Municipalities hope for state help with storm cleanup costs
Officials in some local townships and boroughs are hoping the state will help cover the costs associated with the snowstorm that hit southwestern Pennsylvania over the weekend. A.J. Boni, Perry Township supervisor and roadmaster, said the township will seek state aid to help cover costs associated with overtime. Boni said crews worked about 35 hours over the weekend, which means a lot of overtime work was done in order to have the roads open and passable as soon as possible.
The township was able to conserve supplies during the storm, using only about 100 tons of salt, by not using salt or anti-skid until it stopped snowing.
“We kept plowing the streets during the storm, but we didn’t put down any materials, because we would have ended up scraping it back off,” Boni said.
However, Boni said the township is prepared to battle any weather Mother Nature has to offer. “Our equipment is in good condition,” he said, “no major breakdowns.”
Boni said the township has stockpiles of salt and anti-skid; however, he said the township was forced to use about $3,000 of the 2003 winter budget in order to purchase supplies.
Point Marion Borough also will seek state aid to pay for equipment repairs, fuel consumption and overtime, said council President Ted Shaffer.
Shaffer said last weekend’s storm cost the borough about $15,000 in supplies, man-hours, overtime and mainly because the borough had to rent three snowplows.
Also, the borough ran out of salt and was forced to purchase another truckload for about $800, he added.
“We’ve gone over our budget for this winter,” said Shaffer. “We’ve had a lot of snow this year.”
California Mayor Gerald “Galvie” Gardner wrote a letter to the state Tuesday, requesting financial aid to help cover the cost of snow removal.
“The roads are clear, but we still have a lot of work to do. It’s a total mess. Snow is piled up everywhere. The only way to get this done is to have help from the state,” Gardner said. “The state has to step up to bat. We just don’t have the funds to do this. The state has got to help.”
Gardner said he asked for an immediate response to his request for state funding. He said he is concerned about how the borough will pay for seven independent contractors who have been assisting the borough road crew.
A few years ago, the borough received about $40,000 from the Pennsylvania Emergency Management Agency (PEMA), Gardner said, but he does not anticipate that kind of assistance this year.
“I’m not too optimistic. We need help. We can’t afford this. We have a lot of work ahead of us if we can’t use the contractors, and if we get hit again, I don’t know what we will do,” Gardner said.
From speaking with the governor’s office, Gardner said he learned that distribution of money to assist with snow-removal problems could be slowed because the state anticipates flooding and a need for further assistance.
Councilman Jon Bittner, chairman of public works, said the borough will not continue to use independent contractors, because it cannot guarantee state funding.
“Tomorrow (Wednesday), we will try to use our own crew because of budget constraints. There might not be state monies available, and we just can’t stand the impact (to the budget),” Bittner said.
Road crews in Georges Township have not yet exceeded the winter budget but are close, said Mike Bartock, township vice chairman and supervisor.
With the township forced to deal with 14-foot snowdrifts that are blocking roads, Bartock said the snowstorm was the worst he has ever seen.
“We worked 26 hours straight on Sunday and Monday trying to clear the roads,” he said. “The snowdrifts are giving us problems. …This has been a nasty storm. We’ve been working day and night to clear the roads.”
Supervisor Chairman Frank Churby said he has not had time to sit down and figure out how much the storm will cost the township.
“I can’t imagine how much this is going to cost,” he said. “Alone, the overtime we already got in is going to cost us thousands.”
Churby said some roads are still impassable.
“People have to bear with us,” he said. “We’re doing the best we can with what we’ve got,” he said.
Bartock said the storm will be very expensive once the bills are added, and the township will apply for any money the state makes available.
“This was an expensive and nasty storm,” he said.