Officials sympathize with snow woes

Village officials are expressing sympathy for property owners whohad to shovel the snowdumpedduring last week’s snowstorm.

Village officials are expressing sympathy for property owners who had to shovel the snow dumped during last week’s snowstorm.

“The snow we got (was) a lot more in one shot than we got in a long, long time,” village Code Enforcement Officer Eyal Saad said Monday, Dec. 21, during a video conference Village Board meeting. “It takes a while for people to clean up,” he said. “Some people have to go to work, some people have to feed their kids, so it may take them a day extra.”

Village law requires property owners to remove snow from sidewalks in front of their buildings within 24 hours after a storm ends.

Saad added that village Department of Public Works crews were also stressed by the amount of snow, which affected their ability to get to pedestrian areas that could not be done by property owners.

“The DPW was over their head with snow removal,” he said. “Their priority is streets, not sidewalks.”

Saad also said that, even if the village does start issuing violation tickets for failing to clear sidewalks, it will be difficult to collect fines.

“With the court system (slowdown) right now, who knows if you could even get them to court,” he said.

Mayor Bill Murphy said the village can offer assistance to people who are unable to clear their sidewalks.

“Especially the elderly people, we can help and will,” he said.

Murphy added that the village would not be seeking to force strict adherence to the time limit following a large storm.

“The 24-hour rule should be or by the end of the following day, whichever is greater,” he said. “Some of the people who didn’t have their walks done by 6 a.m. the day after the blizzard the other day told me they were waiting for their person to come. ‘ The people who did their walks were busy.”