KENT: City officials hope an offer of free salt will inspire residents to keep their sidewalks clear this winter.
On Thursday, facing two days of forecast snow, residents were arriving “nonstop” at the city’s Yard Waste facility to fill up their buckets, Public Service Director Gene Roberts said.
It’s the latest in a series of measures taken by the city to coax homeowners into shoveling their walks.
The City Council and a committee of city residents began meeting three years ago to suggest ways of clearing paths for pedestrians and school children.
They dismissed examples of communities they found that levied fines against nonshovelers and opted for positive reinforcement.
An annual award program recognizes shovelers who exceed expectations. The city also makes shovels available for residents to borrow.
Some minor ordinance changes were also made to stop commercial snowplowers from shoving their load onto streets, walks or driveway aprons.
“I’ve been with the city a long time and the last couple of years we’ve seen more residential owner-occupied participation than I’ve ever seen,” Roberts said, adding that there are signs of a few intrepid neighbors who have taken to snowblowing the entire length of their street.
“Residential properties are doing an above average job, and I think it’s in part because of those city programs,” he said.
The salt giveaway program launched last week.
City crews keep a trash container full of rock salt outside the fence to the Yard Waste building, located at the entrance to Plum Creek Park at Cherry Street and Mogadore Road.
The salt is accessible 24 hours a day, and city residents can bring buckets to scoop what they need for use on their sidewalks. Crews will keep an eye on the salt level and refill as needed, but there is a phone number posted at the site for residents to use if they arrive to an empty barrel.
Roberts said the salt is a significant savings for residents. A 60-pound bag of rock salt sells for about $7 retail, he said, but because the city buys in volume, it pays just over 50 cents for the same amount.
“If the cost is what is preventing you from salting the sidewalk, this will take care of that,” he said.
Cameras are trained on the site to make sure contractors are not taking advantage of the offer, and employees have had to shoo off nonresidents looking to fill their buckets.
“It’s an experiment. If it’s not abused by those outside Kent or by commercial firms and is used in a reasonable manner by the residents, we’ll keep doing it,” Roberts said.
Paula Schleis can be reached at 330-996-3741 or pschleis@thebeaconjournal.com. Follow her on Twitter at http://twitter.com/paulaschleis.