Carbonear councillors given list of snow clearing complaints

By Craig Westcott

As sure as the snow piled up in February so did the complaints from residents across the Avalon about snow clearing in their respective towns, and for councillors in Carbonear, the hub of the bay was no exception.
Several times during last week’s public council meeting, complaints about snow clearing complaints were acknowledged.

The first instance was early in the meeting when councillor Malcolm Seymour raised correspondence from a resident of Chapel Place who contacted the Town about concerns.

Snow clearing came up again during councillor Stephen Penney’s public works committee report.
“As you can see from the minutes of our committee meeting, there are quite a few (pieces of) correspondence there about the snow clearing,” said Penney. “So, we’d just remind folks to have a little patience, we are seeing quite a bit more snow than we normally do in recent years. If you do have a specific issue with snow clearing, please bring it forward to the Town office, or anybody on the council, or the director. You’ll get added to the list and they’re trying to get to them as quick as they can. I’d like to thank our crews, actually, for keeping on top of it as much as they have been.”

Councillor Wendy Penney also acknowledged the volume of correspondence and phone calls on the issue and then raised a more serious one.

“There have also been some who have come forward with damage to their properties,” she said. “I know that sometimes it’s inevitable, it’s due to the weight of the snow and what have you. Is there a process whereby we evaluate or investigate this damage? Some people have sent in pictures. I’m just wondering if there is a process we go through, and what is that process?”

Public works director Ian Farrell confirmed the complaints are investigated and noted there is a form that people can fill out and submit to the Town if their properties have been damaged by Town equipment.
Later in the meeting Mayor Sam Slade raised an even more serious matter involving snow, though not directly related to snow clearing.

Referring to an incident during the recent winter festival when a child had run into a pole while sledding at a park on the Southside, Slade asked Farrell for an update on what action has been taken.

Farrell indicated a buffer has since been placed around the poles.

“That’s good,” said Slade, “because it’s a pretty popular place for kids to be sliding.”