Dealing with Snow Removal in a Minnesota HOA A guide to understanding the expectations and realities of snow removal By Gil Cross, GWCross, LLC
W
ith winter upon us, we know that means snow is coming. The following are general guidelines about most snow removal contracts. Please contact your community manager or snow vendor if you have specific questions regarding snow removal in your community. It is important to understand that most snowplowing contractors gear their operation to an average winter with individual snowfalls that are typically in the range of 2 to 6 inches. They do not gear their operations to deal with the worst storm of the season. Truly adverse conditions usually only occur two or three times per winter. Therefore, it is both impractical and very expensive to have and use a fleet of front-end loaders for the typical snowstorm. Remember also, front-end loaders are usually transported by trailer, meaning highway access ramps have to be in decent shape just to get equipment to your site. Although your association’s board of directors and management company do their best to find and use the most qualified snowplowing contractor, Mother Nature is still capable of creating circumstances that can make it extremely difficult to follow the letter of the contract. To be sure, there are circumstances where a contractor’s performance may be unacceptable (like not showing up) and may require a serious review by the board of directors. However, until your association can find a snowplowing contractor with the Godgiven gift of Moses to part the snow in
your driveway like waters of the Red Sea, expect Mother Nature to continue to demonstrate who’s playing with all the aces.
Things to Remember about Snow Removal: The snowplowing contractor is an independent contractor hired by your association. This means the people doing the snowplowing and snow shoveling are not the employees of the association or the management company. Your board of directors and management company do not have any direct control over the snowplowing contractor or his employees. In general, no plowing or shoveling will occur on snowfalls under 2 inches. You should be prepared with a shovel and ice melt (calcium chloride) for these minor snowfalls. Compacted snow and ice can be particularly difficult to deal with for homeowners whose entries face north. The contractor is not expected to chop and remove ice. If you experience this problem, call your management company or board of directors, and they will direct the contractor to apply salt and sand (with board approval). Until snowfall stops, the contractor’s sole obligation is to provide either a single or double plow-width access lane to your address for emergency vehicles. This same procedure applies to the periods of blowing and drifting snow. This does
not guarantee you the ability to get your vehicle out of your driveway. It is only meant to provide assurance those emergency vehicles, such as a police car or ambulance, would be able to get close enough to your address to make a timely response under adverse conditions. Once the snowfall has stopped, the contractor will have 8 to 12 hours (depending on their contract) to complete a cleanup of all drives and parking areas. With snowfalls greater than 6 inches, the cleanup is usually extended an additional 12 hours. Snow shoveling is to be completed within 24 to 36 hours after the snowfall stops, but it may be delayed by sub-zero temperatures or sub-zero wind chills. You are responsible for providing the snow vendor with access to your driveway. If you park your car outside, you will be responsible for removing snow from areas obstructed by your vehicle(s). Despite the contractor’s best efforts, city snowplows may block driveway entrances. Call your management company if this occurs, and they will relay the information to the contractor.
Not All Snowfalls Are the Same: For the most part, the typical snowfall is no problem. Most of us are familiar with the average snowfall with winter storm warnings and all the media hype about 3 to 6 inches expected. It’s typically the kind of stuff that you drive through to get to work and the type of snowfall that would shut down federal offices in Washington, DC for two days. However, there are those occasional snowstorms where looks are deceiving. We look up and say, “Yup, it’s snowing; no problem.” Well, it’s the combination of the deceiving appearance of the alltoo-familiar “white stuff” and a sense of Minnesota pride about our ability to cope with any snowfall that frequently gets us into trouble about what to expect from the association’s snowplowing
Continued on page 19
17
Minnesota Communit y Living