RICHMOND, Va. — Richmond City Council on Monday received an interim update on the city's ice and snow response during January's back-to-back winter weather emergencies.
Chief Administration Officer Odie Donald II highlighted the scale and cost of the response, which included more than 4,000 tons of salt and over 3,000 tons of sand, with material costs around $550,000 and treatment across about 2,500 lane miles citywide.
City Council raised concerns about notices of violations issued for not clearing sidewalks, the need for pothole repairs, and neighborhood roads that were not treated.
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On the concern about untreated roads, Donald stressed that the city's goal was to at least respond even if they could not physically reach each person.
"I think we did a really strong job on, just enhancing customer service. Folks are not used to getting a personal telephone call from the mayor, the CAO, and others, to let them know what happened. And that's not completely good enough, because people want their streets cleared and clean. But there's also the reality of you have to hit those priority streets and those main thoroughfares for the use of public safety," Donald said.
The city's after-action report, due March 2, will detail the full fiscal impact of the winter storms. It will also break down road treatment data and provide the number of notices of violations that were issued.
A pothole and road damage assessment and lessons learned, including improved communication, will also be shared in the report.
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