We wrote a letter to Mayor Matherly November 15 to commend him and Public Works Director Jeff Jacobson for a different and better start to snow removal this year. You can send him a note yourself.
Dear Mayor Matherly:
Thanks to you and your Public Works Director for a job well-done on snow removal so far this winter.
During the wet blizzard of November 5th and 6th, while the News-Miner ran stories about the city being short heavy equipment operators, the Public Works Director sent temporary workers downtown to blow snow off sidewalks and crosswalks. This pedestrian focus is wholly appropriate for downtown.
Downtown’s cross streets were an icy, lumpy mess, however, and after the said Public Works Director he planned to remove cross-street snow on November 26 and 27, he reconsidered, and cleared the cross streets from 1st – 5th, Noble to Wickersham on November 14th. Clearing the streets earlier was a very good call. The snow that fell since then would have made downtown a quagmire.
The Department’s rationale for snow removal November 26 and 27 was to be ready for the community to come downtown during the Thanksgiving holiday activities and shopping. We think this is a good rationale and hope it continues to guide planned maintenance activities.