Council Receives Winter Maintenance Review Final Report

Today at the regular Council meeting, Councillor Jonathan Galgay, Chair of Public Works Standing Committee, tabled the Final Report on the Review of Winter Maintenance Services from KPMG Consultants.
 
“Since the interim report was presented and acted upon in the fall, the City has been working with the consultant to finalize this report, and we are pleased to accept this comprehensive review of our snow clearing and snow removal operations,” said Councillor Galgay. “We committed to conduct a review of our service levels and to identify areas for improvement and growth, where appropriate, and to seek the most economically viable ways to offer winter maintenance services.
 
“We believe that this report provides staff with the information, comparative analysis and ideas required to meet our goals,” he said.
 
Key findings from the report include:

• information on the service level offered in St. John’s in comparison with other municipalities and the costs in comparison to maintain that level of service;
• the benefits and risks/ costs of combining contracted services with staff services;
• the need for a full fleet review;
• potential locations for dumping snow; and
• recommendations on routes, the depot, parking bans, communications and other key factors to improve winter maintenance. (see attached backgrounder)
• The full review and an executive summary are both available on the City’s website.

 
The review process began in June 2014 and included a series of public and stakeholder consultations. Council accepted an interim report in October 2014 which assisted the City in making operational changes for the upcoming 2014-2015 winter, including the adoption of new guidelines for sidewalk clearing and snow removal.
 
In the next few weeks the City will be launch an online survey to gather feedback from city residents and other stakeholders to conclude its public engagement process as part of its winter maintenance review. The survey will be distributed via social media and the City's website, and will be shared with all stakeholders consulted through the winter maintenance review process. The survey will invite residents to provide their perspectives on the changes that have been implemented since the Interim report, as well as some general questions about service.
 
Media Contact:
Kelly Maguire
Media Relations
City of St. John's
709-576-8491
kmaguire@stjohns.ca