Town to go back to county for winter road maintenance

It may be summer, but the Port Washington Town Board members had winter on their minds recently.

The board on Aug. 7 agreed to hire Ozaukee County to plow, sand and salt the 24 miles of town roads this winter — the first time in a decade the county will handle those duties.

The decision came after Dave Bley, who has handled those jobs since the town in 2013 became the first in Ozaukee County to hire a private company for plowing, notified the Town Board that he would no longer provide those services.

The town advertised for bids for the plowing contract but got no interest. Board members also approached Forever Green, but the company could not fit the work into its schedule.

The town decided to part ways with the county in 2013, lured by the promise of cost savings and a company pledge to meet the town’s requirement that town roads be passable by 5 a.m. and clear by 7 a.m. after snowfalls.

Although in the past the county had required towns hiring it for snowplowing to also use the highway department for summer tasks — ensuring year-round work for the county’s crews — Highway Commissioner Jon Edgren said that’s no longer a requirement.

Instead, he said, towns that contract with the county for additional work receive a discount.

Adding the Town of Port roads to the county’s snowplowing schedule “is not difficult for us,” Edgren said, and it “wouldn’t burden Ozaukee County.”

County crews are out on the road by 3 a.m. when there’s an overnight snowfall, he said.

“We should hit every town road by 7 a.m.,” he said.

The county does require a two-year commitment, Edgren said.

He added that while Ozaukee County charges on a time and materials basis, it’s able to discount the equipment costs, in part because the county keeps its equipment much longer than most companies.

The county’s charge for work, he said, is similar to that of private firms.

While board members considered whether to have the county do other projects for the township, Edgren said that decision doesn’t have to be made now.

One project town officials seemed interested in is brush pickup, something Edgren said the county does for the Town of Grafton.

“That would be a nice service,” Supr. Greg Welton said.

Board members agreed to hire the county to do the plowing, salting and sanding for the next two years, as well as any other projects it sees fit.