Tim Ryan, tryan@wolfrivermedia.com
Expectations for a winter storm forecast for Tuesday might best be summed up by, of all people, Mel Brooks.
“Hope for the best; expect the worst.”
That’s the title of a song from his 1970 comedy, “The Twelve Chairs,” but it also seems appropriate for weather forecasts.
In any case, that’s the attitude being taken at the Shawano Department of Public Works, where DPW Coordinator Eddie Sheppard and staff have been monitoring wildly varying snowfall predictions.
“I’ve heard anywhere from 12 inches to 2 inches,” he said.
The department is prepared to deal with the high end of those estimates.
“We try to plan for the worst,” Sheppard said.
Preparations have included moving snow piles recently plowed to the sides of city streets to one of the city’s three snow dump sites.
Despite what might seem to have been a lot of snow this winter, the DPW has only pulled snow and taken it to the dump sites once this winter, Sheppard said. He said pulling snow in advance of Tuesday’s expected storm has just been maintenance.
At this point, the city is still in good shape as far as snow dumping space, Sheppard said.
Getting rid of the snow after it has been plowed is not just a city problem. Local businesses also have to contend with it when they run out of storage space in their parking lots.
Sheppard said most businesses contract with haulers for snow removal, but the city will also haul it away for a fee. The city charges $40 for a 5-yard load of snow.
He said the city has assisted Shawano Auto Sales and Nat & Don’s with snow removal because of their limited space.
However much snow ends up falling Tuesday, property owners are also reminded their sidewalks need to be shoveled within 24 hours.
The city has received a number of complaints in the wake of recent snowfalls that the sidewalk clearing wasn’t always happening, particularly at some vacant business properties.
If the snow is not removed within 24 hours, the city will contact a vendor to remove the snow from the sidewalk at the owner’s expense.
The charge is $50 for the first offense and $75 for repeat offenses.