Road maintenance crews are continuing to work to get back to normal, said Tarmo Uukkivi, director of operations and protective services for the Town of Huntsville in a recorded video statement on January 1, 2023. (See video below).
The municipality ended its Significant Weather Event declaration on New Year’s Eve. Uukkivi thanked first responders, hydro crews, and plow operators for working throughout the storm and thanked mayor and council, and senior staff at the municipality for their support. He also thanked community members for their patience and for aiding one another.
Uukkivi said the magnitude of the snow received over Christmas was almost equal to the amount of snow the municipality gets during the entire year. “We still have a lot of work. We are continuing our cleanup efforts as we adjust to yet another change in weather,” said Uukkivi. “We are monitoring drainage and water levels through this thaw. We are continuing with contractors and municipalities outside of Muskoka in supporting us to help our cleanup efforts. We’re cleaning up trees, widening roadways, opening up sidewalks, and removing very large snowbanks. This is no small task,” he said.
Uukkivi said while Huntsville is equipped to deal with normal annual snowfall, “climate change is providing new challenges as we balance the need to plan for unexpected events with fiscal responsibility.”
He said the need for contractors and assistance from outside municipalities, like Toronto, will increase as the municipality continues to adapt to the unpredictable effects associated with climate change. For example, he said the City of Toronto was able to provide the Town of Huntsville with two high-capacity loader blowers to help with Huntsville’s cleanup efforts. He asked people to keep children away from playing in snowbanks, which are unstable, as crews continue with removal efforts as well as regular winter maintenance.
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