuck Owsley. City staff from Public Works, Codes Administration, Water Utilities, and the Parks & Recreation departments are plowing and treating roadways as well as working dispatch and answering phones. The Fleet Division is also working to keep equipment operational and in good working condition.
City crews will work continuous 12-hour shifts to plow and treat snow-covered arterials, collectors, residential and cul-de-sacs throughout the City. As of 6 p.m., eight trucks were plowing and spreading salt on arterials and nine trucks were plowing on collectors and 12 trucks were plowing on residential streets and cul-de-sacs. Another piece of equipment was used to load salt on the trucks.
Crews are staffed 24 hours a day during snow and ice events and work on 12-hour rotating shifts during the week, weekends, and holidays. To ensure that streets are plowed and treated, there will be quality control checks performed throughout the event as well as staff entering data about plowed streets on an electronic mapping system. It is important for residents to remember that the time in which it takes to plow a street may be delayed based on the intensity, severity, and duration of a storm.
Public Safety continues to be a top priority for the City. The Fire Department will use four-wheel drive vehicles to improve response capabilities during the snow event. The Police Department will also use 4-wheel drive vehicles and animal control vehicles with two officers in each of them to continue their seamless operation. This will allow us to remain evenly spread throughout the City’s seven patrol district.
Residents are asked to help the City with the snow plowing process by:
• Removing all vehicles from streets to prevent a delay in clearing roadways.
• Shoveling snow to the side of your driveway. This will lessen the amount of snow left at the entrance of your driveway by the snow plow.
• Keeping fire hydrants visible and accessible in case of a fire emergency
It is also helpful to remember the City does not clear private streets, shopping areas, and certain private neighborhoods. Also, the City does not clear or remove windrows from in front of driveways and mailboxes.
For more information about the City’s Snow Removal Policy as well as snow removal updates, contact the Snow Desk (816) 969-1870. Stay up-to-date on weather conditions, by listening to radio, watching television weather casts, and going on-line.
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