Wellington council addressess snow removal within city limits

By Sun Advocate

During a regularly scheduled council meeting on Dec. 28, Wellington officials discussed the matter of snow removal in the city.
Asa Pierce and Lee Worley petitioned the council in November 2005 for a ruling about residential snow removal.
The men told the council that they push snow for neighbors who are unable to remove it by themselves.
Pierce and Worley said Wellington police had issued them warning tickets for pushing snow into the city streets.
Pierce and Worley maintained that much of what they were removing was snow the city snowplows had pushed into residential driveways.
The men asked if the city could put the snow into a windrow in the middle of the street instead of pushing it against the sidewalks and residential driveways.
The men’s proposal was discussed at length last November and again in a city council meeting on Dec. 13, with no decisions made.
A the Dec. 28 meeting, the council agreed that the city did not have the money, means or manpower to haul snow away.
The general consensus was that pushing snow into a windrow in the center of the street would cause more problems than it would solve.
After a lengthy discussion, the council passed a resolution to keep the current city ordinance regarding snow removal in force and do what can be done to accommodate citizens on an individual basis.
The council was unanimous in agreeing that instructions be given to Wellington police and city workers to be as lenient and as flexible as possible in enforcing the city ordinance.
A key phrase identified at last Wednesday’s council meeting was “passive enforcement.”
The council agreed that only the most severe and blatant of violations should be ticketed.
The mayor agreed to speak to the city police and streets department about the matter.
The next item of discussion at the Dec. 28 meeting was a review of the sixth draft of a water service agreement between Wellington city and the Price River Water Improvement District.
Councilmembers reviewed the proposal and discussed various items in draft of the agreement.
A major topic was the formula used to calculate the number of water shares the city would be required to surrender for PRWID use each year.
Under the proposed agreement, PRWID would deduct a 30 percent delivery loss from the amount of water Wellington turned over to PRWID.
Some councilmembers thought that number was too high.
Mayor Karl Houskeeper told the officials that the 30 percent loss was a standard deduction imposed by PRWID on all customers. He explained that the loss was accrued through leaking pipes and normal water treatment procedures such as the back-flushing of lines and filters. There followed a debate about how the 30% figure was calculated, and about asking PRWID to reduce the 30% delivery loss to something less.
After a lengthy discussion, the council agreed to table the item for further study and review with council.
City fire chief Scott Rowley gave the council a review of recent fire department happenings. He asked for approval to induct one new firefighter into the force, and tentative permission to include another in the near future. The board approved his request.
The council then went into executive session to discuss personnel matters. The next Wellington city council meeting will be held on Tuesday, January 11.