Last night we had our first 2010 meeting of the Armour Hills Homes Association.  The hot topic–snow removal in Armour Hills.  Although I am a member of the AH board, this blog does not reflect the general opinion of the board–just my own thoughts on the subject.

Like so many other residents in Armour Hills, our block was snow packed and ice covered for several days after the Christmas Eve snowstorm.  My husband thought he saw ONE city truck make a run down our street for snow removal.  Although the AH board is looking into providing snow removal for the residents, I doubt if it will happen.  We have just over 1000 homes in our subdivision and many residents park on the street.  Snow plowing would benefit some; for others, the plowed snow would block parked cars.  There are some streets that are very narrow–a plow may not be able to make it down the street with cars on either side.  Still, residents want snow removal.  What to do???

A resident at our meeting had a good solution.  After several days of rough and tumble snow drifts, ruts, ice and just plain getting stuck, she called the Homes Associations of Kansas City (913 385 2440) and asked if there were any private contractors who would plow just her street.  They gave her the name of one and for $150–he plowed their street.  The resident collected a few bucks from each homeowner to pay for the service.  (By the way, this resident reported that the contractor would have charged less if there was less snow and ice to deal with). 

The snowfall we experienced in December was very unusual–a lot of snow and frigid temps.  The City of Kansas City says it’s going to ‘do a better job’ of plowing residential streets.  But we all know KCMO is broke and while I would like to believe they will ‘do a better job’ in the future, I doubt it. 

If you want snow removal for your block–talk with your neighbors.  See if they would be willing to pay a private contractor to do it the next time we have several inches on the ground.  Contact the contractor and be prepared to make the call on behalf of your block. Make sure cars are parked off the street when the plow comes through.  Sometimes you just have to take matters into your own hands to get the job done.

Just for fun you can send an invoice to City Hall!