Dayton is making backup plans for COVID outbreaks, according to Fred Stovall, director of the Department of Public Works.
The city typically tries to have 71 available drivers, Stovall said, for a major snow storm. Now full deployment for snow will require 44 snowplow drivers to cover 44 routes around the city.
“We have different route plans that can be implemented based on predicted forecast, timing of the winter event and predicted or actual snow accumulation,” he said. “We are in the process of reviewing possible scenarios if we are faced with significant numbers of quarantine and/or positive COVID situations and developing plans to deploy drivers from other departments within the city organization.”
In Clayton, all 10 city-employed drivers from its service department will be driving by themselves in snow removal trucks, according to Jack Kuntz, the city’s director of development.
The city has policies that call for all 10 of its full-time service department employees to wear masks in vehicles when there are more than one employee in the vehicle at any one time, Kuntz said.
“We are also constantly cleaning and sanitizing our work areas and work vehicles to assist in combating the spread of all illnesses, including COVID,” he said. “We believe being proactive right now will assist in ensuring we’re ready to best serve the entire community of Clayton when poor weather hits.”
Bryan Campbell, Moraine’s street superintendent, said the city does as much as it can to prevent its crew from being exposed, “but in the event that there is exposure and the department does get hit with COVID, we’re not left with many options.”
Depending on the size of the crew still able to work during a storm, the city would need to evaluate both the severity of the storm and the expected duration and plan from there, Campbell said.
“Naturally, the smaller the crew, the longer it will take us to have the roadways cleared so even a moderate snowfall would set us back several hours,” he said.
Miamisburg Public Works Director Valerie Griffin said thegreatest risk of exposure for employees plowing snow is anticipated to be the sharing of trucks and equipment.
“To combat this risk, each truck will be disinfected after every shift and drivers will only operate the vehicle or equipment to which they are assigned,” Griffin said.
Also, an equipment operator will be assigned to load salt, rather than each driver loading his own salt, as was done in past years, she said.
“A contingency plan has been created to combine routes and minimize the number of staff required for snow response, should the work force be limited due to COVID,” Griffin said. “The city does not anticipate a reduced response to snow removal. However, if that occurred and fewer team members were available, it would take a longer time frame to complete the job to our usual plowing standards.”
Oakwood City Manager Norbert Klopsch said the city has 30 employees in its Public Works department, all of whom are trained in various aspects of snow removal operations.
Oakwood officials are prepared to implement a scaled-down snow response focusing on the most critical areas and on roadways with steep grades, he said.
“If we find that we do not have the personnel to address the most critical areas, we will request assistance from our neighbors, the cities of Kettering and Dayton, neighbors with whom we have a well-established and positive working relationship,” Klopsch said. “We have long-standing mutual aid agreements that serve our communities well.”
Kettering expects to focus on the roadways according to the established priorities, according to Mark Schwieterman, Kettering’s city manager.
But if they had to cut back, they would focus on the thoroughfares and main routes, then collector streets and school zones. They would delay plowing on the neighborhood streets until the higher priorities have been fully addressed, Schwieterman said.
“As diligent and hopeful as we are in staving off the impact COVID-19 could have on our workforce, we are prepared to make appropriate changes for continuance of quality service,” he said.
Montgomery County Engineer Paul Gruner saidthe county engineers in Ohio Department of Transportation districts 7 and 8, which cover all of southwest Ohio, have held meetings to discuss how to handle any COVID-induced staff shortages.
“We talked about this potential problem, and are all willing to help each other out,” Gruner said. “ODOT is also willing to help to the extent they can depending on the condition of their roads. ODOT has backup drivers, a luxury that we don’t have.”
Other communities like Centerville, Miami Twp., Springboro, Trotwood, Washington Twp. and West Carrollton tell the Dayton Daily News they have trained personnel within their organizations who are able to cover any needed snowplowing duties during prolonged winter weather events should their initial snow removal workforce fall ill to COVID.
“If the city is impacted by employee absence due to COVID-19, the city would utilize overtime, reconfiguration of staffing schedules, and CDL qualified temporary seasonal employees to meet the service demands required for the city,” said Trotwood City Manager Quincy Pope Sr.
Springboro City Manager Chris Pozzuto said city officials certainly “have thought long and hard” about snow plowing contingencies amidst the pandemic and are ready to execute plans to do so, should the need arise.
If numerous public service employees are quarantined due to COVID restrictions, Springboro can turn to two former public service employees, who work in other departments within the city, to help plow the road. Many city employees’ on-boarding process includes cross-training to be able to lend a hand in emergency situations like this, he said.
“In addition, we have identified five other city employees, including myself and the assistant city manager, who can step in and operate smaller plows that do not require a CDL,” Pozzuto said.
Staff Writers Nick Blizzard, Larry Budd and India Duke contributed to this report.
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