Downtown Snowbank Removal Focus of City Officials

IRONWOOD, MI - Wednesday, December 29, 2010 - At a recent City Commission workshop Downtown snow-removal efforts were discussed.

DPW Supervisior Bob Richards presented a PowerPoint presentation that showed the efficiency of City plow crews and it demonstrated the great work that they do. Richards was very complimentary of the workers and urged those in attendance to take the time to watch them the next time they cut banks back and remove snow from the Downtown.

Several Downtown business owners complained recently that the banks were too high and that customers have difficulty getting into their businesses. The purpose of the workshop was to examine the situation and to come up with a way to focus bank clearing efforts from Black Friday (the day after Thanksgiving) to the end of the year. This is the peak season for nearly all retail businesses.

The problem, as it always seems to be, is a lack of funding to cover the costs of clearing snow. Richards provided the following information that demonstrates what costs are involved.

The Commission decided to send the matter over to the Downtown Ironwood Development Authority (DIDA) for their review and their recommendations.