ADMINISTRATIVE REPORT
Date: October 31, 1995
TO: Vancouver City Council
FROM: General Manager of Engineering Services and General Manager of
Corporate Services
SUBJECT: Purchase of Replacement Snow Fighting Equipment
RECOMMENDATION
A. THAT Council approve the purchase of replacement snow fighting
equipment as described in this report and that the necessary
funding, in the amount of $189,000, be provided from the Truck
and Equipment Replacement Reserve (Plant Account).
B. THAT Council approve an increase in the Engineering Services
Department Operating Budget of $22,900, without offset, to
fund the annual rental rates for this equipment with 1996 cost
estimated at $5,725 based on three months service.
COUNCIL POLICY
City Council, on February 3, 1994, resolved that during the term of the
1994-96 Budget Management Program, any proposed increases in the Program
and/or service levels be offset by corresponding spending reductions
elsewhere in the City's Operating Budget or by increases in non-taxation
revenues, subject to Council discretion.
Council approves all increases in service levels, including the addition
of trucks to the fleet.
Council approves expenditures from Reserves, including the Truck Plant
Account.
PURPOSE
This report identifies the requirements for replacement snow fighting
equipment and a funding source.
BACKGROUND
The potential for snow emergencies requires the City to be ready to
respond quickly and effectively on short notice. Appropriate equipment
is key to the snow fight and over the years, the snow fleet has been
upgraded to meet the unique demands of Vancouver.
The 1995 Engineering Services Department budget submissions included
replacement of snow fighting equipment. As part of the budget review it
was resolved that this equipment be funded from the Plant Account and
that rental rates be charged against future revenue budgets to repay the
Plant Account and to fund future replacements. This request was not
included in the final 1995 Revenue Budget Report approved by Council,
because the existing equipment was either not part of the Plant Account
system, or the recommended purchases were not "like for like"
replacements.
DISCUSSION
In order to respond to snow emergencies efficiently and safely, more
appropriate snow fighting equipment is needed to replace aging
equipment. The replacement equipment requested includes:
Six (6) Slip in Salters for Single-Axle Dump Trucks
Streets Operations has six single-axle dump trucks which are being
replaced in 1995. As well as for regular street construction and
maintenance use, these trucks are used in our snow fight to handle
salting and plowing of "priority hills" on non-arterial streets. These
include steep hills on residential streets and streets around schools.
The existing trucks are currently outfitted with "Flink" tailgate
salters and front mounted snowplows during the snow fight.
The existing tailgate salters require the dump box to be raised during
the salting operation. This has two safety concerns.
(a) By lifting the box, the centre of gravity is shifted upward making
the truck susceptible to tipping and more difficult to drive,
particularly on steep hills;
(b) With the box raised, overhead wires can and have been pulled down
causing a hazard.
Added to the poor driving conditions in snow, these hazards are
considerable. We, therefore, recommend the six existing salters which
are currently in the Plant Account with a current replacement value of
$11,000 each, be replaced with a smaller version of the slip in salter
used on our larger tandem-axle trucks at an estimated cost of $117,000
($19,500 each). These salters use a conveyor system to feed salt to the
spreader system and do not require the dump box to be raised.
Three (3) Under-body Snowplows for Single-Axle Dump Trucks
We are also proposing to equip three of these new trucks with "belly-
plows", (plows mounted underneath the truck body), rather than the
currently used front-end plows which are not in the Plant Account.
Discussions with other municipalities indicate that this style of plow
is very effective for moving snow in tight spaces around vehicles and in
narrow streets. As we have no direct experience with this type of plow
we are proposing to try it on only three of the six trucks. If
successful, we would anticipate replacing more units in the future. The
price for these plows is $30,000 ($10,000 each).
Three (3) Hydraulically Reversible Front Mounted Snowplows for Tandem-
Axle Dump Trucks
In 1991, the Street Operations Branch replaced snow plows on 14 of the
17 tandem-axle dump trucks which are used in the first phase clearing of
the major arterial streets during a snow fight. The new plows are
hydraulically reversible from inside the cab. This feature provides for
better performance efficiency and operator safety as our older plows
required the operator to stop, get out in traffic, and manually reverse
the plow. Reversing the plows is done often in Vancouver due to our
one-way street system in the downtown, and because we have a number of
divided roadways. In addition, this feature is used to plow snow back
onto the street when the temperature rises allowing traffic to crush and
melt the accumulated snow. This process allows re-opening of the curb
lane for parking and traffic and reduces flooding problems.
The fourteen existing hydraulic plows equip one truck for each of the 13
primary snow routes, with one spare. One spare has proven to be
inadequate to respond to the number of equipment breakdowns that are
experienced in the course of a snow fight. Also, the improved clearing
performance of the new plows supports the replacement of the remaining
three older style, manual tandem plows which are not in the Plant
Account. We are, therefore, proposing replacement with three new
hydraulically operated plows. The cost of three hydraulically
reversible plows is $42,000 ($14,000 each).
Funding
The total cost of the recommended equipment purchases is estimated at
$189,000, to be funded from the Plant Account.
Significant additions or upgrades to the snow fleet over the past
several years, including the 14 plows purchased in 1990, have been
funded from the Plant Account. Although snow equipment is not used on a
regular basis, year-to-year funding through the Plant Account provides
for annual rental payments to repay the purchase price and to provide
for future replacement. This avoids large fluctuations in annual
budgets dependant on the amount of use, and the need to replace
equipment.
The equipment being recommended for replacement is either not currently
part of the Plant Account or is being replaced with an upgrade and is
not like for like. The increased annual rental cost is estimated at
$22,900. However, for 1996 it is expected that the new equipment will
only be put into service late in the year and the rental cost for 1996
is estimated at $5,725 for three months service.
CONCLUSION
Efficient and safe equipment to handle the snow fight is necessary.
This report identifies the replacement equipment requirements and the
funding mechanism to purchase the equipment.
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