This winter has been one for the books in terms of snowfall, and some residents of Niverville say that the town’s snow removal process has been causing them problems.

Denise McGory has lived in her Niverville home for ten years and she claims that for six of those years her yard has sustained damage from the town’s snow clearing equipment.

“Sometimes it’s the lawn being torn up,” McGory says, “but the most significant damage was a huge piece of our concrete driveway being cracked/broken.”

McGory did not contact the town about the damage.

“Previous correspondence with the town, on other matters, has not been addressed,” she says. “I would add that the mayor and council of this town are not very easy to deal with. I have sent emails in the past that have still not been answered.”

Another resident, Eric Duval, also says damage has been done to his property. Last year, he noted a 30-foot gash on his lawn due to snow-clearing equipment.

“[I] called the town office and asked who I should contact for such inquiries,” says Duval. “They transferred me over, so I left a message with my name, number, address, and brief description. And I never got any reply.”

Duval says he is frustrated that he had to use his own time and money to fix a problem that he feels was not his fault. The following spring, he had to lay topsoil, then seed and water it constantly for it to grow.

Mayor Myron Dyck says that he is aware that the snow-clearing process is not perfect.

“There are times when operators, who are doing their best to keep the roads cleared, are jostled,” says Mayor Dyck. “When you’re clearing snow, it’s not like you’re driving on a flat, dry surface. It’s a bumpy, snow-covered surface… I’ve had my own yard scalped by the blades.”

Dyck says that the Public Works department does intend to fix problems created through the snow removal process, and complaints of yard damage are added to their to-do list.

However, Public Works operates on a priority basis and issues with residential yard damage are simply not always at the top of that list.

“If there is suddenly a ton of rain and the soccer fields need more mowing than normal, for example, they might not get to the curbs as soon,” Dyck says. “So in some years, unfortunately, it hasn’t been done. Sometimes I’ve had to buy three or four bags of dirt and sprinkle some grass seed. It is what it is. I would hope that people would look at this as more of a team approach than an adversarial approach.”

Dyck adds that he appreciates how hard many townspeople work to keep their yards looking attractive. But he also points out that residents don’t necessarily own their entire front yards.

“What people may or may not know is that… there is infrastructure under [the front yards],” he says. “Water lines, sewer lines, fibre optic cables, things like that. Not everything is under the street bed itself. There is infrastructure that runs between the curb and the front wall of someone’s home. The town needs to be able to access this should it need tending to.”

Ryan Dyck, Manager of Operations for Niverville, explains the matter further. He says that the amount of land the town owns in front of each home varies depending on the street.

“It can range from 10 to 20 feet from the road,” he says. “It depends how big the town’s right of way is on that particular street.

Mayor Dyck adds, too, that sometimes salt and sand make their way onto front yards. He wants people to know that he is aware of all these issues, but that they are not unique to Niverville.

“Unfortunately, that’s the joy of living in a wintery climate,” Dyck says.

In response to townspeople saying that they are not receiving return calls or emails when they contact the town office, the mayor wants to do better.

“We talk about communication all the time with our staff,” says Dyck. “If [townspeople] are calling and leaving messages, that should be acknowledged. Our people should be getting back to them and if [they are] not, I would like to know about that because we will address it.”

Dyck also says that residents should make sure they are contacting the correct department. They can feel free to call or email the front desk to make sure they contact the correct people.

The mayor also encourages anyone who notices issues regarding snow-clearing to email snowclearing@whereyoubelong.ca. These emails go directly to the Operations Department to let them know of problem areas.