Kneehill County council debated changes to its snowplow policy, walking back a bit on a proposal to cease plowing snow on private driveways.
The debate was held at the Jan. 14 regular meeting of council.
Up for discussion was proposed policy 13-2, grader gravel services, presented by Project Construction Supervisor Mike Conkin, who noted the proposed policy had been discussed at a previous committee of the whole (COW) meeting.
It was mentioned that one change from previous snowplowing policies is that Kneehill County would no longer offer plowing of private driveways.
Coun. Carrie Fobes stated that she’d heard from several concerned members of the public about the proposed change and asked for more explanation regarding rationale: specifically, risk and liability to Kneehill County for plowing snow on someone’s private property.
Conkin noted that as of the current meeting there had not been a specific incident or issue raising risk or liability.
Fobes also asked about the size of county equipment used to plow driveways; apparently it had been mentioned at a previous meeting some equipment was too large to plow driveways.
However, Fobes noted some county snowplowing in Torrington was done by a truck with a front blade and asked if that would also work for driveways.
Conkin answered yes, that seemed possible and such an approach was up to councillors to decide. He added that driveways, if approved, would likely wait until major road priorities were met first.
During discussion it was noted that a waiver is currently used by Kneehill County for plowing snow off dirt trails and that such a waiver could be required for driveways too.
It was further noted that Kneehill County currently has about 15 residents who have driveways plowed of snow by the municipality.
It was also noted that apparently Kneehill County is held responsible if staff damage private property while plowing driveways, but if the private property somehow damages county equipment, the municipality is expected to pay those repairs too.
Fobes stated she feels the municipality exists to provide services to its residents but that it seems services tend to be reduced as taxes climb; she added that the driveway snowplowing service should be retained.
Coun. Laura Lee Machell-Cunningham agreed.
Reeve Ken King asked if that would also apply to grading driveways, to which Fobes answered she’d only heard public concerns about snowplowing changes, not grading.
Coun. Debbie Penner wondered if smaller equipment can handle all the driveways in question, while she agreed some residents, including seniors, rely on the county’s snowplowing service.
Reeve King asked about liability and risk, to which Chief Administrative Officer (CAO) Mike Haugen responded that there is risk and liability anytime Kneehill County’s equipment enters onto private land but that staff have so far managed that risk.
He pointed out that removing the service would remove any risk but added that if councillors wished staff to continue managing the risk, staff would do so.
Director of Infrastructure Mike Ziehr noted that over the years staff have noticed increased risk when entering private property and that any time county equipment enters private property there is a risk.
Haugen also stated that whether Kneehill County does or does not plow snow in private driveways probably won’t affect municipal insurance cost but if the service is dropped it may lessen risk of property damage.
Reeve King also mentioned that the way some wording flows in the proposed policy may suggest to the public that grader gravel service levels are being reduced, when in fact they aren’t.
Councillors passed a resolution that staff take the proposed policy back, make changes as councillors requested during debate and bring back to a future meeting.
Stu Salkeld
Local Journalism Initiative reporter
ECA Review