February Snowstorm Wrapup

Wow! You all are amazing! 

Our snow crew spent a very long day yesterday clearing the city streets in a snowstorm. A few came in at 5am and the last two individuals left around 8pm. The full crew — 12 people all together — was out from 7am until after 6pm, which is a grueling long day of hard work. The guys are still out doing cleanup today, and will be the rest of the day. 

Our local businesses and residents did a fantastic job of showing up and taking care of each other yesterday and we see the kindness still going strong. We’re grateful for each of you and the kind words and thoughts sent to our staff. We’ve seen posts on social media and heard and seen people connecting to help each other dig out, and it’s beautiful to come together as a community.

A few notes about this snowfall:

• Responsibility for city roads is entirely the City’s responsibility; the County maintains 6th Street or Route 1066; and KDOT maintains Highway 56.
• The city does not plow alleyways or parking lots, aside from city-owned parking lots such as city parks and the lot near City Hall of High Street. All other alleys and parking lots are the residents’ responsibility.
• With this much snow, driveways will have snowbanks from the side of the plow. Residents are responsible for clearing their driveways, including the snow banks at the end. We do appreciate all the helping hands we’ve seen out and about, as it just isn’t feasible for city staff to help clear driveways, even for those who need help.
• Due to the amount of snow, it was impossible to avoid plowing in vehicles parked on the streets. We know it’s inconvenient and we apologize, but there really isn’t much for the plows to do except go around. This is why we request vehicles be removed from the street if at all possible before a snow event. We do recognize that’s not always possible.
• We know the snow piles especially the big ones downtown are attractive to kids, but remember the plows are still out and working. It’s very difficult to see everything from inside a plow, so we’re asking you to please (please) stay away from the snow piles. Tragedies happen, and we don’t want it to happen here.
• Snow removal is a complex, difficult, messy business. We’re here to do the work, and to our shock we were not given a magic wand. Please be patient and remember there are real people in the plows and at the other end of the phone. 

Thank you for being the best businesses and the best residents in the best town in Kansas!