Plover banking on forecast for snow removal

By Brandi Makuski

Officials in the Village of Plover say they’re using a common sense approach to snow removal following last weekend’s storm, one that includes not spending any more village dollars on it than absolutely necessary.

For safety reasons, village staff did clear about 20 inches of snow from sidewalks surrounding Roosevelt and Plover-Whiting elementary schools, as well as part of the Green Circle Trail off Hoover Rd., but the rest will be left up to Mother Nature, according to Village Administrator Dan Mahoney.

“We’ve got an inch of ice under that snow, but the ground is soft underneath that, so we’d just be tearing up front yards and side yards,” Mahoney said on Wednesday. “Also we did receive a significant amount of snowfall, and there’s just no place to put it.”

Mahoney cited 50-degree temps expected over the next several days as a more effective means of snow removal.

Village staff had been preparing for spring grounds-keeping and landscaping duties before the storm hit, he said, but is now delaying opening its parks, has been twice forced to push back curbside pickup of yard waste and brush.

“We had proposed opening parts on April 27, but that’s not going to happen,” Mahoney said. “I know a lot of the kids are itching and antsy to get on the baseball field, but it could be the second week in May before we’re ready to go.”

Mahoney said the village is preparing paperwork to file a disaster declaration with the state. If approved, the village could receive funding that offsets its hefty overtime costs due to snow removal activity, an amount estimated at about $35,000.

The village plans to open its compost site by April 30, he said, and curbside brush pickup has been rescheduled for May 7. Yard waste removal will be picked up May 14, he said.

“We’re about a month behind [spring planning], but we’ll do the best we can do be ready to go,” Mahoney said.