Blizzard Feb. 1-2 , 2011 - Update

Here's a status update for residents. See the comments for the latest City of Wheaton Press Releases.

Updated Feb 2, 7:15pm.
After talking to several residents, who have called my published phone number, to voice their concerns about snow removal, let me emphasize that the goal is to make the property drivable for all, by tomorrow morning. Those of you who took our president's statement that "streets and driveways will be passable today" as a literal one, will be disappointed, unless you are completed before midnight.

I have been advised that some residents are calling the snow plowing service directly to get moved up the queue and plowed "now." As a board member, let me remind you that the the various contractors do not work for you "personally" and they work for the entire association. If you call a contractor, you are requesting work to be done at your personal expense, which means you expect to be billed and will honor any such billing. If that is not correct, then I suggest that you avoid making such calls, and be patient.

I suggest we all get a good night's sleep, and plan on getting up at the normal time tomorrow morning, so we can return to our place of work. I expect that you will be able to drive away tomorrow morning. However, you may need to shovel some of the snow that's against your garage door. The "bobcats" cannot not make a clean sweep of your entire driveway.  If you are one of the fortunate ones, and you have a neighbor who has a snow shovel and isn't intimidated by it, you might find some of that touch up completed for you. On the other hand, the snow removal crews may be able to get the majority of the snow removed and such touch up work completed by morning. In fairness to them, as a board member, I do empower them to make the necessary decisions, and that may mean, stopping when fatigue or other issues impede their work.

There will be additional snow removal tomorrow, and large trucks and other vehicles on the property. I encourage all residents to exercise caution when driving on the property, and slow down. That 20 MPH limit will probably be excessive under tomorrows conditions.

Updated Feb 2, 6:30pm.
I walked the property at dusk and met up with our Landscaping Director, who was also walking and inspecting. The "bobcats" are working several sections of property. A few owners have called and asked why their driveways have not yet been plowed. I've returned all phone calls; one owner did not pick up and I assume they are "out".

Snow removal crews will continue to work, and I have been advised by our board president that the goal is to  have "all streets and driveways passable by the end of today (wednesday)."

However, that will require continued work into the wee hours.

A notice has been sent via email to some owners. If you have not received one, it is probably because the association either does not have your email address, or you haven't given permission to use it for these types of purposes. This is to be clarified on the next census form, I have been told.

The following notice may be posted. The email was issued by our CD and here is the content:

  "Hello Neighbors,

Due to the winter storm, Veolia will be picking up garbage on SATURDAY, Feb 5.
Please put your garbage and recycling containers on the curb Friday after 6 p.m.

Also, please tell your building neighbors about the Saturday pickup
as we may not get a notice posted in the buildings until late tomorrow."

Keep warm!

Sharon

Updated Feb 2, 4:30pm. 
Because of the snow situation, Glen Ellyn School districts 41 and 89 have declared the schools will remain closed tomorrow, Wednesday February 3.

Wheaton School district 200, and district 89 have also announced that schools will remain closed tomorrow, Wednesday February 3.

Feb 2, 12:30pm. 
Main Streets of BLMH were plowed throughout the night, and this morning. The cleaning of driveways has begun, and will continue today, and into tomorrow morning. According to our snow removal service, there will be additional equipment brought in to remove the large quantities of snow on the property.

Removal of excess snow from roofs about 6-8 feet from the edges and gutters, will begin in a day or so. This was arranged with maintenance in anticipation of large quantities of snow on the roofs, and issues and concerns of what will happen when that snow does begin to melt.

These photos were taken commencing at 7:45am this morning.

Digging out at 9:00am:

To dig out my car, I had to shovel a path to the street. This was as the storm was ending:

Digging out the car, "before" photos:

The Subaru, dug out - I always wondered what it would look like as a fastback! [I was parked on one of our cul-de-sacs. You can see that this was reasonably cleared, and driveable. This photo was taken at 10:16am on Wednesday, February 2nd] :

Main Streets being plowed [again!], next comes the driveways and cleanup:

Here's a photo at 10:40am on February 2nd. This was taken during a visual inspection of the property, and to observe the status of snow removal efforts. I took great care not to interfere in any manner with the crews on site, who were working diligently throughout the property.. Our snow removal crews, with additional support from the maintenance department, had to contend with drifts such as these:

Comments, Corrections, Omissions, References

Note 1. I added a few photos and dates and times after original posts. I am using this, and supplemental emails, to gage the effectiveness of our snow removal efforts, and the time at which certain milestones were met. 


Note 2. Here's the City of Wheaton press release issued 9:09am February 2nd:

PRESS RELEASE

City of Wheaton

Wednesday, February 02, 2011

City Asks Residents to Stay Off Roads

WHEATON, Ill. – Due to severe winter weather, the City of Wheaton asks you to stay home except in the case of emergencies. While emergency vehicles continue to respond to emergency calls, the Fire Department reports that private vehicles continue to get stuck in the snow.

In addition, Wheaton’s City Hall is closed for business Wednesday, Feb. 2, but is expected to reopen on Thursday, Feb. 3.

The City asks you to use caution when clearing driveways and walkways and to pace yourself for your health and safety. 

#### End of Press Release