Budget cuts not expected to affect winter road conditions

When the first snowfall covers East Lansing and signals the beginning of winter, city officials expect to keep driving conditions safe in spite of a substantially tightened budget.

Despite cutting the snow removal budget by 25 percent, to $300,000 in 2009 from about $400,000 in 2008, East Lansing Director of Public Works Todd Sneathen said he expects the city’s supplies to be more than adequate for the predicted snowfall.

“We have as much salt as we’ve ever had,” Sneathen said. “The past two years have been extremely high volume in terms of snowfall and our hope at this point in time is that (this year’s weather will be) typical.”

The city spent $164,000 on salt and ordered 3,800 tons in 2008.

WLNS-TV Chief Meteorologist David Young said this year’s Lansing-area snowfall is predicted to be slightly less than 56 inches, a decrease from the 80 inches that fell last winter.

But even if it is a harsh winter, Sneathen said the repercussions of decreased funding would not be felt until the spring.

“The potential effect has to do with work we might not be able to do in the spring,” he said. “It might mean we do less road maintenance such as paving and sealing cracks.”

Some students, such as nutritional science junior Amanda Geaslin, think the city should have planned for a harsh winter from the start.

“They can’t preplan what the winter is going to be like,” Geaslin said. “I’ve been in a bus accident because of the snow. It wasn’t from a lack of plowing; it was from a lack of salting. It’s hard to commute to class in your own vehicle anyway. It’s already cold out now. I don’t think it’s going to be a mild winter.”

Efforts to reduce costs, such as using alternative substances to control ice buildup, have had detrimental consequences in the past, said Angela Mabin, East Lansing’s public works administrator.

“Two years ago, we had a salt shortage and we mixed some salt with sand and put it down,” Mabin said. “The problem with the sand was it clogged up the city’s sewer system and we ended up having to remove it later.”

She said the city also received numerous complaints from residents who felt the roads “looked dirty.”

Although the city is not concerned about road maintenance during the winter, students might see the effects of tightened budgets elsewhere.

Ingham County Road Commissioner Thomas Mitchell said because of a decrease in revenue, the Ingham County Road Commission will not have overtime available this winter.

“We won’t operate on weekends unless there is emergency or a road becomes completely inaccessible,” Mitchell said.

He said Tuesday he could not specify the amount of the decrease.

Ingham County road crews maintains Park Lake Road, Lake Lansing Road and parts of Hagadorn Road, among others.