Snow removal in base housing Published Jan. 24, 2008 FAIRCHILD AIR FORCE BASE, Wash. -- The following is a question to the 92 Air Refueling Wing Commander submitted by a member of Team Fairchild or the local community: Question: I have a problem with the snow removal in the housing area. I live on Kamiakin Trail on the side with the sidewalk and a fire hydrate. The housing rules state that I need to remove all snow on the sidewalk and in front of the fire hydrant. I normally have no problem doing this, but this season I am having problems with snow being plowed into my driveway and sidewalks. I repeatedly keep shoveling only to have the new contractors plow it all back. This has been happening every time it has snowed. The past two large storms that have come through, I have shoveled at 11:30 at night to make sure that it is clear and safe for the students in the morning for school only to wake up and find all the snow back on the walkways along with all the rest of the snow of the streets. Answer: Unfortunately, what you are dealing with is something that everyone in the Inland Northwest is dealing with this year, whether in military family housing, or in Spokane City and County. What you are experiencing is the direct result of multiple snow events back to back. Your efforts to keep the sidewalks and fire hydrant area clear of snow are appreciated. It's a real challenge! Like elsewhere on the installation, snow is pushed off the streets to contribute to traffic safety. The way snow is normally plowed is by pushing it to both sides of the street. In some limited circumstances, streets are cleared to one side or the other. This same process is used on and off base. But in the city and county, while main roads are routinely plowed, housing areas aren't done unless residents purchase the service. In the military family housing area, we plow by contract. Unfortunately, current funding from our headquarters doesn't allow us to remove the snow from the sidewalks -- so residents are charged with the responsibility, just like mowing of lawns. Removal of snow from the housing streets is especially challenging because of on-street parking and sidewalks that are close to the street. In addition, our neighborhoods have no standard layout for sides of streets with sidewalks, fire hydrants and parking. This means our contractor pushes snow to the "no parking" side of the street, and where parking is permitted on both sides, the snow is pushed to both sides like everywhere else on base. Based on your feedback, the narrow roads in housing and a review of our contractor's operations; the contractor will test pushing snow to the side of the street without a sidewalk. This should mitigate the "buried sidewalk" problem, except in locations where sidewalks are on both sides of the street. We will evaluate and if it is effective, we will modify the contract language to reflect a permanent change. If a resident happens to live on a street with sidewalks on both sides, we offer another piece of advice. The contractor is required to work between 6:00 p.m. and 6:00 a.m. If residents shovel snow during daylight hours, they should be able to avoid some of the frustrations you mention. Also, every unit commander has support programs for the families of its deployed Airmen. Most often these programs include vehicle assistance, lawn care and snow removal. I recommend you check with your unit's Phoenix Spouse for assistance. Now for the best news: Next year with our housing privatization initiative, the project owner will provide snow removal from streets and sidewalks in housing as a community enhancement! In the meantime, we can all look forward to the spring. To submit a question to the Commander's Direct Line call 247-5705 or email e-Connection@fairchild.af.mil.
