No snow, big savings for Clark, Winchester

Published 1:55 pm Monday, March 27, 2017

With winter officially over, city and county road crews are breathing a sigh of relief.

An unusually warm winter meant workers barely had to plow a flake this year and little salt was used or purchased.

Winchester Public Works Director Pat Clark said the city used about 200 tons of salt from its stockpile. Replacing that cost the city $11,000.

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It’s still significant, but not compared to the 700 and 720 tons used by the city in 2016 and 2015, respectively, Clark said. His workers were only called out to plow twice, though they pre-treated roads several times, he said.

The savings are greater for the county.

“We saved anywhere between $70,000 and $75,000 in salt,” Clark County Road Supervisor Kevin Wilson said.

“If we go back to the winter before, it’s probably $120,000 to $130,000. We’ve only been out three times and only used 350 tons. We’re in pretty good shape.”

After two rough winters, both are glad for a break this year. Last year brought more separate incidents of snow, Clark said, but 2015 had one big snow which dumped more than a foot of snow on the region.

“The winter before last was rougher than last year,” Clark said. “This winter’s been extremely mild. I don’t know the last time I’ve seen a winter like this one.”

“I’ll take these winters for the rest of my time here,” Wilson said.

About Fred Petke

Fred Petke is a reporter for The Winchester Sun, the Jessamine Journal and the State Journal. His beats include cops, courts, fire, public records, city and county government and other news. To contact Fred, email fred.petke@bluegrassnewsmedia.com or call 859-759-0051.

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