AGENDA #1a
BUDGET WORKING PAPER
TO: W. Calvin Horton, Town Manager
FROM: Bruce Heflin, Public Works Director
SUBJECT: Response During Winter Weather Events; Use of Alternative De-Icers
DATE: April 2, 2003
During recent budget discussions, a Council member asked us to report on our responses during and following winter weather events and to consider alternative de-icers.
BACKGROUND
During the current fiscal year, we have responded to five separate events, the most serious of which was the severe ice storm that occurred on December 4-5, 2002. The non-labor costs related to these storms were approximately $36,000, for which we anticipate receipt of intergovernmental funds to cover about $20,000 of such costs. We used collectively about 175 tons of sand and 160 tons of salt for placement on road surfaces in response to these storms.
Our crews within the Public Works Department have ten snow plows, four salt/sand spreaders and heavy equipment consisting of one motor grader and up to three back-hoe/front-end loaders. We also supplement in-house crews with equipment and labor rented from private vendors as they are available. During any given event, we typically have at least one crew working in each of the eight sections of the Town. We may have more than one crew if circumstances warrant. For example, we could have a road clearing crew in one section of Town that also includes a tree removal crew working simultaneously. We follow our standard priority road clearance schedule in which emergency service areas are cleared first, followed by bus routes and roadways adjacent to major Town facilities. Secondary residential streets are cleared once these higher priority streets are cleared. The last category of services is on cul-de-sacs and dead end streets.
We previously reported to the Council in a memo dated August 28, 2000, which discussed an article about a substitute for salt on icy roads. Please see the attached copy of this informational report.
DISCUSSION
We have considered use of alternatives to salt and sand for use as de-icers and anti-icers. While we find that environmental consequences are not significantly different between various options if amounts are kept to a standard quantity, we do find significant cost differences. The following comparative cost information is from a publication by the Salt Institute.
Ice Control Chemicals
De-icing Chemical Cost Comparison
Sodium Chloride 1
Calcium Chloride 7x greater
Magnesium Chloride 14x greater
Calcium and Magnesium Acetates 40x greater
Our chemical of choice is sodium chloride, for which we recently have been paying a price of $55 per ton (cost includes delivery). Our estimated current year expenditure for salt is about $7,000. Given the significant higher cost differentials for alternatives, we believe that continued use of sodium chloride is advantageous.
We believe that the most needed improvement to our program for adverse weather response is in the area of contract services. If we had sufficient funds to contract with available area vendors so that they would provide the Town with priority availability, then our service responses would improve. We typically find that funding for use of contract assistance is not as significant a problem as availability of private labor and equipment. During adverse weather conditions, the demand for such assistance is high. Those entities who have retainer contracts with such vendors are in a better position to obtain outside help. Our recent expenditure history for such contract assistance has been $15,000 in fiscal 2001-02 and $7,500 in the current fiscal year. These funds have not been specifically budgeted, but have been taken from other budgeted accounts. We have identified an add item of $8,000 for consideration in fiscal 2003-04.
Currently, we are exploring options for increased anti-icing use and capabilities. This is a proactive approach to dealing with icing conditions, rather than a reactive approach in which chemicals are applied to roadways in response to a storm. Examples of anti-icing responses include pre-treatment of roadways with a brine or other chemical solutions and pre-wetting of roadway salt. These new methods are under study by such professional organizations as the Salt Institute and the Federal Highway Administration. We will continue to monitor their findings.
ATTACHMENT