Dixon, Lee prepare 
for 10 inches of snow

DIXON – Area officials are expecting to battle blustery winds and up to 10 inches of snow over the next 2 days, based on a recent snow advisory.

“Hopefully, it’s not as bad as predicted, but we’ll be ready if it is,” said Dave Anderson, Lee County Highway Department engineer.

The Highway Department’s salt supplies and $30,000 staff overtime budget are OK for now.

The county’s 10 plow drivers will cover 10 routes, totaling 220 miles. They will remove the snow first, then come back to spread salt to control the ice, he said.

“We only have one shift,” Anderson said. “Our typical day on a storm event like this we know of, [we go] throughout the night and day, 4 a.m. to 7 p.m.”

Dixon will be clearing nine snow routes, and officials ask residents to be patient.

“Obviously, we’ve got to be out there for the safety of the residents and public,” said Shawn Ortgiesen, director of Public Works. “The motoring public gets used to the roads being clean. Definitely, we want people to be cautious out there ... wait a little bit until we get the streets cleaned.”

By city law, after 2 inches of snowfall, people who park on the streets have 24 to 48 hours to move their vehicles, so plows can clear the roads.

“Before we issue a citation, we’ll contact the resident and have them move that vehicle in 24 hours,” Ortgiesen said. “It’s on the residents to make sure that their cars are moved.”

Street Department Superintendent Mike Stichter said city plows will clear more than 100 miles of roads, sometimes making up to four passes – two up and two down – depending on how much the wind blows.

The city uses a deicing solution mixed with salt when the temperature falls below 15 degrees and pure salt at 15 degrees and higher, Stichter said.

The department so far has spent nearly half of its 2009-10 salt budget of $100,000, and half of its $15,000 overtime budget, Ortgiesen said, noting that February and March remain in this fiscal year.

The city is short snowplow drivers, because it hasn’t hired replacements for those who’ve retired, he said.