Munster revises snow, ice policy

BY CARMEN McCOLLUM, Times of Northwest Indiana
cmccollum@nwitimes.com

MUNSTER | There's a good chance that when people drive through Munster this winter, they may slip and slide a bit more.

That's because the town revised its snow and ice policy last week. Officials will buy less salt because of its increasing cost and budgetary constraints.

Public Works Director James Knesek told the Town Council last week the increased cost of salt will change the way they salt streets.

Munster Town Manager Tom DeGiulio said there also is a shortage of salt but it appears to be only in the Midwest. There is salt that is carried over from one year to the next but those numbers weren't immediately available Wednesday.

Meanwhile, Knesek said main and secondary streets only will be salted at intersections, railroad tracks, school zones, curves, bridges and around hospitals.

Once the snow has stopped workers will salt the main streets and secondary streets all the way through, council members said. Previous practice called for workers to salt at stop signs and mid-block on all residential streets.

This year, workers will only salt residential areas at stop signs when the snow has stopped. During the snow, they will not salt residential streets and will no longer salt mid-block to cut down on the use of salt.

However, the new policy calls for workers to plow if there is 1 inch of snow rather than waiting for 1 to 2 inches of snow as was past practice.

If the costs continue to escalate, Knesek said the town will be forced to go "all liquid." That's the process of applying salt brine, a liquid chemical, to the roadway prior to it snowing to prevent ice forming.

Last year's policy called for the town to apply the salt brine before it snowed. This year, workers will apply salt brine 24 hours before it snows.

In the past, the town would replace mailboxes that were damaged during plowing. However, the new policy calls for the town not to replace mailboxes that were in disrepair before they were damaged. They intend to inspect the mailboxes and notify residents in advance if there is a loose screw or something in need of repair.

Knesek said the town "should not be responsible for making repairs to damaged mailboxes when they have previously been notified the mailbox needs some repair."

In addition, Munster Town Attorney Eugene Feingold recommended the Town Council approve a memorandum regarding liability of the possibility of increased accidents as a result of using a lesser quality snow and ice removal product and less coverage.

Town officials unanimously approved the memorandum, which cites an Indiana Code invoking a statute granting immunity from liability.