Committees hear snow-clearing issues

Property owners whose trees have hanging branches over the right-of-way may not have the snow removed up to their curbs any more.

“Vern (Quam, the city forester) sent out 89 letters to some of the homes in the east,” said Jamestown Mayor Katie Andersen during a meeting of the city Public Works Committee Tuesday. “… you should be able to go in with your crews, with Vern as a supervisor, and trim.”

However, according to the city’s street department, there are so many trees overreaching on the right-of-way that the department will not be able to trim them all in a single winter.

Instead, snow plows will have to go around the branches.

“You have an obligation to protect your equipment and your staff,” Andersen said.

The street department will begin working through its list of problematic trees and trim as many of them as possible, however.

Only trees belonging to homeowners who received notices would be trimmed.

The Public Works Committee also discussed another issue related to snow removal Tuesday, after a representative from BNSF Railway informed city employees that they should not clean snow from railroad right-of-ways.

BNSF would not commit to a plowing timeframe, however.

Last year, the city of Jamestown paid a bill to BNSF for $18,000 after a panel in the road was damaged during snow removal.

City Engineer Reed Schwartzkopf said it would not be possible to simply stop plowing for the 80-foot railroad right-of-way.

“We would effectively go in and continue operations the same as we are now,” Schwartzkopf said. “We might raise the blade a little bit … there’s no way we can plow right up to the right-of-way and then stop…”

Sun reporter Kari Lucin can be reached at 701-952-8453

or by email at

klucin@jamestownsun.com

Tags: local news, news