Last weekend’s snow drifted into Tuesday’s Portage City Council meeting, affecting everything from cars parked on snowy roads to Small Business Saturday.
The city received 9 inches of snow, requiring snowplows to drive 2,800 miles to clear the roads, Streets and Sanitation Superintendent Randy Reeder told the council.
“I have seen a lot of plow trucks and salt trucks out constantly,” Councilwoman Penny Ambler said.
Complicating efforts were vehicles parked on the street in violation of an ordinance that requires vehicles to be moved off roadways when 2 or more inches of snow fall.
“Get off the street, in the driveway, park somewhere else,” Reeder said. “It really helps us to clear out those subdivisions.”
The city is planning to make signs next year to remind people of the ordinance. It might be worth strengthening the law next year, he added.
“I don’t know if people don’t know or they don’t care about moving their cars,” Police Chief Michael Candiano said. “That’s the last thing we want to do in a snowstorm.”
Police knocked on doors to urge residents to move vehicles, he said.
“Crazy stuff happens in snowstorms,” Candiano said, like people wanting to get a loaf of bread instead of waiting for conditions to improve.
The number of traffic accidents increased with all the snow, Fire Chief Chris Crail said. In November, 71% of the department’s calls required an EMS response.
Police would rather be available to respond to emergencies than tell people to move their cars, Candiano said. “We just want to get the dang streets cleaned,” so first responders can get where they need to, along with clearing roads for people to get in and out of neighborhoods.
Mayor Austin Bonta said he hears complaints about towing cars and, from neighbors, about police knocking on doors before towing cars.
He pulled out a Bible story to describe those neighbors. God sent Jonah to Nineveh to warn them to change their ways. When they did change, Jonah got mad because he wanted the city destroyed instead of God showing mercy.
“There seem to be people who think this is a tyrannical thing,” but it’s not, he said.
“We just want people to courteously move their car out of the way,” Bonta said. “The goal is not to make money; the goal is not to ticket.”
In addition to dealing with vehicles parked on the street and responding to accidents, police have been doing a lot of welfare checks, stopping by houses to make sure residents are OK when relatives or friends are concerned about a person’s substance abuse or physical or mental well-being, Candiano said.
For people upset about mailboxes being hit by a snowplow, there’s a section on the street department’s website with a form to fill out and information about getting a temporary replacement and then a permanent one installed when weather permits, Reeder said.
Leaf collection will resume when weather conditions permit, he said.
Doug Ross is a freelance reporter for the Post-Tribune.
