Fiscal Note
Acceptance of this report requires no appropriation. Implementation of the recommendations contained in this report would have a number of modest economic impacts, some resulting in added costs and others generating savings. Some of these items are identified in the sections of the report entitled "Short Term Recommendations & Estimated Costs" and "Long Term Recommendations", which can be found on pages 13 through 16 of the report.
The establishment of a weather monitoring station ($30,000 to $50,000 for start up costs, plus $2,200 to $2,400 annually) is recommended, as is an anti-icing demonstration ($5,000 to $10,000). Enhanced snowplow driver training is also recommended ($500 per session), along with infrared pavement and air sensors for supervisory vehicles and snowplows ($400 to $800 per vehicle), and a consultant to train private applicators ($3,000).
On the savings side, it is recommended that the percentage of salt in the salt/sand mix be reduced from the current 20% to a new level of 10% (for savings of $330 per 100 tons of sand used) or even 5% (for savings of $500 per 100 tons of sand used). And a recommendation of reducing salt usage from the current 150 pounds per lane mile to a new standard of 100 pounds per line mile is projected to save the City $75,000 to $90,000 in an average year.
No additional appropriation is required for 2007. The fiscal impact of these and other recommendations will be integrated into future capital and operating budget requests.
Title
SUBSTITUTE - Approving the report of the Salt Use Subcommittee to the City's Commission on the Environment and adopting the recommendations of the report.
Body
WHEREAS the amount of road salt used on public streets has been increasing since the 1960's when a "clear road bare pavement" policy was put in place;
WHEREAS in 1972, the City of Madison Common Council directed the Streets Division to reduce by 50% (150 pounds per lane mile) the amount of road sa...
Click here for full text