Big snow makes big work for both towns and county

Moving snow means moving money

This year’s powder season seems to be giving the winter of 2007-2008, already the stuff of legend with 283 inches of snow in Crested Butte alone, a run for its money.

According to Rodney Due, Crested Butte public works director, the town of Crested Butte has received 200 inches of snow so far, and CBMR is reporting 312 inches on the mountain. Don’t even talk about the bounty at Irwin.
But big-time snow means more than powder days and record clicks on CBMR’s Pow-Cam. It means big-time plowing, and moving snow means moving money. There’s one record Crested Butte is trying not to break: the budget.
“2007 was a budget shortfall. We spent $241,977 on snow removal, including $99,000 on contract trucks,” Due said. “We’ve found great efficiencies since then. We made it mandatory to get Commercial Driver’s Licenses (CDLs), and we’ve cross-trained all of public works, so all my guys—whether they’re water works or streets guys—can drive the plows.”
 That means Due no longer needs to call in contractors for regular snow maintenance. Public works typically plows snow into one of three lots in town: Totem Pole Park, the corner across from Town Hall, and the corner of 3rd and Elk.
“But snow lots fill up fast,” Due said. “As they get filled we have to haul snow to a larger lot next to Rainbow Park. We used to use contract trucks [for that], but now we have enough people CDL certified to use our own personnel.”
Due only calls in contract trucks for special projects, like pulling down the snow banks on Elk Avenue for special events and peeling the snowpack off of town streets in the spring. Still, making the call to plow is never a predictable process.
“Last season, I put in a snow cam. That way the guys that live in Gunnison or myself can go online and see exactly how much snow has fallen,” Due said.
“I also call my guys that live in town, and they measure the snow and take an evaluation. If it’s six inches, we call for a full plow and get out there between 12:30 a.m. and 1:00 a.m..”  
Snowfalls of less than six inches get taken care of with daytime cleanup. But the trick is when snow hits after midnight, leaving the team scrambling at three or four in the morning—like it’s done quite a bit this year. Add to that the fact that Due and his team have been working with one man down due to a back injury, and the guys have been working pretty hard. But so far, the efficiencies implemented by Due seem to be working. Especially for the budget.
“This year, we spent $35,000 in December and January. We won’t have February numbers until the end of April, but we seem to be on track [with the budget].”
Still, more snow does mean greater expenses, especially when it falls on weekends. And 2010-2011 snow removal costs across the valley indicate that this is a big snowfall year. Mt. Crested Butte public works director Pepe Valian sees it in overtime.
“Overtime for heavy winters is around two to three thousand dollars a month,” Valian said. And the county has seen increases in expenses, too, according to Gunnison Country’s public works director Marlene Crosby.
“Comparing 2009-2010 to 2010-2011, we’ve spent more dollars on plowing this year than last year,” Crosby said. For January and February, that’s meant a total of $338,000 throughout Gunnison County. It’s difficult, however, to offer an exact comparison to last year.
“We changed rates to reflect fuel. Last year just included equipment, and fuel was separate,” Crosby explained, declining to share last year’s numbers. “[This year’s numbers are] still well within our budget because we keep our projections high in anticipation of heavy snow.”
Anticipation seems to be the name of the game.
“Snow removal is a moving target,” Due said. “[In Crested Butte], we have about $100,000 for snow removal labor, and $45,000 for snow removal supplies. Basically, its $150,000.” But thanks to the winter of 2007-2008, Due also keeps a $100,000 reserve on hand, money that rolls back into the general fund if it doesn’t get used. Because all it takes is one good blast of snow to keep you on your toes.
“It’s tough,” Valian admitted. “When we got that first five feet in December… Holy Moses, you’re playing catch-up from then on.”