Springfield spent $4.3 million on snow-related costs, including $1.5 million to remove snow from school and municipal roofs.
02/09/11 Springfield- Republican Photo by Mark M.Murray- An army of workers attempt to remove the snow from the roof of the Mary A. Dryden Veterans Memorial Elementary School, on Surrey Road in Springfield Wednesday. The school was closed for the day so the workers could get to the snow.While most of the snow is gone, the start of spring has not erased the memory and budget hardships left by a whale of a winter.
Millions of dollars were spent, and some of the bills for snow plowing, sanding and roof clearing are still coming in, according to local officials in the area.
The insurance industry is also reeling as automobile and property insurance claims for snowstorm-related damage soared in New England and around the nation, according to reports.
Estimates for the entire winter are still coming in. But just the snow-and-ice storm of Feb. 1 and Feb. 2 cost auto and property insurers $790 million to $1.4 billion nationwide, according to catastrophe modeling from AIR Worldwide in Boston.
That storm cut a swath from Texas to Canada and collapsed more than 70 roofs in Massachusetts alone.
In Springfield, the city has spent $4.3 million for snow-related expenses, believed to be a record amount, officials said The city began the winter with a $1.6 million snow budget.
“It was unprecedented,” Mayor Domenic J. Sarno said. “All of New England and the Northeast and much of the country was affected by it. We did what we had to do.”
The snowfall was heaviest in the early winter, and made worse by back-to-back storms and freezing temperatures.
The amount spent in Springfield includes $2.8 million for plowing, sanding and related costs and $1.5 million to clear snow from 25 school roofs and five city buildings, said LeeAnn Pasquini, the city’s budget director. The city chose to clear the roofs out of fears that deep, heavy snow might damage the roofs, costing many millions of dollars, and could pose a danger to the safety of students and staff, officials said.
“God forbid, someone got hurt or killed,” Sarno said.
The city will consider transferring funds from other budget accounts, where there are surpluses, and also will use reserve funds, if necessary, Pasquini said.
The National Weather Service reports a total snowfall accumulation of 84 inches this winter, recorded at Bradley International Airport in Windsor Locks. It was double the average snowfall of 41.6 inches. Last year, snowfall was 30.6 inches.
Another reminder of the severe winter are a plethora of potholes around the region, officials said. Allen R. Chwalek, director of public works in Springfield, said his pothole crew is working six days a week.
Many communities around the region reported overspending their snow budgets by great sums. Under state law, communities are able to deficit-spend for snow removal.
The winter onslaught included a snowstorm on Jan. 11-12 that dropped as much as two feet of snow in the region. The state announced recently that federal disaster aid is available to many of the hardest-hit communities, but is limited to municipalities in Hampshire and Berkshire counties.
Sarno has appealed to state and federal officials to consider expanding eligibility to Springfield.
William O. Trudeau, chief operating officer of Insurance Center of New England in Agawam, said insurance companies have been working to expedite the claims process and, at times, have been more generous just to get the case settled so they can move on to the next job.
“There are people who are having trouble finding good contractors,” he said. “They can’t get the work done.”
Anecdotally, state Insurance Commissioner Joseph G. Murphy said he’s heard that one insurance carrier saw its auto claims spike 20 percent and its homeowners claims spike 80 percent in January. But hard numbers will not be available for months.
The Gaudreau Group Inc. insurance agency in Wilbraham loaned out roof rakes and small snowblowers light enough to go up on a flat-roofed commercial structure, said Jules O. Gaudreau Jr.
“We even brought OSHA to look at one company’s roof so we could make sure it was safe to put people up there,” Gaudreau said.
In Chicopee, Stanley W. Kulig, superintendent of the Department of Public Works, said the city spent 10 times its budget on snow removal. The budget was $100,000, but Kulig said costs rose to $1 million.
“We just budget the minimal amount each year,” Kulig said. “We’re allowed by state law to overspend that.”
Holyoke began the fiscal year July 1 with a snow removal budget of $160,000. That was gone after the post-Christmas snowstorm clean-up.
As of March 7, costs for snow removal, employee overtime, private plowers, road salt and sand were more than $900,000, with another $25,000 available to be spent, said William D. Fuqua, superintendent of the Department of Public Works.
The more than $900,000 consists of $218,800 for 3,980 tons of salt, $8,569 for 925 tons of sand, $130,000 for employee overtime related to storm cleanup and the rest for snow removal. No money has been devoted to snow removal from roofs, he said.
In Westfield, Department of Public Works superintendent James M. Mulvenna estimated the cost of snow and ice removal at $918,000 but some bills are still being received.
Westfield’s current budget has $360,000 for snow and ice removal. City officials historically use free cash to cover any deficit in that account.
The School Department spent about $10,000 to remove snow from the roofs at the 13 public schools, using custodial staff, officials said.
In West Springfield, the Department of Public Works has spent $682,049 to date for snow removal compared to the original budget of $390,120, according to director John L. Dowd.
In Agawam, Department of Public Works Superintendent Christopher J. Golba said the department budgeted $95,000 for overtime and spent $116,000; it earmarked $111,000 for private plowing and spent $194,270. Of the $250,000 set aside for salt, he said the department has spent $158,000 so far.
In addition, Agawam Mayor Richard A. Cohen said the School Department spent a total of $9,000 to have snow cleared from parts of various school roofs.
Northampton has spent $691,800 to date in snow removal costs for this season, a figure that Finance Director Christopher B. Pile said is higher than average. Pile noted that the final bill has not yet been calculated because the Department of Public Works is still in the process of repairing the machinery used in the removal process.
That figure does not include $216,280 that the city spent hiring private contractors to remove snow from the roofs of schools and other municipal buildings. Despite that expense, Pile said the project probably saved the city money because it suffered no major roof damage from the heavy snow pack.
“If one of our roofs had failed, that’s incalculable,” Pile said.
Sandra Shields, director of public works in Greenfield, said that to plow 11 times and sand 20 times cost $252,150, but the budget was only for $200,000.
In Easthampton, the snow removal budget was about $116,000 and the total expense was about $455,000.
Ludlow Public Works Director Paul E. Dzubek said Ludlow spent $595,800 for snow plowing this past winter, adding that $165,000 is typical and was budgeted. The spending is done as emergency spending and must be balanced against next year’s free cash.
Ludlow School Superintendent Theresa M. Kane said it cost an estimated $210,000 to remove snow from school roofs. The town’s insurance on town buildings will pay for those costs, she said.
In Palmer, Town Accountant Valerie Bernier said $367,000 has been spent on snow removal so far.
The Pathfinder Regional Vocational Technical School District spent $70,000 to remove snow from the roof of the school on Sykes Street in Palmer, and the Mohawk Trail school spent about $60,000 to clear roofs.
In Monson, Highway Surveyor John R. Morrell said $349,800 has been spent on snow removal.
Staff writers Jim Kinney, Michael Plaisance, Ted LaBorde, Sandra Constantine, Brian Steele, Fred Contrada, and Suzanne McLaughlin contributed to this report.