by John McLoone

Meeting last Monday night, the City of Prescott’s Public Works Committee is digging into problems with snow shoveling.

The city shovels many sidewalk areas, and some are also in residential areas.

With the number of sidewalks, it’s difficult to get all the work done in the 48 hours required by city ordinance.

“The meeting was to discuss the number of sidewalks the city is shoveling and how the public works employees are going to be able to meet the 48 hours everyone is required to have their sidewalks shoveled,” said City Administrator Jayne Brand. “We also know we will be adding other public sidewalks with the riverfront proposal and the trail to Freedom Park. The discussion was for the Parks and Street Superintendent to go out and see if there is a piece of equipment we can add to our equipment to help speed up the job. There are several areas which are residential and we are getting questions why they are being shoveled out by the city and other areas are not. It was the decision of the Public Works Committee that residents who the city is currently shoveling will be notified the city will not be shoveling in 2022.”

Parks and Streets Superintendent Mike Kinneman said one problem is that some sidewalks are very narrow, and current city snow-clearing equipment tears up lawns. Another problem is that there are some sidewalks that have heaved, which is tough on the equipment.

Kinneman is looking for a “v-plow” that can be used with current equipment and will be able to handle narrow and problem sidewalks.