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HomeMy WebLinkAboutOPS 04-23 Report to Executive Council Report Number: OPS 04-23 Date: March 6, 2023 From: Brian Duffield Director, Operations Subject: Residential Sidewalk and Driveway Windrow Snow Clearing Review -File: A-1440 Recommendation: 1.That Report OPS 04-23 regarding Residential Sidewalk and Driveway Windrow Snow Clearing Review be received for information. Executive Summary: At the Executive Committee Meeting of January 9, 2023, Council requested that staff prepare a preliminary substantive report to Council regarding an increase to the existing winter control level of service to include the snow clearing of all residential sidewalks and driveway windrows starting in the 2023/2024 winter season. Municipalities in Ontario are required to implement a Winter Control Program that complies with Ontario Regulation 239/02, Minimum Maintenance Standards for Municipal Highways (MMS). The City’s current Winter Control Program utilizes the Operations Centre, staffing levels, vehicles, and equipment to achieve compliance with MMS. However, as per Report CS 31-19 (Resolution #194/19), staff were directed to implement changes to the City’s Winter Control Program commencing with the 2020/2021 winter control season that increased level of service with faster response and snow clearing times which exceeds MMS (except during severe winter storm events). As a result of Council’s most recent request on January 9, 2023, staff have identified and considered three possible options that would provide an enhanced level of service for winter control that would include residential sidewalk and windrow clearing in Pickering. That said, the full details of a Residential Sidewalk and Driveway Windrow Snow Clearing Program will still have to be developed to provide a full and thorough cost of these alternate delivery methods. Additionally, a review of other communities has been completed using information in the public domain. However, given more time, a more thorough outreach of the communities already delivering such a program will need to be completed to confirm or revise the assumption made in this report. Option 1 – A City-wide Residential Sidewalk and Windrow Snow Clearing Program Delivered as an In-house Service (via City of Pickering staff) This option would require a substantial increase in staff, vehicles, and equipment to provide an in-house service via City of Pickering staff to clear all residential sidewalks and driveway windrows in Pickering (approximately 37,100 households). A new or leased facility would be required as the additional staffing, vehicles, and equipment cannot be accommodated within OPS 04-23 March 6, 2023 Subject: Residential Sidewalk and Driveway Windrow Snow Clearing Review the existing Operations Centre located at 1955 Clements Road, Pickering. A northern operations depot was planned as part of the necessary expansion of Operations to service existing northern assets and the growth associated with the Seaton community. This facility could be sized to accommodate a new Residential Sidewalk and Windrow Snow Clearing Program; however, a suitable site for such a facility has yet to be confirmed. With respect to staff, the operation of sidewalk plows and windrow tractors should be performed by full time staff deemed competent under the Occupational Health & Safety Act, and who are trained in Standard Operating Procedures to effectively and efficiently deliver this service. The new staff required for this program would be full-time with the need to be accommodated with meaningful work for the remainder of the year outside of the winter control season. Please note that 12 month costs for full time staff could be partially offset by substantial reductions in seasonal staff (terms and students), not yet quantified. Additional equipment will also be required to implement Option 1 at an approximate cost $9,800,000. The equipment is estimated to take between 12-16 months to receive. After seven years in service, there would also need to be a $980,000.00 annual Capital Budget cost for life cycle replacement of equipment. It is important to note that the timing to deliver the services described in Option 1 will be dependent on the acquisition of vehicles and equipment and the construction of a new facility to house the program. Acquisition of land, design, and construction is a three to four year process. A preliminary cost estimate for Option 1, a City-wide Residential Sidewalk and Driveway Windrow Snow Clearing Program, is presented below: 6 Month Cost *12 Month Cost $3,500,050.00 $225,000.00 $388,200.00 $33,800.00 Subtotal: $4,147,050.00 $10,000,000.00 $9,800,000.00 Estimated Operating Costs Salaries and Benefits Repairs and Maintenance to New Equipment Fuel Salt Capital Costs New Building to Deliver Program Capital Equipment Subtotal: $19,800,000.00 Preliminary Program Cost: $23,947,050.00 $7,000,100.00 $225,000.00 $388,200.00 $33,800.00 It should be noted that $4.15 million for operating costs for the six months of winter control would result in an increase of approximately 5.45 percent to the 2023 property tax levy. When annualizing the cost (12 months) for the new full time staff, this would result in an increase of approximately 10.05 percent to the 2023 property tax levy. (Year 1)(Year 1) $7,647,100.00 $10,000,000.00 $9,800,000.00 $19,800,000.00 $27,447,100.00 OPS 04-23 March 6, 2023 Subject: Residential Sidewalk and Driveway Windrow Snow Clearing Review Clearly, the introduction of Option 1, a City-wide Residential Sidewalk and Driveway Windrow Snow Clearing Program using in-house services, would represent a significant expansion of the current level of service and will have significant cost implications. Additionally, as the City continues to grow, this cost will grow every year with the addition of new residential units in Pickering. Option 2 – A City-wide Residential Sidewalk and Drivewa y Windrow Snow Clearing Program Delivered as a Contracted Service The City currently uses a contract service for snow removal of municipal parking lots and for the Seniors & Persons with Disabilities Snow Clearing Program. The benefit of using a contract service for these tasks arises from the City’s avoidance of the capital cost and maintenance of the vehicles and equipment required for the six months of winter control; the staff needed to operate the equipment; and, the additional facility needed for what is a seasonal program. The preliminary cost estimate for Option 2, a Residential Sidewalk and Driveway Windrow Snow Clearing Program delivered by a contract service to all Pickering households, is estimated to be $7,420,000.00 per winter season (37,100 households x $200.00 per season; based on an average of 10 winter events). It should be noted that $7.4 million for operating costs would result in an increase of approximately 9.73 percent to the 2023 property tax levy. It is anticipated that contracted service provider would require a long-term contract from the City due to the investment in the capital equipment required to deliver this program. Staff would also anticipate that any contract would require a baseline guaranteed annual contract fee with a fee adjustment based on the total number of winter events, above the baseline, in that winter season. Once again, as the City continues to grow, the cost to implement Option 2 will grow every year to accommodate new residential units in Pickering into the program. Option 3 – Expand the City’s Existing Seniors & Persons with Disabilities Snow Clearing Program The Seniors & Persons with Disabilities Snow Clearing Program is currently a contracted service carried in the annual Current Budget in the amount of $299,200.00 and with a revenue of $26,250.00 from registrant fees. Registration into the program is currently capped at 500 applicants. Each year, the contracted service provider is reimbursed by the number of call out events based on the scheduled rates set out in the contract. In this way, the actual program cost could fall below or above the budgeted allotment depending on the number of snow events that winter. The average number of full service call outs provided by the contracted service provider is ten events per year and their response threshold is triggered by 5 cm of snow or icy conditions as determined by City staff inspections. Should the City wish to expand the City’s existing Seniors & Persons with Disabilities Snow Clearing Program to be free to all Pickering property owners age 60 years and older, the cost to contract this service would be approximately $3,400,000.00 per winter season (approximately 5,000 applicants x $68.00 per household (driveway windrow + one sidewalk) x 10 winter events). It should be noted that expanding this existing program would result in an increase of approximately 4.47 percent to the 2023 property tax levy. OPS 04-23 March 6, 2023 Subject: Residential Sidewalk and Driveway Windrow Snow Clearing Review Financial Implications: Option 1: Public Works provides winter services annually for a six month duration beginning on November 1st and ending on April 30th. The introduction of a Citywide Residential Sidewalk and Driveway Windrow Snow Clearing Program would be staffed by Public Works, and supported by Municipal Law Enforcement Services and Customer Care, utilizing new full time staff and the required equipment. Below is a more detailed financial breakdown of estimated costs to implement Option 1 to additional staff (labour, benefits, overtime and on-call costs included), new vehicles, new equipment, annual operating costs for vehicle repairs and maintenance, and the additional supply of fuel and salt to deliver this program. Public Works’ Annual Operating Costs for Staff: Public Works Administration 6 Month Cost 12 Month Cost 1 Administrative Assistance $48,085.00 $96,170.00 1 Clerk $39,371.00 $78,742.00 1 Customer Care Rep. $37,701.00 $75,402.00 Subtotal: $125,157.00 Subtotal: $250,314.00 Roads 24 Maintenance Worker $1,256,929.00 $2,513,858.00 2 Lead Hand $124,549.00 $249,098.00 1 Foreperson $69,813.00 $139,626.00 1 Supervisor $75,118.00 $150,236.00 Subtotal: $1,526,409.00 Subtotal: $3,052,818.00 Parks & Property 24 Maintenance Worker $1,256,929.00 $2,513,858.00 2 Lead Hand $129,556.00 $259,119.00 1 Foreperson $69,813.00 $139,626.00 1 Supervisor $78,118.00 $156,236.00 Subtotal: $1,534,416.00 Subtotal: $3,068,832.00 Fleet 2 Mechanic $76,677.00 $153,354.00 1 Engine Repair Mechanic $39,541.00 $79,082.00 Subtotal: $116,218.00 Subtotal: $232,436.00 Total: $3,302,200.00 Total: 6,604,400.00 Please Note: the cost for additional/new staff reflects the direct cost to deliver the residential sidewalk and windrow program for six months (November 1st to April 30th) and the balance of the year working on Public Works’ regular service delivery. These costs could be partially offset by substantial reductions in seasonal staff (terms and students). OPS 04-23 March 6, 2023 Subject: Residential Sidewalk and Driveway Windrow Snow Clearing Review Public Works’ Initial Capital Costs: Roads 30 Windrow Tractor (Front Mount Harness & Drop Down Scissor Plow) $5,250,000.00 2 Small Plow Truck with salter $200,000.00 Subtotal: $5,425,000.00 Parks & Property 15 Sidewalk Plow with Salt Spreader and Front Mount Plow $3,375,000.00 2 Small Plow Truck with Salter $200,000.00 3 One Ton Dump Truck with Front Mount Plow and Salt Conveyor $525,00.00 Subtotal: $4,100,000.00 Fleet 1 Service Truck with Service Body and Crane $275,000.00 Total: $9,800,000.00 Public Works’ Annual Operating Costs: Public Works Repairs & Maintenance to New Equipment $225,000.00 Fuel $388,200.00 Salt $33,800.00 Total: $647,000.00 Municipal Law Enforcement Services’ Costs: Staff *3 PTT By-Law Enforcement Officers $395,700.00 **2 PTT Parking Control Officers $TBD Subtotal: $395,700.00 Other Operating Costs Removal of obstructions partially recovered by tax roll billing $1,000,000.00 ***Towing & Impound and Truck Waiting Times $TBD Total: $1,395,700.00 *One-year contracts which may need to be extended or increased, depending on the number of obstructions to be removed and the number of issues with sidewalks that are obstructed by vehicles. **Unknown cost as hours depend on weather (PTT would be for winter season). May be partially off-set by parking ticket revenue to be determined. ***$80.00 per vehicle and $80.00 per hour waiting/standby. May be off-set by revenue to be determined. Option 2: The preliminary cost estimate to implement a Residential Sidewalk and Driveway Windrow Snow Clearing Program delivered by a contract service to all Pickering households, is estimated to be $7,420,000.00 per winter season (37,100 households x $200.00 per season; based on an average of 10 winter events). It should be noted that $7.4 million for operating costs would result in an increase of approximately 9.73 percent to the 2023 property tax levy. OPS 04-23 March 6, 2023 Subject: Residential Sidewalk and Driveway Windrow Snow Clearing Review Option 3: Should the City wish to expand the City’s existing Seniors & Persons with Disabilities Snow Clearing Program to be free to all Pickering property owners age 60 years and older, the cost to contract this service would be approximately $3,400,000.00 per winter season (approximately 5,000 applicants x $68.00 per household (driveway windrow + one sidewalk) x 10 winter events). It should be noted that $7.4 million for operating costs would result in an increase of approximately 9.73 percent to the 2023 property tax levy. Discussion: A.Background Information: There are currently 418 km of sidewalks in the City of Pickering. Public Works currently provides winter control to 160 km of sidewalks which is divided into 8 routes that are an average of 20 km in length, in accordance with the City’s Sidewalk Winter Control Program. There is one route, which is 0.31 km in total length that is required to be cleared and salted by hand due to location or because the sidewalks cannot be maintained by sidewalk machines. There are approximately 258 km in front of residential units that are the responsibility of the owner to keep clear of snow and ice as per By-law 6650/06 Removal of Ice & Snow from Sidewalks: “Every owner and occupant of any building, either occupied or unoccupied, or vacant land within the boundaries of the Town shall clear away and remove or cause to be cleared away and removed any snow or ice from such sidewalks on the highways in front of, alongside or at the rear of such building or vacant land within twenty-four (24) hours after the accumulation of such snow or ice”. As part of the City’s Winter Program, on residential roads the snow plows will deposit snow at the end of residential driveways. The deposit of this snow, called a windrow, is unavoidable and is currently the responsibility of the resident to remove to allow access to their driveway or road. The City’s current staffing resources for winter control is presented below: Full-Time Part-Time Roads 34 1 Parks & Property 24 1 Total: 58 2 The above staffing levels excludes indirect staff that support winter control events such as supervisory and administrative staff or fleet mechanics that work a regular Monday to Friday day shift. B.City’s existing Winter Control Program Description: Winter control is initiated each year from the beginning of November to the end of April. During this time, staff are also available on a weekly rotation to be on-call which is currently budgeted for $168,000.00 per winter season. Under the Ministry of Transportation, Hours of Service Regulation 555/06, staff are not to exceed 13 hours of driving a commercial vehicle in a 24 hour period and must have 8 consecutive hours off duty once reaching 13 hours of driving or have off 10 hours in a 24 hour period. OPS 04-23 March 6, 2023 Subject: Residential Sidewalk and Driveway Windrow Snow Clearing Review During the winter on-call season, staff will continue to perform regular maintenance duties such as: daily inspections to ensure we meet Minimum Maintenance Standards (MMS); pothole repairs; tree pruning; signs installation; construction and ditching projects (weather permitting); garbage and litter collection; fence repairs; graffiti removal; banner installations; natural outdoor ice rinks (building, maintenance and daily inspections); parks inspections; shrub bed maintenance; boulevard tree pruning/elevations; tree pruning in parks and along fence lines; ice checks and spot salting of sidewalks from freeze thaw conditions; winter festivities preparation (installing tree lighting and light pole displays including removal); and, event support (particularly in November, December and April when there are fewer winter events). Recently, the City has experienced more severe winter storm events that have required many days of clean up after the initial snow fall has stopped, including snow removal on bridges, monolithic sidewalks (a sidewalk which is directly adjacent to the road curb), courts and street corners to address site line issues when required, and the more frequent filling of facility salt boxes. Further, there has been an increased frequency of freezing rain events that result in significant tree damage and require several weeks or more of brush chipping and tree removals. The Operations Department’s current inventory of major equipment utilized for winter control consists of: • 17 plow trucks (including 3 spare plow trucks) • 12 sidewalk plows • 4 one ton trucks for hand routes and filling sidewalk machines • 8 small plow trucks with salters • 2 front end loaders • 2 road graders for northern routes C. Seniors & Persons with Disabilities Snow Clearing Program Description: In addition to the Winter Control Program delivered by in-house staff, the City provides a Seniors & Persons with Disabilities Snow Clearing Program that operates from November 1st to April 30th delivered as a contracted out service. This program accommodates 500 qualified applicants (households), and includes residents in the hamlets of Brougham, Claremont, Greenwood, and Whitevale. The program currently has 400 applicants registered. To qualify for the program, Pickering residents must be 65 years or older, or a person with a medically certified permanent physical or cognitive disability and have no able bodied person under the age of 65 residing at the residence, unless they are able to provide a doctor’s note for said individual to show proof of physical or cognitive disability. A few years ago, Council adopted an “income test” for this program based on the philosophy and or principle of efficient use of scarce “property tax dollars.” Recognizing that property tax dollars should be efficiently employed and utilized, providing a free senior snow clearing program for those individuals and or families that are thriving runs counter to this philosophy. Participation in this program is based on taxable income as verified by the Canada Revenue Agency or CRA. For those individuals and or families, whose income is below $133,141.00, they are eligible to participate. The average income in Pickering is approximately, $99,700.00 OPS 04-23 March 6, 2023 Subject: Residential Sidewalk and Driveway Windrow Snow Clearing Review and therefore, the income bar for the senior snow program was set above average to allow more participants in the program. The contractor is dispatched after the snow has stopped and when minimum snow accumulations of five centimeters, from a single snow event are reached or icy conditions exist caused by freezing rain or wet snow/rain immediately followed by a flash freeze. The program states that the service is not initiated until City plows have completed their routes; although, our practice is to dispatch the contractor once 75 percent of the roads have been plowed. Once initiated, it typically takes the contractor 24 hours to complete — significant snow events of 20 cm or more or heavy wet snow will lengthen the anticipated completion time. The contractor is dispatched by City staff once winter patrol inspections verify the program criteria is met. The service provided in this program clears the driveway apron including the windrow, (approximately 12 ft. by 12 ft. portion of the driveway adjacent to the street), a 3 ft. wide path up the driveway to the closest house entry and all sidewalks fronting and adjacent to the property (see Attachment 1). The program does not include clearing the whole driveway. Residents can opt out of salt applications to the cleared portion of their driveway but not the public sidewalk. Over a five year period, the contractor has been dispatched an average of ten times per year. D. Review of Options for an Increased Level of Service for Snow Removal in the City Option 1 – City-wide Residential Sidewalk and Driveway Windrow Snow Clearing Program Delivered as an In-house Service (via City of Pickering staff) Public W orks consists of four sections—Roads, Parks & Property, Fleet, and Administration— each of which have a role in the proposed Residential Sidewalk and Driveway Windrow Snow Clearing Program. The Parks & Property team is currently set up with dedicated equipment to clear City sidewalks (not residential, unless it is designated as a main sidewalk or monolithic sidewalk where no boulevard exists) and the snow is pushed by sidewalk plows towards City property as snow clearing occurs. This team would be responsible for the expansion of the current sidewalk clearing program to add all residential sidewalks (except condominiums and any other sidewalks within private property). The Roads’ team utilizes dedicated equipment to clear roadways of snow and ice in a winter event. This team would be responsible for clearing residential driveway windrows as the work task would be completed by road licensed heavy equipment accessing the windrow from the road side of the residential driveway apron. The Fleet team consists of mechanics and support staff that are responsible for the regular preventative and emergency repair of all winter control equipment. Staff are also on-call and will staff the municipal garage during a winter control event, out of regular hours, to support ongoing winter control activities. The Administration team supports winter activities including Public Works embedded Customer Care staff; however, these activities are limited to regular hours of work. This increase in OPS 04-23 March 6, 2023 Subject: Residential Sidewalk and Driveway Windrow Snow Clearing Review service may impact the City’s after hours service provider. We anticipate a higher than normal volume of calls to our after hours’ service provider during and after winter events, and as such, financial implications should be considered. Residents may also have an expectation that enhanced snow clearing will occur within a certain timeframe that is suitable to them. The introduction of this program cannot guarantee response times. i. Residential Sidewalk Snow Clearing The Parks & Property team currently has 8 sidewalk routes averaging 20 km per route, clearing a total of 160 km of designated sidewalks and trails. The routes are planned to be cleared within eight hours for an average snowfall winter event. Sidewalks often need to be plowed a second time in a continuing snow fall or due to freeze and thaw causing ice formation of sidewalks already plowed. Bridge decks and monolithic sidewalks are often plowed back in by road plows requiring an additional service. After 13 hours of driving time, plow operators are mandated to stop work for a rest break of 8 consecutive hours. Parks & Property has a total of 22 full-time staff qualified to operate sidewalk machines. They are supported by a five ton truck with a conveyor to fill the salt hoppers in the field to avoid time consuming trips back to the salt dome located at the Operations Centre. Another one ton truck is required to fill facility salt boxes and assist with filling sidewalk machines. Additionally, Parks & Property have a designated hand route that uses hand operated snow blowers for some locations that cannot accommodate a sidewalk plow. The addition of all residential sidewalks in Pickering into the existing program would require the following resources for 13 new sidewalk routes: • 15 additional sidewalk plows (2 spares minimum required) • 3 modified 1 ton dump trucks for filling additional sidewalk machines • 24 new full-time Maintenance Workers, Parks & Property positions • 2 new Lead Hand, Parks & Property positions • 1 new Supervisor, Parks & Property position ii. Residential Driveway Windrow Snow Clearing The City does not offer residential windrow snow clearing with the exception of the Seniors & Persons with Disabilities Snow Clearing Program provided as a contracted service. The Roads team currently has 14 urban and 4 rural plow routes. Salting routes takes three to four hours to complete and plowing takes eight to ten hours to complete. Graders plow rural gravel roads which are sanded, not salted. Winter control starts when there is 2 cm of snow on roads, this being determined by road patrol staff that are on-call during the full winter on-call season. In 2019, Council directed staff to increase the level of service for winter control, as detailed in Report CS 31-19. This increase in level of service provided for additional staff and equipment to reduce the time to complete winter control. Since full implementation in 2021, the City only failed to meet this new standard on one occasion, being the exceptional snow storm on January 17, 2022. The enhanced winter control plan of 2019 included expansion of the Direct Liquid Application (DLA) or salt brine of roads that has been very successful. Two purpose OPS 04-23 March 6, 2023 Subject: Residential Sidewalk and Driveway Windrow Snow Clearing Review built brine trucks, with metered application nozzles, will be delivered and be in service prior to the 2023/2024 winter control season. The set up for a residential windrow clearing program of all homes in Pickering would require a new type of equipment not currently in the City’s inventory of winter control equipment. The program would be set up to clear windrows from approximately 37,100 driveways and would consist of 28 routes averaging 1,325 driveways per route. The following resources would be required: • 30 windrow tractors • 2 small plow trucks with salters • 24 new full-time Maintenance Workers, Roads positions • 2 new Lead Hands, Roads positions • 1 new Foreperson, Roads position • 1 new Supervisor, Roads position iii. Other Considerations Fleet Services operates out of the Operations Centre and are responsible for the regular preventative maintenance and emergency repairs of the City’s inventory of vehicles and equipment. The current inventory consists of 126 vehicles and 98 pieces of equipment of which 75 vehicles are directly involved in winter control response. Fleet Services’ current compliment of mechanics is one Foreperson, one Lead Hand, seven Mechanics, two Apprentice Mechanics, one Repairperson, one Small Equipment person, and one Serviceperson, Municipal Garage. The service garage has 16 repair bays with 6 hoists. The Fleet Services’ staffing summary is presented below. In addition, two mechanics are on call for winter events and will staff the garage during out of hours winter control events to ensure emergency repairs are completed in a timely manner to return vehicles and equipment back into service. During this time, staff are also available on a weekly rotation to be on-call which is currently budgeted for $12,000.00 per winter season. With the addition of 55 vehicles and equipment for the Residential Sidewalk and Driveway Windrow Snow Clearing Program, Fleet Services would require the addition of three Mechanics and two additional on-call staff for our off-hours winter event support. This additional increase is beyond the capacity of the existing Operation Centre to accommodate. Job Title # of Positions Foreperson 1 Lead Hand 1 Licensed Mechanic 7 Apprentice Mechanic 2 Repair Person 1 Small Equip. Person 1 Service Person 1 Total: 14 OPS 04-23 March 6, 2023 Subject: Residential Sidewalk and Driveway Windrow Snow Clearing Review New full-time staff hired to staff the City’s new Residential Sidewalk and Driveway Windrow Snow Clearing Program will need to work on other non-winter control duties for the other six months of the year. This may result in new full-time staff taking over the duties currently provided by seasonal students and term staff. Adding to existing levels of service would require an investment in additional vehicles and equipment resources for assigned work tasks. Displacing the existing seasonal workforce with full-time staff would be at a significant increase in the Salaries & Wages budget including overtime for evening and weekend coverage that is currently covered by students and term staff. Municipal Law Enforcement Services work in collaboration with Public Works during winter control events to assist when cars parked on roads are preventing or blocking plowing activities. Often when cars are parked on both sides of a street, plow truck access is not possible, leaving the entire street without service until the vehicles are moved and the plow can return for service. Plow trucks are very difficult to reverse safely in residential streets and blocked streets can seriously impact the timing of an entire route. Municipal Law Enforcement Services’ support staff would need to assist in the removal of vehicles overhanging the sidewalk or at the bottom of driveways too close to the windrow zone that would prevent plowing. Residents’ vehicles overhanging sidewalks that the resident is responsible for clearing, may be a nuisance to pedestrian, but any hindrance to their sidewalk snow clearing is within their own control. Once sidewalk plows are mobilized for residential sidewalk clearing, these encroachments will prevent snow clearing and present a risk of damage to inappropriately parked vehicles. Towing and impounding of vehicles is not a practical solution due to the staffing resources required and the costs of having tow trucks on stand-by for this process. Ticketing does have a deterrent value but does not have an immediate impact as vehicles remain parked after ticketing. Parking tickets would be issued to vehicles obstructing the sidewalk and additionally a notice to clear the ice/snow would be issued to the homeowner. The new Residential Sidewalk and Driveway Windrow Snow Clearing Program will need additional support staff from Municipal Law Enforcement Services to assist in notices of encroachment onto road allowances that would prevent sidewalk clearing or present a risk of driver injury hazard to sidewalk plow drivers (see Attachment 2 consisting of photos taken by staff of encroachment examples throughout the City). There will still be the need to issue notices and provide homeowners an opportunity to clear the ice and snow from sidewalks under a new by-law. Currently, there is no requirement for a resident to clear snow deposited on the road by the plows. It does not seem logical to issue notices to residents requiring that they clear the windrow. The suggested solution is that any windrow snow removal that is OPS 04-23 March 6, 2023 Subject: Residential Sidewalk and Driveway Windrow Snow Clearing Review obstructed by a vehicle results in the City not clearing that windrow. The plow would skip those residences and only clear the ones they could clear safely. Customer Care staff field and respond to a large amount of calls during winter events. Some are enquiries needing explanation or education by trained staff, some are level of service complaints needing timely corrective action, and others are requests for repairs to damage caused by plowing activities. With the Residential Sidewalk and Driveway Windrow Snow Clearing Program increase in service and the heavy equipment deployed throughout the City, we anticipate many more calls regarding sod and driveway damage, salt burn and grass damage, vehicle and hard landscape encroachment, enforcement and the like. Based on the increase in the City-wide service, there will be a need to increase the staffing of the Customer Care team to deal with the increasing issues that will arise from the Residential Sidewalk and Windrow Snow Clearing Program. The City of Pickering is currently developing a Digital Strategy and pending the outcome, there may be opportunities to enhance and/or automate some public-facing Customer Care Centre touchpoints. However, it should be noted that the Digital Strategy is entirely contingent on future budgets and may see a phased in roll out of approximately two to seven years after the strategy is completed and endorsed. For example, one of the potential automation options could be a self-serve citizen portal that will be integrated with the Customer Care Centre and AMANDA. In the interim, staff will continue to investigate short term opportunities to reduce caller wait times during winter storm events. iv. Operations Centre Capacity Construction of the Operations Centre was completed in July 2019 at a cost of $26,000,000. CAO memo 37-13, dated May 1, 2013, identified the need for a satellite facility in the time period of 2028-2030. This need was revised to 2024 after the original designs for the new Operations Centre was reduced in size prior to tender and the Northern Satellite Operation’s facility added to the Capital Budget forecast with design in 2024 and construction in 2025. This additional facility is needed for both Seaton growth and to be the home base for operations specific to the maintenance of gravel routes mostly located north of Taunton Road. The Operations Centre in nearing capacity and needs the displacement of staff and equipment to the Northern Satellite Operation facility to leverage the growth space needed for the development of Seaton and other new development. The existing Operations’ facility has no current capacity to accommodate the additional staff, vehicles and equipment necessary to deliver a City-wide Residential Sidewalk and Driveway Windrow Snow Clearing Program. A new dedicated facility would need to be constructed on land yet to be identified to house this new program. The land on Highway 7 identified for the Northern Satellite Operation’s facility requires further investigation and consideration of expanding the proposed facility to incorporate the new program will need to be fully explored. The existing sand/salt storage building at the Operations Centre holds 1,970 tonnes of salt for all winter control activities. The building was sized to allow a four to six week capacity of salt providing a reserve buffer should a supply chain issue severely impact the supply of salt. In the middle of a typical winter, the salt supply is replenished before it is below 50 percent capacity OPS 04-23 March 6, 2023 Subject: Residential Sidewalk and Driveway Windrow Snow Clearing Review to maintain this strategic reserve. In January and February, the salt is replenished every two weeks. The new City-wide Residential Sidewalk and Windrow Snow Clearing Program would require an additional 338 tonnes of salt use per year. Taking this from our existing sand/salt capacity would reduce our strategic salt reserve. Likewise, with our fuel storage capacity, the Operation Centre has its own fuel fill station to fill all City-owned vehicles including Public Works, Fire Services, Community Services and City Development. The on-site tank capacity is 25,000 litres of gasoline and 25,000 of diesel. This provides us with a three weeks minimum reserve if we maintain a tanks at a minimum of 50 percent capacity. The City-wide residential sidewalk and windrow snow clearing program will require an additional fuel usage of approximately 13,000 litres per week. This will effectively half our strategic fuel reserve. Fuel reserve capacity is essential to business continuity in Pubic Works which is an emergency service during a City wide emergency event Option 2– City-wide Residential Sidewalk and Driveway Windrow Snow Clearing Program Delivered as a Contract Service The City currently uses a contract service for facilities parking lot snow removal and for the Seniors & Persons with Disabilities Snow Clearing Program. The benefit of using a contract service for these tasks arises from the City’s avoidance of the capital cost and maintenance of the vehicles and equipment needed for the six months of winter control, the staff needed to operate the equipment, and the additional storage space needed for what is for just seasonal use equipment. The vendors that provide this type of service may be able to leverage a proportion of the service using owner/operators of pickup trucks to provide the necessary coverage without the capital costs of equipment ownership. The number of snow events annually can vary significantly in both number and the time of day. The Residential Sidewalk and Driveway Windrow Snow Clearing Program would have to be fully developed prior to release for competitive tender to secure a vendor for the new program. With the level of equipment and vehicles needed to deliver this program, and taking into consideration the training of staff, the program would probably need a 9 to 12 months’ period from the issue of a contract to the roll out of the new service. The level of investment that a vendor will need to make in specialized equipment would require a commitment, subject to performance, of a multi-year contract. The City would have to have additional staff to supervise the program, inspect the work to ensure compliance with the program deliverables and deal with residents’ feedback. The City of Toronto has 15 contracts that provide snow clearing and salting of sidewalks using 237 sidewalk machines, providing service for 6,070 km sidewalks. Toronto recently completed a pilot program to add the remaining 1,111 km of narrow sidewalks, previously excluded, using a fleet of 59 specialized Holder x45i sidewalk plows and 17 support vehicles. This narrow sidewalk program is delivered using 86 City staff. The City of Pickering has 11.2 km of narrow sidewalks and although the locations are spread throughout the City, it would seem practical to add the winter control of the narrow sidewalk inventory to the contracted out service should that be the preferred delivery method. OPS 04-23 March 6, 2023 Subject: Residential Sidewalk and Driveway Windrow Snow Clearing Review From the research to date (Attachment 3), staff can confirm that none of the municipalities in Durham Region provide a Residential Sidewalk and Driveway Windrow Snow Clearing Program other than some form of Seniors & Persons with Disabilities Snow Clearing Program similar to ours. The City of Toronto acquired some of the sidewalk clearing programs in Etobicoke, North York and Scarborough during amalgamation and have over the past few years added this service in phases to the remainder of the GTA. The scale of their operation and number of service providers does not allow any reasonable cost comparison to the services and program needed to implement this service in the City of Pickering. Vaughan has a partial Residential Sidewalk and Windrow Snow Clearing Program, removing snow from 1,200 kms of sidewalks. Richmond Hill clears residential sidewalks and started work on a windrow program in 2014 which was fully implemented in 2020. Windrow programs delivered in other communities only clear a three meter width (one car) for access and only initiate a residential sidewalk response when eight centimeters of snow accumulates. To date, we can find no other similar sized municipal program from which to benchmark the development of a Residential Sidewalk and Windrow Snow Clearing Program for the City of Pickering. Staff will need to reach out to other communities to design a new program for the City of Pickering. Based on the available information from related communities, staff would estimate the cost of a contracted out service program to be approximately $200.00 per household given a total budget of the service at $7.4 million per year. It is anticipated that vendors would require a long-term contract due to the vendor’s investment in the capital equipment required to deliver this program. Staff would also anticipate that any contract would require a baseline guaranteed annual contract fee with a fee adjustment based on the total number of winter events, above the baseline, in that season. Option 3 – Expand the Existing Seniors & Persons with Disabilities Snow Clearing Program Bearing in mind the foregoing discussion on the delivery of a City-wide Residential Sidewalk and Driveway Windrow Snow Clearing Program and the challenges that will influence the roll out date of a program using an in-house or contracted out delivery model, there could be some discussion regarding a potential expansion of the City’s existing Seniors & Persons with Disabilities Snow Clearing Program. The existing program requires a fee of $72.00 or $109.00 per year (GAINS recipients are provided the service at no fee). The program is not available to those that are above the $133,142.00 net income threshold. This program could be expanded by all, or part of, the following criteria: • Reduce the age eligibility to 60 and over. • Remove the registration fee. • Remove the ineligibility to register condition if an able bodied person under 60 resides at the address. • Increase, or remove, the cap number of eligible registrants. The annual Current Budget for this program is carried in the draft 2023 Current Budget at $299,200.00 for the contracted service and $26,250.00 in revenue from registrants which is currently capped at 500 households. This number is a budget and the contracted service provider is reimbursed by the number of call out events based on the scheduled rates set out OPS 04-23 March 6, 2023 Subject: Residential Sidewalk and Driveway Windrow Snow Clearing Review in the contract. The average number of full service call outs provided by the contracted service provider is ten events per year and their response threshold is triggered by 5 cm of snow or icy conditions as determined by City staff inspections. A revised Seniors & Persons with Disabilities Snow Clearing Program would have to be developed and tender documents prepared for a new program. The existing vendor is in the final year of the contract and a new tender will have to be released this summer to secure a new contract for the start of the 2023/2024 winter control season. The ability of a vendor to provide a contracted service will depend on their ability to hire staff, source equipment and have a suitable staging location. Depending on the number of anticipated eligible registrants, it may be necessary to phase in the enhanced service over multiple years. Moreover, total numbers in the program may trigger consideration of more than one vendor. Should this option be favoured, more research is required to fully exam and detail this program expansion to best meet residents’ expectations, safety, and best practices. Time will be required to provide notices to residents to remove encroachments that would cause damage to equipment or a risk to plow operators’ safety. E. Regardless of the Options presented in this report, there are some key challenges for Council to consider which includes: i. Service Roll-out Considerations The option for the City to provide the Residential Sidewalk and Driveway Windrow Snow Clearing Program cannot be accommodated from the existing Operations Centre facility. Sidewalk plows have to be stored in the tempered storage bay which is already at 90 percent capacity. The building was planned to deliver the current winter control program and will exceed maximum staff occupancy with the additional 62 staff to deliver the Residential Sidewalk and Windrow Snow Clearing Program. The need for substantial additional salt and fuel storage capacity and exterior vehicle parking with block heater outlets for windrow plows all indicate a dedicated new facility would need to be designed and constructed to deliver this new program. Acquisition of land, design, and construction is a three to four year process. Consideration must also be given to the acquisition of the new equipment needed to deliver the program. Much of the equipment is in an extended timeline of 12 to 16 months delivery from date of receipt of the purchase order, and time must be allowed to prepare bid documents and tender. Hiring and training of new staff must take place at least two months prior to the start of the seasonal winter control on-call schedule. It typically takes staff two seasons of plowing experience to be considered fully competent to be assigned to a regular plow route. Using a contracted service to provide a Residential Sidewalk and Driveway Windrow Snow Clearing Program will need to build into the roll out schedule and provide sufficient time for the vendor to acquire the necessary vehicles and equipment and to hire and train staff. Unless they are permitted to do this in a phased roll out, it seems unlikely that the procurement process, starting after budget approval, will allow sufficient time to provide service for the 2023/2024 winter control season that starts on November 1st. OPS 04-23 March 6, 2023 Subject: Residential Sidewalk and Driveway Windrow Snow Clearing Review New development in Seaton and future proposed residential communities will greatly increase the amount of sidewalks and residential windrows added to any enhanced level of service. In Seaton, there will be 16.6 km of new sidewalks in 2023, and current forecast projections of 9.5 km of new sidewalks between 2024 and 2026 (which are expected to significantly increase once developed out). Other proposed residential communities could easily account for another 50 km or more of sidewalks and trails. Future budgets for staffing levels, vehicles and equipment would have to increase proportionally and yearly to accommodate growth to maintain consistent levels of service. Expansion of the Seniors & Persons with Disabilities Snow Clearing Program to include a much broader eligibility of applicants may be feasible for roll out for the 2023/2024 winter control season although final numbers for this program will need to be determined. The total number of vehicles, equipment and staff for this option would be significantly less than a City in-house program, and therefore could be implemented in a more timely manner. That said, the financial impact to implement Option 3 is still significant and will grow with the City’s aging population and rapid residential growth. ii. Program Challenges There are challenges that need to be fully addressed and incorporated into a Residential Sidewalk and Driveway Windrow Snow Clearing Program. Staff anticipate an initial increase in Customer Care activity once a new program is implemented. It is essential that the program speaks to the anticipated residents’ concerns, particularly regarding encroachments, and parking and plow damage. Currently, encroachments and driveway parking do not impact City plow operations on residential sidewalks and driveways; and therefore, enforcement is generally only in response to complaints. With a risk of equipment damage or operator injury during a City sidewalk snow clearing program, it will be necessary to initiate proactive enforcement. An appropriate time for residents to remove encroachments prior to the roll out of the program will need to be identified and provided through all communication platforms. The road allowance is defined as the area between the road and the property line and is typically 33 feet from the centerline of the road towards the residence. Minimum Maintenance Standards (MMS) dictates that there be no encroachments within 45 cm (17.7 inches) from the back of the sidewalk. The 45 cm setback may not sound significant but especially in the newer communities, vehicles parking tight to their garage door are still parking right up to the sidewalk in some cases, as the driveways are very short. Enforcing this setback requirement may leave some residents with no parking spaces at all. All encroachments into this space must be removed. Curbs, retaining walls, hedges and the like could pose serious injury risk to plow operators and ornamental encroachments that would be damaged by plows must be removed as the City can bear no responsibility for damage for any item encroaching a sidewalk or within the road allowance. OPS 04-23 March 6, 2023 Subject: Residential Sidewalk and Driveway Windrow Snow Clearing Review Staff would have to inspect all sidewalks and have Municipal Law Enforcement Services issue enforcement notices to remove encroachments prior to the start of initiating this enhanced service of winter control. It may be possible to provide residents with the ability to opt out of the program; however, more work is needed to develop the logistics for that option. There will be a need for increased staffing to first address the obstructions which may need to be removed. Some of these may have existed for a long time or have been approved by the City. This will create challenges in having them removed. There may be legal challenges if the City has approved the installation of items or if they predate the by-law. iii. Other program considerations include: • Cars parked with any part of the vehicle overhanging the sidewalk or driveway apron will have to be moved. A public education program would have to precede sidewalk service but offenders would have to get parking enforcement tickets. Sidewalk clearing services cannot be provided where parked vehicles prevent access to the full width and length of the sidewalk. Municipal Law Enforcement Services would need additional staff to support a sidewalk clearing program for parking enforcement. Vehicles cannot be parked at the bottom of driveways as this would prevent the windrow plow from clearing the windrow. The inability to park a vehicle on the apron of the driveway will result in more vehicles being parked on the roads, and thus causing a problem for the road plows. Currently, residents are encouraged to park on the driveway apron during storms to get their vehicles off of the roads. By-law 6650/06 would need to be updated to identify sidewalks or windrows that are blocked and unable to be serviced, which would remain the responsibility of the resident to clear within 24 hours. • Sidewalk plows will spread salt in both snow and ice conditions. This salt will inevitably cause some turf destruction, particularly on the low side of the sidewalk. The City or contractor should not be responsible for repair and reinstatement of salt damaged grass. • Many residents do not edge the grass at sidewalk and have significant growth overhanging the concrete sidewalk—this is considered an encroachment. Regular topdressing has resulted in many lawns being two to three inches higher than the sidewalk, which will result in significant turf damage from the sidewalk plows. The sidewalk plow will inadvertently peel back and damage turf that encroaches the sidewalk. The repair of such damage would be residents’ responsibility. The ban of pesticide use has encouraged residents to continually top-dress and over seed their lawns to contend with weeds. OPS 04-23 March 6, 2023 Subject: Residential Sidewalk and Driveway Windrow Snow Clearing Review • The clearing of sidewalks would start once 5 cm of snow has accumulated, regardless of the time of day. There is a concern that heavy sidewalk equipment on residential sidewalks during school start and end would add significant safety challenges. Children and sidewalk equipment on the same residential sidewalks is a significant risk. Due to the duration needed to clear snow, suspension of plowing activities at these times is not feasible. • The City currently has 11.2 km of narrow sidewalks that are unable to accommodate the sidewalk plow used by the City to clear snow and ice. If narrow sidewalks were added to a Residential Sidewalk and Driveway Windrow Snow Clearing Program, these routes would have to be cleared as hand routes. The City of Toronto has sourced custom built narrow sidewalk plows for their new program. Staff would need to review the equipment and availability for our application. • Snow clearing of sidewalks will occur as needed and will include heavy equipment activities potentially throughout the night on sidewalks in front of the homes of sleeping residents. At times this activity will be unavoidable. • The City By-law 6650/06 clearing of snow and ice will have to be amended or revoked as this by-law currently puts the obligation on residents to clear snow and ice from sidewalks. • The sidewalk plow will form a smaller windrow on the driveway abutting the sidewalk that cannot be removed by a road windrow clearing program and would remain the residents’ responsibility to clear. • The majority of residents still clear snow by hand. This will be replaced by a fleet of snow clearing equipment that will increase the City’s carbon footprint and is less sustainable than snow shoveling by hand. • The Seniors & Persons with Disabilities Snow Clearing Program will have to be amended to recognize that there is an overlap between the existing level of service and the proposed Residential Sidewalk and Driveway Windrow Snow Clearing Program. OPS 04-23 March 6, 2023 Subject: Residential Sidewalk and Driveway Windrow Snow Clearing Review Attachments: 1. Seniors & Persons with Disabilities Snow Clearing Program 2. Encroachment Photos taken in Pickering by Staff 3. Municipal Benchmarking Prepared By: Approved/Endorsed By: Original Signed By: Original Signed By: Brian Duffield Stan Karwowski, MBA, CPA, CMA Director, Operations Director, Finance & Treasurer BD:nm Recommended for the consideration of Pickering City Council Original Signed By: Marisa Carpino, M.A. Chief Administrative Officer Seniors & Persons w ith Disabilities Snow Clearing Program 905.683.7575 customercare@pickering.ca pickering.ca Program Highlights The registration period for the 2022/2023 program is from September 12 to October 14, 2022. The program operates from November 1, 2022 to April 30, 2023. Program accommodates 500 (households); including the hamlets of Brougham, Claremont, Greenwood & Whitevale. Program Fee Schedule: Single/Family Income Level Receipt of Guaranteed Annual Income Supplement (GAINS) $0.00 Net Income – less than $81,761 $63.72 + HST = $72.00 Net Income between $81,762 and $133,141 $96.46 + HST = $109.00 Net Income over $133,142 Not Eligible GAINS (Guaranteed Annual Income System) recipients are exempt from the program fee (proof is required: copy of Government of Canada letter, T5007 document, cheque stub ). Applicants with proof of permanent physical or cognitive disability will be given priority. An electronic lottery system will be used for the remaining available spaces if we exceed the program capacity. Do I Qualify? In order to qualify, you must meet the following criteria: You are over the age of 65, or if under 65 years, have proof of permanent physical or cognitive disability. You live within the urban area of Pickering (south of Taunton Road), or within the hamlets of Brougham, Claremont, Greenwood & Whitevale. There is no one under the age of 65 residing in your home (with the exception of a person with a permanent physical or cognitive disability). Be the registered owner on title for the property (proof required). Attachment 1 to Report OPS 04-23 Seniors & Persons w ith Disabilities Snow Clearing Program 905.683.7575 customercare@pickering.ca pickering.ca How do I apply for the 2022/2023 program?  Mail in a completed application, with all supporting documentation, including a cheque, post-dated to October 14, 2022, and made payable to the City of Pickering, in time to meet the registration deadline of October 14, 2022.  Please note: If you prefer, you may mail in your application and supporting documents, or you can put them in the drop box that is located between City Hall and the Library. Customer Care staff will contact you if additional information is required. All confident ial documentation will be shredded once it has been reviewed.  Post-dated cheques are the preferred method of payment; but payment can also be made at City Hall.  We will let you know if your application has been selected before we process your cheque. If your application is not selected, your cheque will be returned to you promptly. If payment is made by other methods and you are not confirmed in the program, refunds can take up to 6 weeks to process.  Refunds will not be issued once you have been confirmed in the program.  An administration fee will be applied for payments not cleared b y your financial institution.  Refer to the application for additional details, or contact our Customer Care Centre staff. Register by mail: Pickering City Hall Customer Care Centre One The Esplanade Pickering, ON L1V 6K7 In Person: Customer Care Centre Monday to Friday 8:30 am – 4:30 pm After-hours: At the Drop Box located outdoors, between City Hall & Central Library Application Checklist Please be sure to include the following supporting documents with your application form:  Gains Receipt – please provide one of the following: Copy of Government of Canada letter, T5007 document, or cheque stub.  2021 Income Tax Assessment (sent from Revenue Canada after your taxes have been filed) – one for each person registered on the title for the home .  Medical documentation for participants with permanent physical or cognitive disability (if not on file). Seniors & Persons w ith Disabilities Snow Clearing Program 905.683.7575 customercare@pickering.ca pickering.ca If the program is full, we may be able to connect you with a volunteer service through our Youth Volunteer Program. Attachment 2 to Report OPS 04-23 Vehicles and Electric Box Obstucting the Roadways and Sidewalks Attachment 2 to Report OPS 04-23 Landscaping Encroachments Attachment 2 to Report OPS 04-23 Stair, Fence, Planter and Hedge Encroachments Attachment 2 to Report OPS 04-23 Narrow Sidewalks and Retaining Wall Encroachments Attachment 2 to Report OPS 04-23 Curbing Encroachments Municipal Benchmarking Attachment 3 to Report OPS 04-23 Page 1 Municipality Population Residential Sidewalk Program Windrow Program Seniors/Disabled Program Notes Pickering 99,186 no no yes Clears 582 kms of roads and 160 kms of sidewalks. Clarington 101,427 no no yes Provides winter maintenance on 892 km of municipal roads (1,800 lane km) and 354 km of municipal sidewalks. Brantford 104,688 no no yes Provides winter maintenance on 1,136.2 lane kms of roads and 79.2 kms of sidewalks. Ajax 126,666 no no yes Clears 400 kms of roads and 150 kms of sidewalks. Kingston 132,485 no no yes Provides winter maintenance for 1,800 km of road lanes and 600 km of sidewalks, using 37 road plows and 16 sidewalk plows. Milton 132,979 no no yes Provides winter maintenance for more than 1,615 lane km of regional and town roads and more than 250 km of walkways and sidewalks. Whitby 138,501 no no yes Responsible for clearing over 1,173 lane km of roads, 329 km of sidewalks, 34 km of trails, 295 cul-de-sac locations, 122,000 sq. m parking lots and grooming, and 38 km of trails. Oshawa 175,383 no no yes Notice of motion to add windrows defeated 5:1 February 2022. Burlington 186,948 no no yes Maintains 1,900 km of roads and 850 km of sidewalks. Markham 338,503 no no yes Declined windrow program in 2018 due to cost estimated at $4.4 million annually. Needed 76 additional plow units for the program. Hamilton 569,353 no no yes Provides winter maintenance for 866 km of sidewalks. Municipal Benchmarking Attachment #3 to Report OPS 04-23 Page 2 Municipality Population Residential Sidewalk Program Windrow Program Seniors/Disabled Program Notes Vaughan 323,103 no yes yes Winter maintenance program includes salting, windrow-clearing, plowing and snow removal along more than 2,200 lane km of roads and 1,200 km of sidewalks. Guelph 165,588 yes no yes Clears 701 kms of sidewalks. Residential service after 8cm of snow. Richmond Hill 202,022 yes yes yes 1,079 kms roads plowed. 800 kms sidewalks and 43,490 windrows cleared. 141 winter trained staff, 24 road plows, 35 sidewalk plows and 35 windrow machines. Windrow cost $4.38 million (March 2019 cost) has 15 contracts for sidewalk clearing using 237 sidewalk plows on 6,070 kms of sidewalks. Oakville 213,759 yes no yes 2,000 lane kms roads, 1,100 kms sidewalks. Uses 38 snow plows, 3 graders, 23 sidewalk plows and 213 staff. Clears sidewalks after 8 cm of snow. Toronto 2,794,356 yes yes yes 262,000 of windrows cleared only on roads with no on-street parking, on "wide roads" only and having no obstructions. GTA uses 86 staff to clear 1,111 kms of narrow sidewalks using 59 special small plows. Has contracted services to clear 5,780 km of roads, 7,400 km of sidewalks and 776 km of bikeways and major trails using a fleet of approximately 1,100 pieces of salting and plowing equipment.