A retired senior manager has been brought in to review the city's snow control operations in the wake of the heavy snowfall that struck the city over the new year.
Frank Blues, who managed snow removal and budgeting for the majority of his 30 years with the city, will also look at how other municipalities carry out the work.
The aim is to bring recommendations to city council by the end of May, city engineering and public works manager Dave Dyer said in a report to council, included in the agenda package for this Monday's meeting.
He said the decision to hire Blues was made in response to an "after action review" of the major snowfall that struck the city.
Starting on Dec. 30, snowfall totalling 42 centimetres fell on the city and was immediately followed by rainfaill and then temperatures to -25 C. The timeframe for clearing of all 700 kilometres and 200 kilommetres sidewalks was seven days and during that time 487 service requests were received, Dyer said.
A similar review was conducted after 90 centimetres of snow fell on the city over five days in February 2018, Dyer added. He said it led to a number of recommendations that were then "examined by the divisions and detailed actions and timelines were assigned." he said.
"One of those recommendations for continuous improvement was to review the snow and ice control council procedure and propose updates for council's consideration."
