Less White = More Green for Road Crews, Schools

by Tom Carr

While heavy snowfall in northern Michigan often busts the budgets of the Grand Traverse County Road Commission, there could be money left in the coffers come spring. 

The county saved some $200,000 in November and December because of the lighter-than-average snowfall, according to Road Commission Manager Mary Gillis. She isn’t ready to count up the extra money just yet, though she hopes there still’s some left when the department does so in April.

“One bad month could wipe out the savings of a good year,” Gillis says. And that doesn’t just mean snow, either – ice storms are also costly to the road crews, she says.

If there is leftover cash, the department will be able to patch, seal or maintain that many more roads come spring and summer. As an example, the amount saved in the last two months of 2011 could mean 10 miles of chip sealing sprayed on roads, or it could be about 2.5 miles of shoulder-to-shoulder overlay paving, Gillis says.

The bulk of the savings comes from less overtime pay, and less fuel, salt and sand. The road commission employs a full-time staff in order to be ready when those road-clogging emergencies do happen. When they’re not plowing, crews are repairing roads, picking up dead animals and performing other maintenance work.

Any extra money will be welcome, said commission chairman Marc McKellar, particularly since the state has decreased its contributions to local road commissions in the last decade or so.

The schools also could benefit from a continuation of the light-snow trend. Paul Mahon, director of capital projects and maintenance, at Traverse City Area Public Schools (TCAPS), says it costs $9,500 a day to clear snow when there’s two inches of snow overnight.

TCAPS allocates about $250,000 per year for snow removal. During the 2009-2010 school year, it allocated $188,000; the year prior, $310,000.

“This year, I think we’re on track for one of the smaller numbers,” says Paul Soma, chief financial officer, adding any leftovers will be rolled back into the general fund. “The bigger impact (of the warm weather) is on our utility bills. We could see as much as a $150,000 variance on our natural gas budget.”

So, what's the forecast for March? Jim Keysor, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service office in Gaylord, says it should be warmer than normal, with several more storm systems – though some will bring rain rather than snow.