News Reports Contradict City Administrator’s Claim That: “Snow emergency has been called once in the past 25 years.”

ANN ARBOR’S CITY Administrator Steve Powers, in explaining why a snow emergency had not been called in order to facilitate faster more efficient clearing of the 11 inches of snow that fell between January 4-5 claimed “a snow emergency has been called once in the past 25 years, and a snow emergency is called when there is no place left to push the snow and plows cannot get next to the curb to push the snow onto the lawn extensions and sidewalks.”

The City’s Snow Emergency Ordinance reads: “Whenever the City Administrator finds, on the basis of snow, sleet, freezing rain, or on the basis of a weather forecast, that weather conditions make it necessary to restrict parking to allow removal of existing or forecasted snow, the Administrator may declare a snow emergency and put in effect an odd/even parking prohibition on some or all city streets by providing notice of the prohibition in the manner prescribed by this section.” The declaration of a snow emergency triggers two important actions.

First, again according to the city’s Snow Emergency Ordinance, the “Administrator causes notice of such prohibitions to be publicly announced by radio stations, Community Television Network and any other suitable media outlet with normal operating ranges covering the city. The prohibitions shall then take effect at the time provided in the announcement. The Administrator may also cause notice of the parking prohibition to be published in newspapers of general circulation when feasible.” Second, residents are required to adhere to this section of the ordinance: “When an odd/even parking prohibition is in effect, no person shall park a vehicle or permit a vehicle owned by him or her to remain parked on the following described portions of any street; provided, however, that the parking prohibition of this subsection does not apply during the hours of 8:00 p.m. to 12:00 midnight, so that vehicles can be positioned to comply with the next day’s prohibition.”

City Administrator Steve Powers, hired in April of 2011, has come under fire from residents and Council members concerning the timely plowing of the city’s streets and cul de sacs. Craig Hupy, who earns $127,000 as Ann Arbor’s public services administrator, told City Council in December after 5-7 inches of snow had fallen that staffers had major roads and cul de sacs plowed “within 30 hours.” Hupy went on to claim that downtown streets had not been cleared out in a timely manner because the snow had commenced falling on a Friday night and continued through Saturday. “On the weekend,” Craig Hupy reported to City Council members, “the town doesn’t really clear out.”

City Administrator Steve Powers’s assertion that city officials have not invoked a snow emergency in 25 years is contradicted by a variety of documents, records and news sources.

The January 5, 2001 edition of The Michigan Daily includes this reporting: “The snow emergency, which went into effect on Dec. 26, 2000 was lifted on Tuesday.”

In that same article it is reported that, “As it did in January 1999, when the city declared a snow emergency after more than 17 inches of snow fell on Ann Arbor, the university opened its parking facilities to residents and students so city crews could clear area streets.”

During that December 2000 snowstorm, the city used tow trucks to temporarily move vehicles to clear narrow streets. William Wheeler, director of the city of Ann Arbor’s Department of Public Services at the time, said in a news piece, “It cost us about $125 per car last year to plow. It was a losing financial operation.”

It’s not clear when city staffers or elected officials decided that the snow removal service was supposed to be either revenue neutral or turn a profit.

Wheeler retired in May 2010 according to a recent article in The Ann Arbor Independent with a $121,861 annual pension. According to records released by the pension system, his total pension payout is expected to top $4.3 million dollars.

When speaking to the media about why Ann Arbor had not declared a snow emergency for the January 2014 storm that dropped almost a foot of snow on the city, the Mayor claimed, “people have nowhere to put their cars.” Hieftje was a City Council member in 1999 when U of M opened its parking facilities to the city’s residents. Hieftje also fobbed off responsibility on the ill-informed City Administrator, who is directly supervised by City Council.

On January 31, 2002, The Michigan Daily reported that, “The city of Ann Arbor has declared a snow emergency, with more than a foot of snow mixed with sleet and rain expected to be on the ground by the end of today.

As a result, snow parking restrictions are in effect on all city streets, including metered spaces, through Saturday.

On days having odd dates, vehicles cannot park on the side of the street with odd address numbers. On even-numbered days, vehicles are prohibited on the side of the street with even address numbers. Parking in no-parking zones or in front of fire hydrants is still illegal.”

While 124 residents received tickets as a result of the 2001 snow emergency, the December 25-26, 2002 snow emergency saw  1,012 motorists receive $125 parking tickets. Bill Wheeler fielded angry questions from residents about why temporary signs stating a snow emergency was in effect had not been placed around town.

Wheeler explained that, “The city decided that temporary signs were too expensive and labor-intensive to justify the cost.” Wheeler was also reported to have said that “although the city council set the fine, the public services department recommended the $125 amount.”

In February 2003, City Council members, including Mayor Hieftje, voted to void tickets issued during the December 25-26 snow emergency, the first time the $125 fines had been levied.

While John Hieftje said “most of the feedback he’s getting is that the city’s snow plows are doing a pretty good job of clearing the streets,” the 2013 National Citizen Survey revealed that 47 percent of residents surveyed rated the city’s snow removal performance as “fair” or “poor.” That’s up from 2007, when 35 percent of residents rated snow removal services as “fair” or “poor.”

Making such blanket statements that conflict with public sentiment is nothing new for Ann Arbor’s mayor. At his 2013 State of City address delivered to local Rotarians in June, Hieftje told the audience, “We did get behind on roads, but I want to give you a little hope there. I think we’re catching up pretty fast.”

“Maybe you’re on some different streets than I’m on,” shot back Rotarian Doug Freeth. Freeth reminded Hieftje about the poor conditions along Ann Arbor-Saline Road and East Stadium Boulevard.

In offering up inaccurate information to explain away snow removal services which a large percentage of residents have said is “fair” or “poor,” the current City Administrator is following a path well worn by his predecessor, Roger Fraser.

In 2011 Fraser claimed that snow plowing during a February storm had been slow because it was “one of the wettest snows in two years.” It was a claim debunked by a state meteorologist.

The City of Ann Arbor owns 14 snowplows, nine of which were purchased new in 2013 at a cost of $137,088 each, according to city records provided to The Ann Arbor Independent.

In 2010, City Council approved spending $88,000 to equip up to 100 city vehicles, including 47 snow removal vehicles, with GPS tracking technology. Approximately 200 users are able to view the vehicle tracking site at any one time.

In a constituent email reprinted by The Ann Arbor News, Ward 3 Council member Christopher Taylor, a mayoral candidate, claims that plowing is not meant to clear pavement, but rather make streets passable. In Northville, Michigan, that city’s snow removal policy states that roads will be plowed and salted “to the bare pavement within 24 hours of a snow or ice storm.”

Taylor also told constituents that the plows’ “first priority is state trunklines.” However, the Michigan Department of Transportation is responsible for plowing highways. Around Ann Arbor, Pinckney, Milan, Pittsfield and South Lyon declared snow emergencies either before or after the storm.