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| Road Commission Curtails Snow Removal |
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BESSEMER - The Gogebic County Commissioners received and placed on
file a letter from the County Road Commission, dated November 9,
2010. The letter written by Darren Pionk, representing the Gogebic
County Road Commission describes to the County Commissioners, the
new and improved plan for county snow removal. Of course since the
Road Commission doesn’t really remove snow – just push it to the
side, one has to wonder why we always refer to it as snow removal. |
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In an attempt to Justify or rationalize the cutbacks in the Road
Commissions plan, Pionk began his letter stating: “As you are fully aware with funding shortfalls, limited manpower, and equipment, the Road Commission has been pushed into researching snowplowing performance and techniques that will reduce expense costs associated with our operation. We have analyzed personnel, plow route lengths and time, equipment usage and materials in determining what necessary changes in our operation can be implemented to reduce such costs. “ According, the Road Commission has implemented a priority rating on the plow routes and roadways within the county to provide service when and where it is needed first. Prioritizing the service level of our road system will allow maximizing of our efforts on high volume routes in order to clear these roads first. Pionk believes that there will be little or no impact on Township residents. “Most of the township residence will not be impacted negatively based on the priority rating of our plow routes. However, the area of significant service level change occurs in the Priority 4 designation. These are referred to as "camp roads" were there are no full-time residents living on these roads. The Road Commission will plow these roads on a routine basis until the end of November, at which time, snow plowing of these roads will stop. A list of roads within the townships is included in the executive summary. |
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Evidently, Pionk believes that the Road Commission’s decision to
open up the County Roads for snowmobile use will allow those
inconvenienced by lack of snow removal, to get out of their homes
conveniently. Which raises a question, will Beacon Ambulance use
their snowmobile to respond to emergencies in these soon to be
forgotten areas? HMMMM! That of course flies in the face of Pionks following remarks staed just three paragraphs later: “The ultimate goal of Gogebic County Road Commission's snow removal program is to provide a safe road system in a reasonable amount of time, regardless of the severity of winter weather conditions or the time of day. To accomplish our goal we must be ready to respond in a timely manner. Responding to a winter storm is the inherent responsibility of every road commission employee. Every employee plays a role in responding to a storm event and all employees contribute to protecting and safeguarding our residents. “ |