Column: Sidewalk clearing is a valuable city service

For 24 years, I happily paid $72 per month in the winter, whether it snowed or not.

I also have a large deck that I have to walk across to get to the garage. If the snow is light, I can shovel it. But after a heavy snowfall, my plow guy would clear a path to my back door for about $30.

But times have changed and my plow guy retired. This fall I interviewed 10 companies and all were much more expensive. I ended up getting a service for $160 per month. Unfortunately, when we got that big snow early this month, my current service provider said he’d plow a three-foot path to the garage for $100. That inspired me to chip away at it myself. It was exhausting and I had a sore back for several days.

Given my own challenges, I’ve been following the debate about whether Minneapolis and St. Paul should start clearing city sidewalks like Bloomington does.

A WCCO-TV segment featured a Minneapolis resident who said he wasn’t convinced his city should take on snow removal from sidewalks. He said he’d have to find out how it’s being paid for and read the small print.

Of course resident taxes would be used for any public service. Where else would the money come from? I’m on a fixed income but am very willing to pay a bit more in taxes to have services like that done for residents. I’m very grateful that it is currently Bloomington’s practice to plow sidewalks and trails. In an email to me, Public Works Director Karl Keel said that the city prioritizes its sidewalks and trails into three categories, with high-use areas and routes to schools being the highest priority.

Keel admitted that there are many competing services looking for resources and the City Council is always challenged to keep taxes down as low as possible.

When the budget was being discussed last year, some council members questioned why the city was using resources to provide this service. It seems it started when residential sidewalks were being put in. Some residents were not happy about the responsibilities that came with them. So, the city agreed to clear them.

Nathan Coulter used to say that our budgets represent our values. Indeed. Many people value city-funded ice rinks, ball fields, golf courses, etc. But when it comes to clearing city-built sidewalks, too many young and physically-able residents become very frugal about city funds.

Residents and city officials need to keep in mind that many people cannot physically remove the snow, and it’s hard to find people who will do it.

A woman in the WCCO segment said that Minneapolis would be taking jobs away from “poor mom and pops,” companies who depend on snow removal for their only source of income.

If someone is depending on shoveling or snow blowing sidewalks to make a living, they aren’t going to make it. Why aren’t they applying for many of the open positions in a variety of industries?

It is also rather difficult to find a reliable option for this. Most companies I contacted want the easier driveway jobs with a plow on their truck. I don’t want to take advantage of friends and I’m not eager to give unknown people from Facebook access to my secluded back deck.

Bottom line is that I’m thankful I live in Bloomington and appreciate the excellent work done by our Public Works Department.

Pam Pommer, a graduate of Lincoln Senior High School, lives in Bloomington, where she enjoys gardening and spending time with her shelties. She can be contacted at gardenerpam@msn.com.