MANSFIELD — Mansfield City Council is expected to vote Aug. 3 on an agreement that will authorize the Ohio Department of Transportation to take over snowplowing duties on U.S. 30 within city limits.
The agreement will pay ODOT about $107,000 annually to clear 35.63 lane miles of U.S. 30 and other smaller sections of state routes within the the city limits, according to Mansfield Public Works Director David Remy.
He said the cost is predicated on ODOT’s direct snow and ice cost per lane mile for Richland County.
(Click below to read the eight-page agreement. The roads to be cleared are identified on pages two through five.)
“Based on a cost analysis going back eight years, the average cost for that period for 35.63 lane miles covered by the agreement equals just under $107,000 per year,” Remy said.
“The (actual) cost per year to the city will be based on actual snow and ice events per season for these lane miles,” Remy said.
“The administration is confident this agreement will be cost-effective and free up equipment for use in other key areas of the city during snow season.”
“The agreement also incorporates lane miles already being done on a no-cost reciprocity arrangement between the city and ODOT,” Remy said.
City Council is meeting one day later than normal next week due to the second primary election scheduled for Aug. 2.
The agreement, which spells out the sections of the roads ODOT will clear, will be for two years and may be renewed for a second two-year period.
Remy has asked the deal be approved on its first reading due to “time lines that need to be met to get the agreement fully executed and on ODOT’s schedule for the upcoming snow season.”
The push for a deal with ODOT began in early February when a winter storm dumped about a foot of snow on the community Feb. 3 and 4.
Unhappy with the city’s snowplowing response and hearing a negative response from citizens, City Council met in special session Feb. 6 and developed a “to-do” list for the administration.
One item on the list was to seek an agreement with ODOT to plow U.S. 30 within the city, which would free up the city’s crews and plows and focus more on residential streets.
The administration has also accomplished other items on the “to-do” list, including the usage of American Rescue Plan Act funds to purchase new snowplowing trucks and equipment.
Remy, however, has cautioned council it’s not likely the city will receive the new equipment in time for the next winter season.
