Tight Budgets have Affected Snow Removal Over the Years

Between Tuesday evening and Thursday afternoon, 13 employees with the Caledonia Highway Department worked a ton of hours.

Blaine Pfeffer, superintendent of the highway department, said the crews worked relentlessly in getting the roads open so the people who got stranded could get out of their cars. Still, Pfeffer can’t help but wonder why he still has the number of people as the department did in 1977.

“To reiterate the situation we’re in, everyone is in it – the police department and the fire department –we’re all in the same boat,” he said.

Pfeffer received well over 150 calls last week and none of them were good. He answered every call, but could only tell people he was doing the best he could.

Pfeffer’s crew is dedicated, but they are not supposed to be doing the level of work they have been asked to do as the Village has grown exponentially since 1977.

“I’m not complaining,” Pfeffer said. “But snow plowing happens everyday starting in December. I ask for one or two men every year, but we haven’t added anyone for 34 years.”

Still, the experience last week – with nine of 13 trucks stuck in the storm –underscored a challenge Pfeffer has had for years.

“The people on the village board members have had a lot of patience…it’s something though that we take a lot of pride in, but it’s getting harder,” Pfeffer said.

As the town became a village and added subdivisions, Tom Lebak, the village administrator, explained that there’s a service requirement the community has with snow removal.

“We’ve seen an increase in houses and people, but the staff level has stayed the same. But the pressure is always there with the budget,” Lebak said.

Many of the newer subdivisions were built with narrower streets compared to older subdivisions and in some cases the highway department had to have frontend loaders remove the snow.

“It’s like an elastic band and he doesn’t want it to break," Lebak said. "And it’s a struggle, but the board has understood. They’ve also been supportive and understanding, and they realize this can’t be the way they would like it.”

But some residents aren’t as supportive and understanding, Lebak said.

“This is my personal opinion,” Lebak said “We get calls, and we get an awful lot of calls. Some people understand, but some don’t and I tell them ‘I’m sorry, but we’re doing our best.”

Kevin Wanggaard, a village board member, said he is concerned about how many hours staff work.

"I'm always concerned about that," Wanggaard said. "I hate having people risking their own lives when they need to keep getting things done when they shouldn’t have to. It’s a hard thing to control. But what we do have though is a great group of guys -- the superintendent, the assistant and the guys in the department – who work well together. They know when they should and shouldn’t be out there."

Wanggaard said he doesn't feel this is the best situation, but the only alternative to  hiring more people is to reduce the amount of work or hire part-time people.

"I don’t want them putting themselves in jeopardy, I encourage them to take rests. And that means something may not get done and people have to understand that," Wanggaard said.