The City is moving ahead with the development of a formal response plan for future extreme or unusual snow events.
the City’s transportation committee reviewed a report this week that highlighted ways to plan for a snow event like the one Saskatoon saw last November.

Terry Schmidt, General Manager, of Transportation and Construction says even though the plan will be specific to extreme snow events, the principles and template could be applied to a framework for other extreme weather events as well.

Some of the areas being considered by the plan are developing criteria on when a response plan would be initiated, defining what work would be prioritized at that time, the procurement of private contractors and defining the expected emergency level of service for city wide snow grading.

The response plan and a recommended reserve funding strategy for responding to extreme snow events will be presented to city council prior to the start of the next winter season.

With $15 million being the the price tag of the Saskatoon Snow storm back in November, the emergency response plan is also looking to make sure those costs don’t happen again. Schmidt says they will be working to find a way to procure private and contractor services at a better rate. He says the city will look into special things that can be done within the procurement policy, so that when equipment needs to get out quickly and in a timely manner it can be done so in a competitive process, with the best pricing possible, in a quick turnaround time.

Schmidt also reports administration is working on a report for city council that would look at options to provide residential snow clearing, like what was seen during the November snowstorm again in the future.
He says service level enhancements could be presented in June to be considered for budget deliberations.