Council reviews equipment damage from ice storm

With a light agenda, the Cape Girardeau City Council on Monday evening reviewed the city response to last week's ice storm and concluded that it went about as well as it could.

As the public works department sought to clear streets, the city's newest snowplow broke at the welds holding it to a mounting bracket, public works director Tim Gramling told the council. Of the 16 trucks mounted with plows, Gramling told the council that four small trucks and two large trucks were out of commission Monday. One of the smaller trucks caught fire as it was being used and the cause is still under review, Gramling said.

Poorly placed hydraulic lines in the plow and salt spreader are the likely culprits, he said."I don't want to say this was the worst snow and ice we've seen ... but it has really taken a toll," Gramling said.

The council may consider a plan barring street parking in some locations during winter storms, he said, so plows can make wider paths during the early stages of a storm.

While Cape Girardeau was spared the worst of the power outages that have plagued areas to the south, the public works building operated on generator power for many hours during the storm, city manager Doug Leslie said.

Other city agencies took part in efforts to help hard-stricken areas recover. The Arena Building became a home for hundreds of AmerenUE workers, parks director Dan Muser said.

The Cape Girardeau Fire Department dispatched crews to Sikeston, Mo., and Kennett, Mo., to aid in the recovery there, chief Rick Ennis said.

The airport struggled to stay open and became home to a displaced air ambulance crew last week, airport manager Bruce Loy said.

rkeller@semissourian.com

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