Montpelier Woods Homeowners Association (MWHOA)

*** Message from Councilman Tom Dernoga about the February 05-06, 2010 Snow Storm ***

From: Dernoga, Thomas E. [mailto:TEDernoga@co.pg.md.us]
Sent: Sunday, February 07, 2010 5:42 PM
To: Dernoga, Thomas E.
Subject: Snow Update from Tom Dernoga - Please disseminate!
Importance: High

This storm has been a real record breaker. North County took it the worst (again). Reports have indicated over 30” in some places of Laurel. I have been in touch with DPWT and the news is not great. They have been working non-stop since Friday, but it is going to be awhile.

Here is the relevant info from DPWT on standard timelines:

12-18 inches - WINTER STORM WARNING OR BLIZZARD WARNING - Hazardous Roads!

Major Roads

- Thru lanes plowed to bare pavement up to 25-36 hours after storm ends. Expect narrowed and/or blocked lanes due to accumulations.

Residential Streets

- Plowing begins up to 36-48 hours after storm ends. One lane will be made passable* 2-3 days later. Expect snow-packed roads.

Over 18 inches - BLIZZARD WARNING - Treacherous roads!

Major Roads

- Thru lanes plowed to bare pavement up to 36-48 hours after storm ends. Narrowed and/or blocked lanes due to heavy accumulations.

Residential Streets

- Plowing begins 48 hours after storm ends. One lane will be made passable* 2- days later. Some roads might be impassable for longer periods. Expect snow-packed roads.

Based on the above schedule, they are presently AHEAD of schedule, considering that the storm ended around 6-7pm Sat. Not even 24 hours later, the major county roads are “passable” (which does not mean great).

DPWT started going into neighborhoods today, but only to make the main residential streets passable. After they complete that, they will come back around for all of the lesser residential streets and cul-du-sacs. Everyone will have to be patient and keep us posted. If you are off the principal connecting roads in a subdivision, you are not going to see a plow until tomorrow most likely (and some places not until Tuesday). Please keep me (and my staff) posted and I will see you are not forgotten. As usual when we have these types of emergencies, my office is in contact with the DPWT snow team and we can try to help out, but realistically, DPWT has to move through a logical hierarchy and the cul-du-sacs are at the end of the list.

I and my staff are prepared to help as much as we can - we are available over the weekend. If you live outside of District 1 (College Park, Beltsville, Adelphi, Laurel), you can call your Council member’s office. However, I am pleased to take calls and email from anyone, so do not hesitate. You can call my office and leave a message ((301) 952-3887). We are checking voice mail regularly. Also, you can email us and we are monitoring email.

Contact us if we can be of assistance. Thanks.

Tom Dernoga - TEDernoga@co.pg.md.us Alex J. Hirtle - AJHirtle@co.pg.md.us

Laura E. Polk - LEPolk@co.pg.md.us Tiara Brown-Prescod - TNBrownPrescod@co.pg.md.us

The DPWT Snow Information Center may be reached at 301-350-0500. But its best to let them focus on getting their job done. That will benefit everyone in the long run.

Also, if your street hasn't been plowed (which is just about everyone not on a main street), fill out the snow removal form at http://egov.co.pg.md.us/snowtrack/

While “patience” can be frustrating, the reality is that once a snow storm reaches a certain magnitude (we are way past that), the impact shoots up - too much of the snow equipment is too small for such circumstances so that equipment is less effective and breaks down. More importantly, the volume of snow is so great that it becomes hard to find a place to put the snow (and it takes time to do so).

It's one thing to run a plow down a street with 4-6" of snow, push it onto the shoulder and scrape bare pavement. The physics does not work that way with 24" or more.

Keep me posted at this email address with updates and I will respond back. As soon as I can get out, I will start touring the area and reporting back to DPWT.

Tom Dernoga, Chair
Prince George's County Council (District 1)
(301) 952-3887