Crews will continue to clear snow from streets and sidewalks in Kamloops over the coming days.
(JENNIFER STAHN / iNFOnews.ca)
January 13, 2015 - 4:14 PM
KAMLOOPS - Between regular city staffing hours, overtime, hiring contractors and the cost of hauling snow about a quarter of the snow removal budget has already been spent less than two weeks into the new year.
Public Works Director Jen Fretz says the city spent $160,000 on regular staffing and another $240,000 on overtime, contractors and snow hauling between Jan. 4 and Jan. 13. It cost about $18,000 per night for hauling the snow out of the Downtown and North Shore business districts.
Fretz says they will likely not be hauling any more snow and are hopeful the warmer temperatures will help melt some of it. Crews are now working at widening roads and clearing paths and sidewalks around the city.
The snow removal budget for 2015 is $1.6 million and is based on three year averages that include a big snowfall and the need to hire contractors every year.
The two-day storm that hit the city Jan. 4 and Jan. 5 dropped 39 centimetres of snow on the city. While it was not a record breaking snowfall, the last time that amount of snow fell over a two-day period is 1927. This time, schools were closed for two days because of the snowfall, sections of highway were closed at times and nine flights were cancelled at the Kamloops Airport.
To contact a reporter for this story, email Jennifer Stahn at jstahn@infonews.ca or call 250-819-3723. To contact an editor, email mjones@infonews.ca or call 205-718-2724.
News from © iNFOnews, 2015