BONNYVILLE – Rural residents who rely on the MD of Bonnyville’s snowplow flags or hardship program to clear a path from main roads to their home will have new guidelines to freshen up on after council approved several amendments to the Snow Plowing Policy on Dec. 14.
Significant changes were made to the Snow Plowing Policy with the intention to reduce the overall operational costs absorbed by the municipality, and to provide clear guidelines on what is covered by the program.
Discussions around updating the policy were first brought before council in May after last winter’s snowfall had a substantial impact on the MD’s operating budget.
Information provided to council reflected that both the flag and hardship program cost the municipality about $105,150 while only bringing in roughly $23,880 in revenue from mid-November 2021 to the end of March 2022.
During that period, municipal snowplows and graders responded to 597 snowplow flags and 644 hardship flags.
Last winter, the cost per flag was $40, a change to the Master Rates Bylaw saw the price of a flag increase to $45 for this winter season. A snowplow flag entitles the bearer to 15 minutes of plow or grader work.
However, administration noted that on average 40 minutes is required to reach a private residence, clear a single path and move on to the next location.
Council discusses proposed policy changes
While the amendments to the Snow Plowing Policy were approved by council during the December meeting – the decision was not unanimous.
Coun. Mike Krywiak made his disapproval of the proposed amendments to the Snow Plowing Policy clear, and suggested changes to the policy’s wording could be made to offer greater support for widows and low-income seniors.
“What about widows who have no means of snow clearing their driveway?” he questioned.
To this question, Bryan Bespalko, the MD’s general manager of Infrastructure Services, acknowledged that the new policy did not allow for any exemptions for those who are widowed or low-income.
Bespalko referenced the snow policy’s updated Hardship Program section 3 a) which states, “The MD shall provide driveway snowplowing services at no charge for residents lacking the means of self-performing snow removal over the age of 75 and for physically disabled residents.”
Adding to the conversation, CAO Al Hoggan told council, “According to this amendment, you would have to be over the age of 75 without a way to clear your snow to be eligible. If you were 73 and a widow or widower or single, or in some other fashion alone, you will not qualify until you're 75 years old. That is the requirement, it is not ‘or’ over 75."
After the explanation provided by both the general manager and CAO, Krywiak stated he wanted the ‘or’ to be added to the clause to allow ratepayers 65 years or older to have the possibility to access the Hardship Program, as was previously the case.
“Otherwise, I can't support this because there are people out there that are under 75, widows by themselves, low-income seniors who need help,” said Krywiak.
Jumping into the discussion, Coun. Ben Fadeyiw said, “If you're living alone in the middle of nowhere with no means there's a lot of - as a son or as a daughter - serious safety concerns.” Fadeyiw implied that MD residents who are unable to clear their own driveways or are unable to find a way to have their driveway cleared should consider relocating from a rural setting.
“I had to have a difficult conversation with my mom about that and moved her into a place in town that she was actually taken care of,” Fadeyiw said, adding that there are deeper conversations to be had when it comes to an individual's self-sufficiency in rural or remote areas.
Before making a motion to approve the updated Snow Plowing Policy, Coun. Josh Crick stated, “We had the discussion in May – we can't provide every service for everyone.”
Crick added, “If I had aging parents or grandparents that were struggling with their snow, I’d go and plow it for them... It’s just the neighbourly thing to do. We don't have to have an MD program for everybody like this. So, I think we just pass it the way it is.”
Reeve Barry Kalinski and councillors Dana Swigart, Don Slipchuk, Crick and Fadeyiw voted in favour of the amended policy. Krywiak voted against the policy and Coun. Darcy Skarsen was not present for the vote.
Notable policy changes
For a ratepayer to acquire a hardship flag they will still need to apply for the program in-person annually at the MD’s main administration office.
A new clause under Snowplow Service clarifies that public works staff will only clear residential driveways from the road approach to a residence using the most direct route. It further states “Residential driveways do not include farmyards or fields, pathways to homes or garages, nor commercial or industrial sites.”
The policy also contains an updated definition of substantial snow fall.
Previously, the policy noted a substantial snowfall event was at least 2 inches (5 cm) of snow. Now, at least 4 inches (or 10 cm) is deemed a substantial snowfall event, “taking into consideration drifting issues and frozen ground conditions.”
Additional clauses were added to give the CAO the authority to determine if a substantial snowfall event has occurred when a judgment is required. This responsibility previously fell to the general manager of Infrastructure Services.
Under the Hardship Program section of the policy, the most notable change came in the form of the 10-year rise in eligibility for the program.
The previous policy stated the municipality would provide driveway snowplowing services at no charge for residents over the age of 65 and for physically disabled residents.
The new policy now limits the age of those who can use the program to residents over 75 years old who also must prove they lack the means to carry out snow removal on their own.
Again, a clause was added to state, “When judgement is required to determine if a resident is eligible for the Hardship Program, the determination shall be made by the CAO.”
One element of the policy that will not change is that attending to snow removal flags will remain the municipality’s last priority. As such, no time frames for when the municipality will be required to clear private driveways with flags were included in the updated policy.
