By CARA LORELLO
Staff Reporter
Call volumes were way up last week as citizen inquiries to Medical Lake City Hall aired frustrations over maintenance crews' lack of speed in clearing snowbound streets and neighborhoods after heavy storms that forced a week of school closure and some area government offices to shut down on Jan. 31.
The previous weekend's record-breaking snowstorms were followed up with another late night storm on Jan. 30, which added six more inches to the already drift-ridden community. Medical Lake School District was closed Monday through Friday last week and both Brooks Road and Highway 2 were closed to traffic for several hours on Thursday.
“This snowfall, the weather was so cold, it stuck almost immediately,” Medical Lake City Administrator Doug Ross said of the past week's storms.
Snow plowing and handling mounting citizens' concerns over work crews' response to the weather situation were the topics of discussion among City Council members at a special meeting on Jan. 30. Medical Lake Mayor John Higgins advised honesty was the best policy in dealing with multiple inquiries.
“If anybody talks to you in the community, do your best to assure them we're doing the best we can,” he said. “We've no place to put [plowed] snow…employees can only work eight hours, and they've been going for a week now. They're working hard all day.”
City officials put out an online advisory to residents on Jan. 29, asking them to remain patient under the weather circumstances. The city's recently implemented snowplow ordinance prohibits street parking in the city limits, but not all residents have been compliant with the new rule. Some street-parked vehicles have been buried by excess snow cleared from streets.
Excess snow is currently being piled in open lots at various locations around town, but as the piles grow higher, overall space is running out fast. An online announcement from the city website on Jan. 31 reported crews will be out in the next several days pushing snow berms closer to curb lines, effectively widening the streets. Space has gotten so limited that crews have had to start pushing excess snow onto sidewalks in Fox Hollow. This may mean more shoveling for residents, but Ross said it's a situation where the city's left with no other options.
“The city apologizes for this inconvenience, but it is necessary due to the heavy amount of snow that has fallen and is anticipated to fall later this week,” Ross said in the announcement.
The city is also making available the Shepard Field parking lot, located at 320 East Norma Lee St. in Fox Hollow, for citizens needing a place to park vehicles to get them off the street.
Local inmate crews have been given the task of keeping city arterial sidewalks cleared, with further assistance being provided by staff from the city wastewater treatment facility.
The city's front-end loader experienced a flat tire and was involved in a minor accident the weekend of Jan. 25 when the operator swerved to avoid a vehicle backing into it. The driver of the other car, according to interim Police Chief Sgt. Joe Mehrens, didn't see the loader approaching, however the operator did well in avoiding what could have been “ a very serious collision.” The run-in caused minor damage, including a clipped rear light.
Power outages to the Clear Lake area were also widespread, which had residents buying out water supplies at local grocery outlets and filling jugs at Medical Lake City Hall. Area power provider Inland Power and Light representative Dan Villalobos said on Jan. 31 about 150 customers had been without power since Sunday, Jan. 27 between the Clear Lake and Tyler areas.
Cara Lorello can be reached at [email protected]
Reader Comments(0)