RIVER FALLS — With overnight winter storms looming Dec. 9, the River Falls City Council heard from Public Works Manager Erica Ellefson and Charles Larson of the Public Works Department about how the street clearing process works.

River Falls’ snow plowing process is broken down into four levels of priority. Top priority is main streets to businesses, schools and emergency services. Next, thru streets to get to developments are plowed. Third comes the neighborhood streets, followed by dead-end streets, cul-de-sacs and short streets.

“Everybody always wants their street to be first, and unfortunately, not everybody can be first,” Ellefson said. “We always do our best to get to [the lowest priority areas], and typically a standard plow does take about eight hours.”

Odd/even parking runs from Nov. 1-March 31, meaning at midnight, meaning people are required to park on the even side of the street on even-numbered dates and vice-versa with odd dates. When the date changes, residents must move to the correct side of the street between 1-6 a.m.

Police Chief Gordon Young said odd/even parking citations are estimated to be in the hundreds already.

Business owner Mei Mei Abdouch said while the city does a great job removing snow, the way snow removal is handled downtown forces businesses to shovel snow into parking spaces, causing all-around problems for consumers. While Abdouch did not have an immediate solution, she asked staff to consider looking into one.

City Administrator Scot Simpson said there is no parking on downtown streets that get blown from 2-5 a.m. He mentioned the downtown business owners need to have snow ready to be blown into the city truck by 2 a.m. the following day of the storm for that removal. In the instance of a Tuesday night storm, snow would need to be ready for city removal by 2 a.m. Thursday.

Residents are also required through an ordinance to remove snow from adjacent sidewalks within 24 hours of snowfall.

“Our ordinances, as Charles has indicated, are pretty generous,” Simpson said. “There’s other cities where they say you’ve got to have it by the next day at 2 a.m. if you’re downtown so they can get it with the snowblowers.”

Ellefson said it takes a few days to fully clear snow with plowing odd/even parking, as well as plowing, blowing and hauling snow from Main Street. The city also works with the school district as they plan whether or not to delay or close the school. Alderperson Jeff Bjork mentioned that the city’s snow removal is often listed as one of the positives on the community survey.

Council approved a $215,245 purchase for a used 2021 snowplow. Larson said the new plow will be named based on Facebook polls and submissions. They are looking for a downtown-themed name.

During the meeting, council also approved the forgiveness of $150,000 from a $300,000 Our Neighbors’ Place loan.

“This is a great opportunity for the council and city to improve on its role supporting regional housing stability and homelessness prevention efforts with our trusted partnership with Our Neighbors’ Place,” Alderperson Sean Downing said.

“[Our Neighbors’ Place] is a nonprofit organization that provides essential basic-needs and housing-stability services to residents of River Falls and the surrounding region. ONP operates several core programs: the Day Center, which offers food, hygiene facilities, and case management; The Closet, which provides free or low-cost clothing; the Backpack Program, which supplies food to local students; a four-unit transitional housing program for families experiencing homelessness; and the Helping Hands Fund, which covers essential expenses related to housing and employment. These programs are structured to offer both immediate assistance and longer term support,” city documents state.

Other Business

• Approved a lease agreement with Garage Bikes and Brews for another five-year term at $8,100 total. Leasing allows the business to acquire property and the city to gain capital while retaining land potentially needed for the Kinni Corridor Project.
• Approved a three-year contract with the Willow River Company for tree care services.
• Approved a developer’s agreement, purchase agreement and first right of refusal with Sterling Ponds II.
• Approved weights and measures assessments for businesses totaling $4,000.
• Approved election inspectors for the 2026-27 cycle.