Elkader Council discusses downtown snow removal rate
By Willis Patenaude, Times-Register
The highlight of Elkader’s recent city council meeting was the topic of snow removal and whether to raise the rate and by how much.
Currently, it costs $1 per lineal foot to remove the snow off downtown sidewalks during times of heavy accumulation, typically two inches or more. One city council member declared this to be “a good deal,” but during the meeting, members discussed raising it. While $2 was suggested, they settled on $1.50.
Elkader City Administrator Jennifer Cowsert emphasized the rate has not been increased in quite some time and the increased rate will further help the city “cover the costs of the employee that does the snow removal.” The current rate generates between $1,600 and $1,900 used for that purpose.
The removal helps prevent downtown, the sidewalks, and Main Street from becoming what some residents have termed a mess, with snow piling up on the curb, melting into slush in parking spots or eventually re-freezing, making it difficult for people to get from their cars to the sidewalk.
In this sense, the snow removal is a safety issue, limiting hazards and potential liability, and it serves as a function of beautification, keeping the sidewalks and streets clean for locals and tourists to enjoy the downtown. But there is also a community aspect about collective action and working together.
As it stands now, downtown property owners voluntarily pay the fee. According to Cowsert, only about 60 percent of them do so, and there are no consequences for property owners who don’t. As Cowsert put it, “Nothing happens if someone doesn’t pay because it would defeat the purpose of the program to lift our blade and drive through their snow.”
Asked whether the city could mandate the fee, Cowsert said, “We cannot mandate it because by code, both city and state, it is the responsibility of the adjacent property owner to remove the snow…if they don’t remove the snow in a reasonable amount of time, then we have to provide notice before we can remove it.”
The increase will be on the agenda again at the Nov. 9 council meeting.
