Richmond Hill adopts $4.38M city-wide windrow clearing program

The city will cover the cost through reserve funds.

Yorkregion.com
April 4, 2019
Sheila Wang

The winter is almost over, but it’s only a matter of months before the next one hits us.

Richmond Hill council decided to implement a city-wide windrow clearing service to remove the snow piles left at the end of driveways after snowplows pass through.

Council members voted 8 to 1 at a council meeting on March 25 to adopt a city-wide in-house windrow clearing program that will clear about 55,000 residential driveways and enhance other service levels at a total cost of $4.38 million.

“We understand for the 2020 budget, this is gonna be a big hit,” said deputy mayor and budget chair Joe DiPaola, who put forward the motion and proposed to fund its cost in 2019 through Richmond Hill's reserve funds. “But it’s something we’ve braced for at the budget committee, something we feel confident that we can absorb these additional costs.”

DiPaola introduced the motion after Grant Taylor, director of public works operations, laid out four options to council on windrow service alternatives.

Windrow removal has been a hot topic since 2014 and during the recent municipal election in Richmond Hill.

Richmond Hill’s current windrow clearing program includes approximately 1,600 driveways for eligible residents who are 65 years of age and older and for residents with disabilities.

In his presentation, Taylor recommended Option 4 -- in-house service -- for it is not only going to provide city-wide windrow service within 8 to 12 hours after plowing, but also enhance the Richmond Hill’s existing services.

However, it is the most costly option which requires Richmond Hill to recruit 40 new full-time employees and purchase 35 heavy-duty tractors with attachments, resulting in a $1.09 million direct cost for windrow clearing, or roughly $20 per driveway.

In addition to windrow removal, the 40 new full-time staff will perform other services to improve overall service levels for Richmond Hill such as snow removal on laneways, litter and illegal dumping response as well as grass complaint resolution.

These enhanced services will cost another $3.29 million.
“The cost is quite high,” said Ward 4 Coun. David West frowned upon the over $4-million total cost of the program. “The 2019 budget has been passed and this is not in the budget.”

While acknowledging the need for windrow removal in the community, West said he was “really uncomfortable” with covering the operating cost through reserve funds which the city will have to pay back in the 2020 budget.

He moved to refer the motion back to staff to have a public outreach including a survey asking residents what they think of the in-house service.

Seconded by Ward 5 Coun. Karen Cilevitz, the referral motion was voted down by five council members: deputy mayors Carmine Perrelli and DiPaola, Ward 1 Coun. Greg Beros, Ward 2 Coun. Tom Muench, Ward 3 Coun. Castro Liu.

“Any delay beyond today is gonna seriously hamper the ability to start this program this winter,” DiPaola said.

Council eventually passed DiPaola’s original motion -- seconded by Perrelli -- while Cilevitz voted against it.

Calling the proposed program an “unbelievably expensive matter,” Cilevitz said council would have made a “critical error” if voting on it without knowing “all the facts.”

She questioned how Richmond Hill will cover the over $4-million cost through the reserves and how this will impact the taxpayers.

“There are a number of reserves at council’s discretion,” said Mary-Anne Dempster, commissioner of corporate and financial services who said the cost of the program will shared by all taxpayers in Richmond Hill.

While Richmond Hill will need to pay back the funds being pulled from the reserves in the following budgets, Dempster said it can be phased in over a specified period time instead of repaying all at once.

At the most recent survey on windrow removal conducted between Nov. 29 and Dec. 7, 2015, 52 per cent respondents opposed a townwide windrow removal which would lead to a property tax increase of 2.8 per cent at that time. Meanwhile, 42 per cent were in favour of the program, yorkregion.com reported.

A few councillors, including Beros and Muench, questioned whether the survey was accurate.

Visit richmondhill.ca to for the recorded council meeting.