The County of St. Paul has approved changes to its driveway snow removal policy, including a clearer definition for who qualifies for free service under the persons with disabilities category and a new charge for school bus turnarounds.
During discussion, administration said Public Works had been seeking more clarity around disability-related requests.
“The biggest changes we were looking for this time around was a better description of persons with disabilities,” council heard. Administration noted there had been repeated requests from residents recovering from temporary conditions such as “a frozen shoulder hernia recovering from their knee or hip surgery” who were seeking a disability flag for free service.
To address that, the policy now clarifies that the free service applies to residents with a permanent disability.
Council also approved a new $100 fee for each school bus turnaround billed to St. Paul Education. Administration said the fee is not intended to fully recover costs, but rather to discourage misuse of the program.
“I think some of the discussion that we had was like the $100 wasn’t necessarily like we don’t want to be charging a whole bunch for it, but it was just to kind of deter those ones that are maybe taking advantage of that system,” council heard.
Officials said the service exists primarily for safety reasons, especially for younger students who would otherwise have to walk long distances down rural driveways to reach the bus.
“The people that need it, we don’t want to charge them, overcharge them because we understand that it is necessary, but it was like set as a little bit of a deterrent for the ones that maybe take advantage of stuff that they shouldn’t be,” administration said.
As part of the changes, the county also plans to create a form for doctors to complete when residents apply for disability-based snow removal service.
“If they fill the doctor fills out the form, they may think twice about instead of just drafting a letter and sending it,” council heard.
Council then approved the updated policy.
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County of St. Paul updates snow removal policy, adds school bus turnaround fee
The County of St. Paul has approved changes to its driveway snow removal policy, including a clearer definition for who qualifies for free service under the persons with disabilities category and a new charge for school bus turnarounds.
During discussion, administration said Public Works had been seeking more clarity around disability-related requests.
“The biggest changes we were looking for this time around was a better description of persons with disabilities,” council heard. Administration noted there had been repeated requests from residents recovering from temporary conditions such as “a frozen shoulder hernia recovering from their knee or hip surgery” who were seeking a disability flag for free service.
To address that, the policy now clarifies that the free service applies to residents with a permanent disability.
Council also approved a new $100 fee for each school bus turnaround billed to St. Paul Education. Administration said the fee is not intended to fully recover costs, but rather to discourage misuse of the program.
“I think some of the discussion that we had was like the $100 wasn’t necessarily like we don’t want to be charging a whole bunch for it, but it was just to kind of deter those ones that are maybe taking advantage of that system,” council heard.
Officials said the service exists primarily for safety reasons, especially for younger students who would otherwise have to walk long distances down rural driveways to reach the bus.
“The people that need it, we don’t want to charge them, overcharge them because we understand that it is necessary, but it was like set as a little bit of a deterrent for the ones that maybe take advantage of stuff that they shouldn’t be,” administration said.
As part of the changes, the county also plans to create a form for doctors to complete when residents apply for disability-based snow removal service.
“If they fill the doctor fills out the form, they may think twice about instead of just drafting a letter and sending it,” council heard.
Council then approved the updated policy.
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