Village is also prepared for winter
By Gail Peckler-Dziki
Correspondent
The Paddock Lake Village Board approved the purchase of a new brush chipper at its Dec. 21 board meeting.
The village decided to replace a 2004 Vermeer unit that has 3,989 hours of use with a newer, larger model.
The village chipper is not only used to chip brush collected from residents, but also in the removal of village-managed trees.
According to Village Administrator Tim Popanda, buying the chipper at the end of the year creates savings.
“By purchasing a new 2016 chipper at the year-end, the village can acquire a new item with modern safety features at a Black Friday cost savings,” Popanda said.
The cost of the new chipper, with the trade-in of the old, is $45,898. That amount has been accumulated in the capital improvement fund.
The chipper upgrade was necessitated by the increase of the removal of Ash trees destroyed by the emerald ash borer.
Ready for snow removal
Like the surrounding communities, Paddock Lake purchased less salt than usual, since snow accumulation from last winter had been less than normal.
Popanda explained in a later telephone interview, “Since we had the space and funds, we purchased 150 tons.”
Paddock Lake’s strategy in keeping the roads safe is to use a mixture of either 40/60 percent or 50/50 percent bird’s eye gravel and salt.
“This method makes salt go further,” Popanda explained. “The salt breaks through the ice barrier and the bird’s eye provides traction for starts and stops.”
The colder it is, the more bird’s eye is used.
Its not just about saving money, he said.
“In the bigger picture, the salt never goes away. There is no half life, the chloride doesn’t break down and it eventually makes its way into the lake, river and water table,” Popanda said.
This would pollute the aquifer that the entire western Kenosha County uses for drinking water.
He says discovering the amount of salt actually needed is a process.
“I tell our residents that you might have to travel one to 1-1/2 blocks from your home to get to a very clean street,” Popanda explained. “You don’t need as much salt and some think.”
Geography is also a factor in deciding just where the greatest need is.
“The east-west streets in the village receive less sun,” he said, “so we use more mixture there.”
The streets that run north and south, however, are tipped toward the sun and that is a factor in keeping those streets safe and passable.