Prince Edward County is moving forward with bringing snow control back into its hands.
They approved a motion on Tuesday night at Shire Hall to have QBT Excavating Ltd. take over five of the snow routes in the County for the next eight years.
This leaves the County to cover the remaining five routes.
According to Rob McAuley, the Commissioner of Engineering, Development and Works says this shift doesn’t come without its challenges.
He told those around the horseshoe that if breakdowns do occur or there is a large amount of snow, some patience may be required but that information will be communicated.
Council would also have to increase the winter seasonal driver complement with up to 12 new additional seasonal drivers to incorporate the additional plow routes.
The 2018 budget for winter control was $2,748,518 for contracted and internal works. QBT Excavating Services Ltd.
contract is estimated to cost $704,375 per year.
The internalizing of the five plow routes is estimated to cost an additional $315,000 per year, for a new total annual roads winter maintenance budget of$3,067,893, or an increase of 12%.
