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-3- snow and unusually high winds had caused equipment breakdown and a strain on City • crew members, two of whom were trainees. The problem was worsened, Mr. Hamer said, when residents pushed the snow they shoveled or plowed out of their driveways back onto the streets, preventing passage of traffic and reggiiring additional plowing. For the benefit of Councilmembers who were not on the Council thirteen years ago, the department head indicated that at that time, the City had undertaken a program of trying to clean the residential driveways behind the plows, but the service had been discontinued because of complaints from residents that damage to their curbs and lawns had resulted. To revive the program now would probably cost the City a substantial sum for the additional manpower and equipment and insurance which he perceived would be needed to do the job and Mr. Hamer said, encouraging private parties to perform the service would probably not solve the problem since he understood it had been the elderly who had the most difficulty keeping their drive- ways open after the snow plows went through in the last storm and most of them are on fixed incomes and unable to pay for the service. At one time, Community Services had tried to set up a program where Boy Scouts or other youths would do the plowing (shoveling) for seniors on a voluntary basis but the Public Works Director indicated the present generation of seniors were younger then and better off than now and hadn't shown much interest in the program. However, conditions seem to have' changed and many of the senior citizens appear to welcome a little help now and then, he said. Mr. Hamer estimated it would cost the City at least $15 for 10 minutes of plowing to cover the service because his department just doesn't have the manpower or equipment to do everybody's driveway every time the plows go throuh. He told Councilmember Marks a bobcat itself would cost between $7,000 and ?8,000. Because the last storm would have cost a householder $45 to assure his driveway was open at all times Csince the streets were plowed three times in three days) , the Public Works Director said he anticipated there would be no more interest in the service on a cost basis than there had been in the chipping program this summer. He added that conversation with Edina, where the crews use gates on a roadgrader to clean out the driveways, had indicated that city's street department was not at all happy with the program because it fails to get the job done satisfactorily and is a very expensive proposition. Mr. Hamer then indicated he was somewhat disturbed to have the quality of the job his men were doing questioned because he perceived they had worked under very exceptional conditions that weekend. He invited the Councilmembers to ride along with the crews after the next heavy snowfall to see for themselves "what a difficult job it is to clean the streets and rights-of-ways, as the Public Works Department always does". Several Councilmembers indicated they would like to accept his invitation. Since the latest Newsletter was scheduled to be mailed to residents the next day, any explanation regarding the problems the City has keeping the streets cleared was considered impossible at this time, but the Manager said it would be possible to insert a short questionnaire with the mailing to determine just how many people would be willing to pay to have their driveways opened after each snow plowing . He indicated he would return with the results of the survey and an estimate of what the City' s costs would be to provide the service to that number of households. Before the discussion was closed, the Mayor suggested that if the program turned out is to be not economically feasible for the City, there might be some interest on the part of graduating students from the high school to fulfill their community service