Owatonna Mayor Tom Kuntz says moving 17 inches of snow from 160 miles of city streets is a monumental task. He spoke on KRFO radio Thursday as the city continues its second pass around town with the hopes of having roads scraped to the bare pavement by the weekend.

Street Superintendent Clark Fell gave a timeline for the storm and subsequent plowing efforts that had reached 900 manhours by Thursday afternoon. He said 24 pieces of equipment were in use, including some items rented by the city. Plowing began around 9AM Monday, a couple of hours after snow began to fall.

City Administrator Kris Buse said street department employees were joined by parks and recreation workers, buildings and grounds personnel and anyone else with the proper driving credentials to take of city roads. She credited them for their hard work in difficult conditions.

Buse reminds residents to follow the odd-even parking ordinances enforced in Owatonna and to take care of sidewalks and fire hydrants. She invited anyone with suggestions on a better approach to future storms to contact their city council member, the mayor or herself.

 

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