News and Opinion from Sisters, Oregon
News and Opinion from Sisters, Oregon
Removing snow from downtown sidewalks and parking areas is the responsibility of individual owners - and it's a hassle. It can be more than a little chaotic, too, with dozens of businesses individually contracting for snow removal that happens on a haphazard time schedule and sometimes leaves snow piled up in awkward areas and sidewalks connecting business unshoveled.
"We have no consistency downtown," said Director of Public Works Paul Bertagna. "Some people plow, some people don't; their timing is off."
The City of Sisters is hoping that a new program will make snow removal go more smoothly and quickly - and ultimately cost less to business owners. The city plans to contract for snow removal downtown, dividing the town into quadrants and bidding the service out to four contractors. They would be under the supervision of the public works department, and responsible for delivering snow removal in a timely, thorough, and efficient manner.
The city projects a low cost for the service, due to economies of scale.
"We're looking at better coordination for less cost for a better result," said City Manager Andrew Gorayeb.
Business owners will reimburse the city for the costs. Those costs won't be known until bids come in, so the exact methodology for reimbursement hasn't been determined.
Gorayeb told The Nugget that the city won't force compliance, but he expects low cost and better service to be sufficient incentive for businesses to get on board.
"We think we can structure this thing so that it is a simple, sensible decision for a business owner to make, without being heavy-handed and requiring them to participate," he said.
Each contractor will be responsible for his or her area of the city, including being responsible for damage to curbs and the like. That happens, Bertagna acknowledged.
"You hit curbs; curbs get broken," he said. "It's part of the business."
The way it is now, public works has to spend time and effort to figure out who is responsible. That would be clear under the new program. Snow won't be trucked away from the downtown area - that's just too expensive. However, Bertagna said, the program will allow the city to be a little more strategic in the way they allow it to pile up, so that it doesn't block pedestrian traffic or obscure drivers' lines of sight. Bertagna acknowledges that it will take a little time to figure out the best locations.
"It'll be a work in progress for a little bit," he said.
Sealed bids for snow removal in the downtown commercial area of the city of Sisters, addressed to the City Recorder, City of Sisters, Oregon will be received at City Hall, 520 E. Cascade Ave., P.O. Box 39, Sisters, Oregon, until 2 p.m. local time on December 11. Bids must be clearly labeled: City of Sisters Downtown Snow Removal Bid.
Bid documents are available on the City website www.ci.sisters.or.us and at the Central Oregon Builders Exchange.
Gorayeb said the project is part of an effort to support commerce in Sisters, freeing business owners of an onerous chore.
"Business owners do what they do best," said Gorayeb, explaining his vision for how the program will work. "Show up for work, open for business and rock-and-roll. Town's ready when they open up."
Jim Cornelius is editor in chief of The Nugget and author of “Warriors of the Wildlands: True Tales of the Frontier Partisans.” A history buff, he explores frontier history across three centuries and several continents on his podcast, The Frontier Partisans. For more information visit www.frontierpartisans.com.
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