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Scranton Officials Respond To Snow Removal Criticism

SCRANTON — Scranton’s mayor and public works director say they are aware of the complaints about snow removal, especially downtown. They both have t...
scr snow officials

SCRANTON -- Scranton's mayor and public works director say they are aware of the complaints about snow removal, especially downtown. They both have the same answer: that the city did the best it could with the money and the manpower available.

Late Wednesday morning, crews cleared snow off a block of Wyoming Avenue across the street from St. Peter's Cathedral in downtown Scranton. But they're not city crews. They were donated by a Pittston contractor Joe Latona.

"He donates all of his guys every year. We come up and do it after every snowstorm," said Bradley Edwards with Latona Trucking.

Scranton city officials say public works crews have not removed any additional snow since it stopped snowing Monday night. Their boss says many employees worked two 20-hour days just plowing city streets and are too tired to remove the piles they plowed.

"I can't expect guys to work 20 something hours, and then go downtown and clean up," said Scranton DPW director Dennis Gallagher.

"If anybody has a better suggestion, I'd be glad to listen. I think it comes down to money," said Mayor Bill Courtright.

Mayor Courtright knows the piles of snow downtown cause parking problems for drivers and headaches for businesses, but he says the only other option is to pay at least $25,000 for a private contractor to remove snow from just the downtown area.

"With the economic climate the city of Scranton finds itself in, we have to watch our money," Courtright said. "If we had a lot more money, I would have tried to hire a lot more contractors."

While the mayor watches Scranton's budget, the DPW director defends his decision to rest crews after two days of plowing and no days of snow cleanup.

"If you see that plaque over there, those are people who passed away on the job, and when we're putting guys out there for 23 hours," Gallagher said. "I don't need to be standing over someone's coffin, with me being the guy who put them in that situation."

One DPW worker says the city cut 20 positions from the department over the last two decades making it harder to plow and clear 260 miles of streets in Scranton.

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