Cleanup ensues after storm dumps 17+ inches on Vermillion

Despite a January thaw last week, Vermillion was hit with more than 17 inches of snow from Tuesday into the early hours of Wednesday as result of a massive snowstorm.

Clearing snow from about 47 miles of streets around town can pose as a time-consuming challenge for city maintenance crews, especially because of the high winds associated with this storm, said Pete Jahn, superintendent of Vermillion’s Street Department.

“The biggest problem with this storm will be the wind, blizzard-like conditions, the visibility and the drifting,” Jahn said. “The actual snowfall amount is pretty manageable, but the drifting and the winds will make for a little more drifting than usual.”

City crews have been working to make the streets around town safe from the icy conditions. Jahn said on Tuesday that once the storm let up it would only take his crew of six people about 10 hours to clear the town.

Emergency snow routes are the first priority for plowing crews once two inches accumulate. Once those streets are cleared, Jahn said crews work on the secondary and residential streets in town.

He stressed the importance of not parking cars on streets labeled emergency snow routes, as the owners of those vehicles will be fined and their cars will be towed.

There haven’t been too many vehicles that have had to be towed this winter season so far, Jahn said, though they have had to tow “some.”

“ We don’t enjoy (it) – nobody enjoys it,” Jahn said. “ The worst part of it is the tow fee and storage fee – (those are) worse than the actual fine.”

As the storm continued into Wednesday, Jahn urged people to stay home.

“Stay warm, stay safe,” he said. “If you don’t have to travel, please don’t.”

Clearing sidewalks

Aside from snowy streets, another concern of the city is making sure sidewalks are cleared of snow and not icy, especially because sidewalks around town can be busy with commuting USD students, said Farrel Christensen, the building official for the city’s Code Enforcement Department.

“It’s been cold, a few more snow storms and it’s just been hard to get that snow off the sidewalk even when you try,” Christensen said.

City regulations require that within 24 hours of a snowfall, residents must clear their sidewalk outside their home. However, Christensen said there’s a little bit of flexibility in that timeframe.

“It has to work with everybody’s work schedule as well,” he said. “A lot of times the snow doesn’t quit until the middle of the day, so we throw another day at it. It’s more like 48 hours.”

If snow isn’t removed in a timely fashion, the first step city officials take is placing an orange notice on the property owner’s door, which means they’ve received a fine and must get the sidewalks cleared within 24 hours.

“The first tag is going to cost you at least $10. Those go up every time you get tagged by $20, so it can get pretty expensive if you just wait for that tag,” Christensen said. “If we have to hire someone (it’s) a $25 fee. Just to clear a regular sidewalk … you’re looking at $35 to do that, so right away you’re almost (paying) $70 to get your sidewalk cleared.”

Christensen said this winter season his department has handed out “a little more “ notices than usual, which he attributes to the small amounts of snow that have passed over the area.

Apartment complexes and rental houses are no exception to the city’s safety code, but the responsibility of who should clear the sidewalk can sometimes be unclear.

Kris O’Connor, a staff member at Dakota Realty, said the easiest way to understand who’s responsible for clearing sidewalks is to read the lease.

“…it’s written there and is different … usually for apartments,” O’Connor said. “We (Dakota Realty) will take care of it, but for rental houses it is usually the tenants responsibility.”

Removing snow from sidewalks is important in maintaining a certain amount of safety in the cold weather, especially when pedestrians are out and about.

USD graduate student Jackie Hendry felt the negative side affects of ice and snow-covered sidewalks as she was walking to class Jan. 19.

She said the area between Cherry Lane Apartments and the McFadden Hall parking lot had not been well taken care of and the problem had only advanced with new snow falling, sticking, melting and refreezing to the already existing icy patches.

“I paused before the ice, took a careful step and ended up with both feet in the air and landed flat on my back,” Hendry said. “I avoid taking that way now. It takes me a little bit out of my way, but I was so sore and rattled after the fall it was worth it.”