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Dealing with the frequent and heavy snowfalls this year, amounting
to more than 60 inches for the season so far, would be challenging
for any community. But Burbank Public Works Director Bill Trovato
said his workers, while tired, have been able to manage the situation well.
?I think we have fared pretty well,? said Trovato, a 31-year veteran
of the department he has led for the past 10 years.
In addition to clearing snow and salting streets, filling potholes has kept Public Works Department employees this year. He noted that he only has 14 employees, along with two mechanics. They have all
been working long days and weekends, but at least there hasn?t
been a shortage of salt, which has been a common complaint of
communities across Illinois.
Speaking on Wednesday, Trovato said that while he was happy to see the snow melting and grass appearing during the brief warm up, he still has enough salt on hand to deal with any more snow that might arrive before spring finally comes.
?We have a contract with Morton,? said Trovato, explaining that the company won the bid this year for the usual order of 3,000 tons of salt, costing about $46 per ton. The salt is paid for with motorfuel
tax funds received by the city.
?We have about 1,000 tons left,? he said, noting that it is delivered as needed. Anything left over can be used through Dec. 31.
Trovato noted that while the city of Burbank is just two miles by three miles wide, there are 96 miles of streets that must be
plowed and salted.
?We didn?t have to skimp on the salt,? Trovato said. ?These are our
residents, and they pay our salaries. We have to keep them safe.?
He said that while alleys are not usually plowed in Burbank, they
had to be done twice this year because the snow was so high.
?People will ask us to shovel them out, and we will do it as time
permits,? he said. ?We don?t want them to hurt themselves.?
In Oak Lawn, Trustee Alex Olejniczak (2nd) often recruits groups of teen volunteers to shovel sidewalks for people in his district unable to do it themselves.
Like in Oak Lawn and other communities, finding places to store the snow has been challenging.
The mountains of snow piled behind the Oak Lawn Village Hall make Raymond Avenue look a bit like the Alps, and Trovato said it is the same in Burbank.
Fears of heavy melting leading to flooding had not materialized
as of Wednesday, and Trovato was happy to see the size of the snowpile decreasing in the mild weather. ?It has gone down several
inches already,? he said.
Trovato was out filling potholes on Central Avenue on Wednesday,
and he said all the department staffs pitch in and work together
to ensure that fire hydrants and drains are cleared. ?They know
we only have 14 people here,? he said.
?Overtime is the only issue here. But that is all budgeted for,? he
said, noting that some drivers have been working 14 and 15 hours.
?It has been a challenging winter, with the snow and the windstorms.
But there is a light at the end of the tunnel,? Trovato added.
http://swnewsherald.com/...ing-hard-in-this-brutal-winter-p4664-1.htm
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