Icon viewers: The following letter is from Jamie Mehaffie, village administrator. It was sent to the Bluffton Area Chamber of Commerce to address questions from Main Street merchants about snow removal in the downtown area.

The letter was e-mailed to chamber members and it posted here for general information for village residents concerning snow removal.

Dear Downtown Business Owners,
Recently, there were some questions raised at a meeting of the Downtown Merchants Group as to how the Village government will treat the Downtown area when it snows. I would like to thank Fred Steiner for offering to share this information with you by utilizing the Bluffton Chamber’s e-mail notification database.

I have heard rumors that the Village will no longer plow Main Street. Let me assure you that that is not the case. For years, the Downtown area has been treated differently in terms of snow from everywhere else in the Village due to the economic importance of assisting access to the central businesses district.

When enough snow accumulates that access to downtown parking is severely hampered (generally more than four (4) inches) the Village hires a local contractor to remove the accumulated snow from the roadway in the downtown area.

Many years ago, after the practice was initiated, the property owners in the downtown area paid the Village’s contractor directly to also remove the snow that had accumulated on the sidewalks between the roadway and their businesses when the contractor came in to remove the snow from the roadway.

It is my understanding that this scenario continued for many years. However, over the years, as downtown properties and businesses changed ownership, the contractor was not being paid for the additional cost for removing the accumulated snow from the sidewalks from the property owners and the financial burden for this work was shifted to the Village.

Prior to last Winter, it was determined that the Village couldn’t, and shouldn’t, continue to pay to remove snow from private property. It was decided that the Village would continue to remove the snow from the downtown roadways when necessary.

Last year would have been the first year of this changed procedure. However, the mild season resulted in the Village not needing to hire a contractor to remove snow. As we approach the upcoming Winter season, it has been requested that the downtown snow removal process be explained.

The Village responds to snow and ice on the roadways by utilizing road salt, a liquid beet-juice based brine, and snow plows as necessary. If it snows, we will treat the roadways accordingly.

If a snow event, or multiple, successive snow events, accumulates enough snow to necessitate the removal of snow from the downtown area, the Village will schedule to have a contractor perform that service during the overnight hours. This work is performed in the early morning hours when traffic is minimal and there are no vehicles parked on Main Street in the work area.

For example - if we receive six (6) inches of accumulated snow Monday evening into Tuesday morning, the contractor would be schedule to remove the snow overnight on Tuesday (early Wednesday morning). This procedure is not changed from the way is has been done for many years. The only difference is that the contractor will not be removing snow from the sidewalks.

Another question that has been raised is “Where do I put the snow?” Having shoveled the snow around the Town Hall for nine years now, I realize that finding a place for snow is a problem. Around the Town Hall, I either pile it against the building, or I push it around the building to the side or rear.

With the closing of numerous downtown alleys as part of the Streetscape project, areas to pile snow have been created. I am not claiming that this is a perfect solution, but it is an option.

As the Winter season unfolds, if you have ideas or suggestions as to how we can work together to improve access to our downtown businesses, please feel free to share it with me.

If anyone has any questions, please do not hesitate to contact me at the Village Offices at 419-358-2066 Ext: 107 or by e-mail at [email protected].

Sincerely,
Jamie Mehaffie, ICMA-CM 
Village Administrator