Council will get a look at city's overhauled plan for snow and ice. See the biggest changes.

At a meeting of Council's Environmental Quality and Public Works Committee on Tuesday, October 13th, the group will get a look at the Mayor's revamped snow and ice control plan, which is months in the making and proposes several operational fixes for handling winter storm events.

Why is this coming before Council now?

Lexington has struggled to respond to multiple winter storms over the last two years, frustrating some residents.

The issue has also become a hot-button topic as Mayor Linda Gorton campaigns for a third and final term against challenger Raquel Carter during this year's General Election, now less than a month away. The two candidates have been sparring over the issue in recent weeks, including at a televised debate October 7th.

In March, Gorton said she was "tearing up" the city's snow plan and starting over. At the time, she also announced several staffing changes, including accepting the resignation of then-Environmental Quality and Public Works Commissioner Nancy Albright. She named Charles Martin as Acting Commissioner, making it the fifth time he's served in that role.

Then, in April, the Mayor unveiled the results of a "military-style review" of the city's response to Winter Storm Fern in late January and early February.

The After Action Review found that "the primary limitation during the event was not solely environmental conditions, but the absence of a clearly defined, adaptable operational strategy."

Major findings of the review include limited staffing, internal confusion around who was in charge of what, inconsistent communication inside the city government and to residents, workforce and training gaps, among other findings.

You can read the full After Action Review below:

What will change going forward?

As the city reworks its snow and ice plan, the last several months have featured a lot of internal meetings, including a work group of 25 people that met a dozen times.

Several sub-groups tackling issues like communications and truck route efficiency met many times between the main work group meetings, the upcoming Council committee presentation notes.

An overhauled communications plan will funnel service requests through the city's LexCall 311 line, there will be a new public-facing Winter Weather Dashboard, more consistent media releases from the city during winter storm responses and a new frequently-asked-questions page.

The communications approach from the city will change based on the severity of winter storm events and whether the storm brings snow or ice. Heavy snowstorms and ice events will mean more updates throughout the day, according to the presentation.

A new command structure for snow and ice events puts Martin as the "Incident Commander." He works alongside Emergency Management Director Rob Larkin to oversee the city's snow and ice removal efforts. Those individuals work in tandem with the Mayor, senior city officials and the Urban County Council to coordinate and communicate with residents about the city's response.

What else is different in the plan?

There are several changes, including:

• The city is simplifying its system for ranking streets for priority clearing. Rank 3 and 4 streets will be combined into Rank 3 Streets. The distinction previously confused drivers and residents, the presentation states.
• All ranked streets will be treated before or at the start of a winter storm. This will allow salt more time to work on lower-ranked streets while drivers are clearing higher priority routes. Applying salt earlier also lets vehicle traffic spread it into neighborhoods.
• Additional CDL drivers from the city's Waste Management Division will help clear streets, shoring up the pool of available truck drivers. This also lets supervisors supervise and not drive routes. They can inspect routes instead to check that they're being plowed properly, for example.
• New, truck-mounted tablets will be outfitted in city and contractor vehicles. This allows for tracking where a truck is and where it is not. The tablets will also feed into a new Winter Weather Dashboard so residents can track the city's clearing efforts.
• Additional support from contractor Red River Ranch. There will be eight trucks from this contractor. They will focus on major routes – Man o' War Boulevard, Polo Club Boulevard, Alumni Drive (between Tates Creek and Man o' War), and Clays Mill Road (from Harrodsburg Road to Man o' War) – freeing up other drivers.

What's next?

City staff continue to meet with outside entities, such as the Kentucky Transportation Cabinet, Lextran, LexPark, the University of Kentucky and the local Sheriff's Office. There are several roads outside New Circle Road that the state is responsible for treating and clearing during snow events.

There are also ongoing conversations with Fayette County Public Schools.

FCPS has shared updated bus route data with the city that includes more than 350 additional lane miles. Martin's presentation calls this an "unmanageable outcome" for existing city resources.

The presentation states FCPS is developing a "Plan B" for bus routes, with the goal of producing a work product by October 31st.