Snow Removal 101 In Prince George
It should be in order for the Mayor and Council in Prince George, to re visit last winter’s snow problems along with the hiring of Mercury Fleet Management Consulting Services, of Maryland USA, to look into our snow removal equipment.
First and foremost, it cost the City $131,900 to hire a company, that really doesn’t have the same expertise in this region as say YRB, to look into the snow conditions that we are exposed to every winter . That $131,900 dollars would easily have paid for one half of a brand new snow plow truck.
But hold the thought for a moment.
When you go to sell your old car , do you get someone in the USA to give you an idea that it needs replacing , or do you go to the local dealer and say, “Hey bud ! , what’s my old car worth , how much life left does it have , and how much for a new one? If you wanted to know what sort of shape our city fleet was in, why in the world would you not go to local dealers, of which there are many in this city and region , and get their opinion, which will be much more valid, and at much less cost? Let’s call it a little common sense at work here.
If we needed a new grader, loader or two , why would you not go to the same companies that sell in this region and get a quote? They would be the first to tell you if your old gear is junk. But ” No” the City didn’t take that route. We need new equipment, why not give the people that pay the taxes the first dibs on the purchase? It would be interesting to see just how many other companies hire a US consultant to tell them what sort of shape their fleet is in.
But then let’s rewind to the whole matter of snow removal last winter, which was a dismal failure.
1- The city changed its policy of removing snow from 10 to 12 centimeters.
2- The City approved too much time off, knowing that it was winter in Prince George, and surprise, surprise, we get snow normally, a lot of it.
3- Council had been told over the past four years that the fleet was not being properly funded. In 2012 a report said the fleet was under funded by $14 million, but we needed to hire a consultant to tell us again?.
4- We found 40 million for a new police station and instead of cutting back on what is often called Chateau RCMP , we cut the fleet needs. We also, as I alluded to earlier, spent another $900,000 on some air above a downtown parking lot, and for good measure we went to China to see how we could twin with them. Did we per chance ask the Chinese how they remove snow on this trip? That was a question asked during earlier trips.
5- Equipment sat idle, this past winter, at some times , according to Bill Gaal in a report to Council because of some overtime refusal and lack of operators.
6- Bill Gaal in his report said on the weekend of January 4th and 5th of this year “we just sanded and did not plow” he said it was his decision because the City was into intense labour negotiations that were set for January 7th.
7-” Did the crews do their best” , Mayor Green wrote a resident, ” well , you would have to ask their union president that. Now that the contract has been settled their work seems to have improved ” ” I would hate to think they used job action to receive a wage increase and put road safety in jeopardy to do it”.
Now If you piece together all of the comments made by the Mayor and Bill Gaal , was the union to blame for the mess we were in, or was the problem much larger? After the fact we do know the problem of our streets was not just because we had an unusual amount of snow in a couple of days, but rather how we handled it .
Before we head off into the sunset seeking the advice of “experts” outside of our region, the City might have looked back at what caused this mess and how to fix it.
While City staff have developed a work plan to correct the problems, we will have to wait for the first major snowfall of the season to see if anything has really changed.
I’m Meisner and that’s one man’s opinion.
You can hear One Man’s Opinion on CBC’s Daybreak North 91.5 every Wednesday morning
Comments
It all stems from the top and unaccountable administration. I think after the election Bill Gail has to go. Then city hall needs to relook the whole issue around human resource mgt in the city works yard. City antics in managing this important department would never be acceptable in the private sector or anywhere else.
The state this department is in due to the lack of not only maintenance but employees attitudes. I would say it would be a very good time for the city to look into privatizing this area. One would think before hiring Bill Gaal for a position such as his someone would have asked him if he had any mechanical back ground. Looks to me like the city is full of spoiled free loaders and things need to change!
It`s funny how that during the winter months too many employees are taking holidays. The company where I work have just the opposite problem with the summer months.
The way this whole city is run, I think is in question. I think its time to wipe the whole slate completely clean and start over from scratch/ Trouble is, I’d bet all who are there now would sabotage everything they could before they left.
How many maintenance employees were telling them the same. Oh but weren’t they blaming those employees because of contract negotiations?
Just contract the whole thing out to a private firm, like YRB. Obviously the City can’t handle it properly. Perhaps not enough managers?
Just one thought on this—- If you think YRB is an expert on snow removal you should come out to Miworth for a drive after a 6″ snow fall. Yrb is a private company that makes money by not plowing so watch what you wish for.
Trying to think of how one makes money by not doing the job…
Its all about standards “restjet” if the city finds that the contractor isn’t meeting the standards set forth. Hire a new contractor.
Posted on Wednesday, September 17, 2014 @ 8:06 AM by slinky
Trying to think of how one makes money by not doing the job…
———
Union.
Just remember when you are voting this year who is making these uneducated decisions. Common sense is something that our council is seriously lacking. I would like to ask Mr Hall what his opinion on farming this out is and if he did or didn’t agree with it? I want a Mayor that puts Prince George tax payers before some town in the U.S.
Seems to me that Mayor Kinsley attended a Winter Mayors Conference in China in 2006 and part of the agenda was how to remove snow in winter cities. He also arranged for the conference to be held in Prince George in 2010 where we could show off snow removal machinery and expertise.
The conference never took place, partly because Kinsley did not run for Mayor again, however it points out the BS associated with snow removal in this town.
Its pretty obvious as pointed out by Ben that money that should have gone to equipment for snow removal, roads, etc, in the past 10/15 years was spent on foolish projects like the Police Station, Community Energy System,. constantly relocating City yards, buildings, and staff, and generally having a good time spending tax dollars.
Its time to pay the piper and there is no money in the bank. We have had a long run of bad Mayors, and Councillors, and Administration. We still have many on the payroll.
This election had better make a difference or we are in serious trouble.
Sum it up in one word. RETARDED!
I agree with Maverick, this is a bloody joke.
” I would hate to think they used job action to receive a wage increase and put road safety in jeopardy to do it.”
So Mayor green raises the snow removal time for 10 cm to 12 and thats not making the roads worse.. aka putting road safety in jepardy.. wow.. this lady just keeps proving her NON usefulness..
Worst thing to happen to PG in decades…. Green as mayor
Best thing.. her not running for another term….
P Val – “So Mayor green raises the snow removal time for 10 cm to 12 and thats not making the roads worse.. aka putting road safety in jepardy.. wow.. this lady just keeps proving her NON usefulness..”
Watch the Council meeting Oct 21, 2013. Council directed staff in July to look at the savings if snow removal levels were raised from 10cm to 12cm.
When Council voted on this policy in October not only did the Mayor vote in favor, but with the exception of Councilor Skakun ALL of the other Councilors voted in favor of increasing the level as well.
People have a tendency to blame one person for the mess that we find
ourselves in. Look back at the voting record of this Council – for the most
part they’ve voted as a block. Only in the last 6 months or so, have some tried to distance themselves from this mess
“Yrb is a private company that makes money by not plowing so watch what you wish for.”
If the city does not plow because too many employees are on vacation and the equipment is down or no one to operate it, what is the difference?
Filtered.. yes but she voted for it to be raised.. putting the safety of the roads at risk.. she could have voted no but she didnt.. then she speaks out about road safety… please…….
Last year’s snow removal debacle was a combined effort from several parties, from council to management to the employees. Let’s not be so naive as to try to pin it to one person.
Snow removal was deteriorating along with the roads, sewers, etc; The managers are responsible, and that includes the City Manager.
We cant blame Beth James for the present fiasco, however we can blame the previous administrations. We pay them big salaries to get results, not excuses.
In the real world they would be fired. Its just that simple.
There is a long list of things that we can blame James for, however that is a story for another day.
YRB is responsible for the cluster on Peden Hill and hwy 16 west to Bednesti every winter too. How soon so many forget.
I agree with Dragonmaster! I wonder what ICBC pays out for winter accidents between PG and Bednesti–let alone the fatals.
Comments for this article are closed.