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Staff Report
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Report To: General Government Committee
Date of Meeting: September 11, 2023 Report Number: PWD-010-23
Submitted By: Stephen Brake, Director of Public Works
Reviewed By: Robert Maciver, Deputy CAO/Solicitor Resolution#:GG-1 55-23,C-1 16-23
File Number: By-law Number:
Report Subject: Staffing Requirements for New Municipal Sidewalk Snow Clearing
Program
Recommendations:
1. That Report PWD-010-23 be received;
2. That the additional staffing resources outlined within this report be approved by
Council to effectively manage the new level of service, as directed; and
3. That all interested parties listed in Report PWD-010-23 be advised of Council's
decision.
Municipality of Clarington
Report PWD-010-23
Report Overview
Page 2
At the special budget meeting held on Monday, January 30, 2023, Council approved capital
funding, in amount of $600,000, for Public Works Staff to acquire new specialized equipment
to begin the clearing of sidewalks on arterial roads during the 2023/2024 winter season.
This level of funding was in addition to an earlier capital approval of $300,000 that was
passed by Council at the February 7, 2022, Joint Committee meeting to be used for the
same service level improvement.
1. Background
Current State
1.1 The Municipality has historically hired external vendors to provide snow clearing
services for municipal sidewalks, parking lots at municipal facilities, trails, school
crossing guard locations, crosswalks, connecting paths, senior and disabled resident
snow clearing and other snow removal services as directed.
1.2 Our present vendor, GWS Landscaping Inc., was awarded CL2021-24- Snow Clearing
Services in the Fall of 2021. This vendor currently provides snow clearing services for
municipal sidewalks, parking lots at municipal facilities, trails, school crossing guard
locations, crosswalks and connecting paths through Parks.
1.3 In accordance with Clarington By-law #93-144, property owners are responsible for
clearing snow, slush and ice from the sidewalks that are in front of, adjacent to, or in
certain cases behind their homes and businesses. Municipal Law Enforcement officers
respond to maintenance complaints and also enforce the conditions of the By-law.
Future State
1.4 At the special budget meeting held on Monday, January 30, 2023, Council passed
Resolution #GG-067-23 that approved capital funding in addition to the previously
allocated capital funding on February 7, 2022. With this available funding Council
provided Public Works with direction to procure sidewalk snow clearing equipment to
begin clearing arterial road sidewalks.
1.5 On March 24, 2023, Tender document CL2023-12 was issued for the procurement of
the necessary sidewalk snow clearing equipment that later closed on April 11, 2023.
1.6 On June 12, 2023, FSD-024-24 report was approved during a regular Council meeting
to procure five sidewalk snow clearing tractors with associated attachments. The
Municipality of Clarington
Report PWD-010-23
Page 3
delivery date of this specialized equipment is expected during the week of September
18, 2023.
1.7 Maps included in Attachment 1 show the walking routes that currently receive winter
maintenance in Clarington's five urban areas of Bowmanville, Courtice, Newcastle,
Orono and Newtonville. The maps identify the infrastructure that is currently being
cleared by the vendor and also the new highlighted routes that will be managed by the
Municipality. The proposed new level of service along Clarington's arterial classed
roadways will improve safety and connectivity for pedestrians.
2. Staff i n g
New Staff
2.1 Public Works is requesting ten Light Equipment Operators (LEO) and one Supervisor to
effectively provide this new level service. Five staff would be assigned to operate the
sidewalk clearing machines while the other five staff would provide support by
delivering salt and filling machines. Other duties for the filler crews would include snow
removal at 131 existing pedestrian crossings, school crossing salt box filling and
responding to customer service requests. Filler crews will also assist with snow
removal at intersection crossing points within the main urban areas. The Supervisor
would be responsible for the overall coordination of the sidewalk snow clearing service,
staff scheduling, service request tracking and concern resolution.
2.2 Public Works currently has three Supervisors that are directly related to the supervision
of winter control activities. Each Supervisor is currently responsible for approximately
11-13 full time staff. To date in 2023, Public Works has received 675 winter control
related work orders to which the Supervisors must review and respond. The new level
of service is expected to generate a considerable number of additional work orders that
would be beyond our current level of resources to properly manage.
2.3 During summer operations the ten light equipment operators will be distributed between
the roads and parks divisions. Six light equipment operators will report to the Parks
Supervisor and two to each Road Supervisor.
2.4 With the addition of these full-time staff members, Public Works will be able to eliminate
the need to hire our annual compliment of eight temporary labourers that support our
summer operations. The full-time positions would not only provide a more versatile
workforce and support the new sidewalk snow clearing service but would also fill the
gaps in the shoulder seasons before the temporary labourers and summer students are
onboarded. Ongoing maintenance for areas such as sports fields, trails, parks and play
structures will experience increased service levels.
Municipality of Clarington Page 4
Report PWD-010-23
2.5 The new Supervisor position will report to the Parks Division and also support forestry
and cemetery services. The Parks Division currently only has one Supervisor with a
summer staff complement of 36 consisting of 17 fulltime, four permanent part-time and
15 seasonals. The addition of a new Supervisor would result in a more acceptable
Supervisor to staff ratio. This will create more divisional focus, improved staff
coordination and allow for better overall maintenance for parks maintenance, sports
fields maintenance, forestry services and cemetery services. The entire division is
proposed to be led by a Manager of Parks Services that will be requested in the 2024
budget.
2.6 The increase in full time staff to provide this new level of service aligns with the
departments future growth planning as described in the staffing business cases
submitted as part of the 2024 budget. These positions will assist in shaping the Parks
Services division and ensure that appropriate service levels continue to be met.
3. Financial Considerations
3.1 The financial implications required to properly resource this new level of service is
outlined below. The breakdown identifies the increase in staffing costs based on a 12-
month rate for the light equipment operators and the respective supervisor. Also
included is the current annual budget allocated for the eight temporary labourers to
show the reduction against the proposed increase.
3.2 Additional financial implications are shown for locations currently cleared by contracted
services. Below is a breakdown showing the quantity of municipal sidewalks and
pedestrian locations that will now be performed by municipal staff and associated
contracted costs to offset the staffing level increases.
Position
Grade/Level
2024 Rate
Supervisor
Grade 8, Level 3
$114,403
Ten (10) Light Equipment
Operator
Code 3, 12 Month
$630,460
New staffing cost
$744,863
Offset Eight (8) Temporary
Labourers
Code 1, 6 Month
$186,284
Offset sidewalk removed
from existing contract
34 kilometers
$130,110
Municipality of Clarington
Report PWD-010-23
Page 5
Offset pedestrian crossings
131 locations
$26,284
removed from existing
contract
Total cost reduction
$342,677
Net cost increase
$402,185
Notes:
• Staffing salaries above do not include annualized benefits.
• Sidewalks & pedestrian crossing costs based on 20 annual winter control events
and current contract pricing.
4. Concurrence
This report has been reviewed by the Deputy CAO/Treasurer who concurs with the
recommendations.
5. Conclusion
It is respectfully recommended that Council approve the additional 11 full time staffing
positions needed to facilitate the arterial roads sidewalk snow clearing program. The
proposed staffing positions will not only support the new level of service but also
continue to assist the Public Works Department in providing year-round maintenance on
core infrastructure items and assist with achieving the departments goals of providing
excellent customer service levels.
Staff Contact: Brett Novak, Manager of Operations, 905-623-3379 Ext. 2909 or
bnovak@clarington.net.
Attachments:
Attachment 1 — Sidewalk Snow Clearing Maps
Interested Parties:
The following interested parties will be notified of Council's decision:
- All property owners currently fronting proposed arterial sidewalk locations.
- Bowmanville, Newcastle and Orono Business Improvement Areas
Attachment 1 to Reaort PWD-010-23
Municipal Sidewalk Maintenance Locations 1:30.000 Clarington
Bowmanville
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Arterial Sidewalk Clearing Proposed by Public Works - 46.53 Km W
Snow Contract - Current Contract - 32.44 Km 0 port DarUn9 on Road
-- Snow Contract- To Be Removed - 20.92 Km
Figure 1: Bowmanville map
Attachment 1 to Reaort PWD-010-23
Municipal Sidewalk Maintenance Locations 1 30,000 Gjar wa
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Arterial Sidewalk Clearing Proposed by Public Works - 29.48 Km p v
Snow Contract - Current Contract - 17.66 Km
Snow Contract - To Be Removed - 10.64 Km
Figure 2: Courtice map
Attachment 1 to Report PWD-010-23
Municipal Sidewalk Maintenance Locations 1:15,000 aaftwu
Newcastle 5
Whitehand Drive
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• Pedestrian Crossing
Arterial Sidewalk Clearing Proposed by Public Works - 5.63 Km akeshore Road
— Snow Contract - Current Contract - 7.91 Km
-- Snow Contract -To Be Removed- 2.08 Km
Figure 3: Newcastle map
Attachment 1 to Report PWD-010-23
Municipal Sidewalk Maintenance Locations Clar igton
Figure 4: Orono and Newtonville map