January 9, 2015 – Hannibal, MO – This winter, the City of Hannibal and the Hannibal Board of Public Works are teaming up to conquer snow removal around the city. Within the past month, Heath Hall, Director of Operations at the Hannibal Board of Public Works, and Brian Chaplin, Public Works Superintendent, worked together to create an agreement to trade HBPW labor hours for Street Department labor hours. The Hannibal Board of Public Works will assist with snow removal on an as-needed basis, and in return, the Street Department will perform street repairs for the HBPW this spring.
Besides for the water department, winter is typically a relatively slow time for HBPW construction crews, who cannot perform routine tasks such as installing new poles, water mains or sewer lines in the cold winter weather. So while the City was in the process of hiring temporary snow removal assistance, the HBPW came up with the idea to offer such assistance in return for some street repairs later on.
According to Hall, this partnership will not only save both departments money, but will allow each to be more effective with a smaller personnel group. HBPW has legally qualified personnel to assist with pushing snow, and training has already begun for the 18 employees who volunteered to assist the Street Department. A maximum of four HBPW employees will push snow at once, leaving the remaining staff available to respond to customer needs and emergencies.
“We are grateful for the opportunity to help out wherever needed,” says Kari Goodman, Public Relations Coordinator for the HBPW, “Especially something as important as the safety of our streets.”
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For a printable version of this press release, please click HERE.
