Winter Snow Removal Reminder
Winter Snow Event Update 12-1-25
Now that we are through the recent snow event, we need to acknowledge the fact that things did not go as planned and that many owners were quite unhappy with the service that they received. Unfortunately, the first snow of the season was a bit overwhelming and even surprised the weather forecasters.
We have taken a close look at what worked and what didn’t work and have communicated our concerns and expectations to KEI. We will be meeting with them later this week, onsite, to review our expectations moving forward and to point out what we felt went wrong, and discuss remedies.
1. How to Report Concerns During a Snow Event
One area we need to clear up with owners is how to report concerns during a snow event. Several owners called the office (which was closed), emailed , (which is used for OLCA website items), or emailed and individual board members to report their concerns. Many of these concerns were not reported to Buildings and Grounds until the following day, which made it impossible to address promptly.
The PRIMARY email address you should use during a snow event is: . Please provide as much detail as needed in your email, and be sure to include your address, phone number and building number. This email address is monitored closely and your concerns have a better chance of being addressed promptly.
Feel free to copy the Board if you wish, just make sure that is the primary address you email to. You DO NOT need to use a Problem Submission Form when reporting a snow related issue.
2. Contractor Safety Concerns and Labor Laws
We must also be aware that the crews are subject to safety concerns and labor laws as well as the laws of nature. During this past storm it proved to be useless, as well as unsafe, to continue operations into the evening on Saturday, due to the severity of the storm, and their time onsite had gone past eight hours.
3. Woodbridge Drive Parking
One important area needs to be re-mentioned is parking on Woodbridge Drive: Snow removal operations can take place anytime during a snowstorm. Therefore, there is to be no parking on Woodbridge at all when it is snowing. Please use any available guest parking spot or park in front of the office.
Winter will soon be upon us! The following points are all procedures owners need to know, and to begin preparing for before the snow starts to fall. We have a new snow removal contractor, KEI, and have communicated our high expectations of their performance this winter. Please understand that snow removal operations can occur at any time during the day or evening.
Garages & Vehicles
Please keep your vehicle in the garage whenever possible during the winter months. When our snow removal contractor is onsite to plow and salt driveways, the crews cannot do a thorough job when vehicles are in the way. If your vehicle(s) are parked outside be prepared to move them when the snow removal crews are present at your building.
Driveways
Owners are responsible for clearing the snow from around their vehicles after snow removal operations. Same applies to guests using guest parking. Salting crews cannot properly salt driveways when vehicles are present. During salting operations, owners must move their vehicles so that the area in front of the garage can be properly salted. In cases where the vehicles have not been moved the owner will need to clean the area in front of their garages themselves.
Walkways
Crews will remove the snow and salt the sidewalks. Be advised that this is often done in the middle of the night.
Patios
Removing snow from patios is not included in our contract. Owners that want snow-free patios will need to take care of this personally.
Downspout Extensions
Some owners have attached plastic, corrugated downspout extensions to the white metal extensions around their units. These plastic extensions can easily become frozen shut during winter. Please remove these plastic extensions and store them in your garages before the first snowfall.
On many buildings there are downspout extensions that “extend” into the driveway. These must be removed by the owner and stored for the winter (1/4” nut-driver or socket required). If you are unable to remove these yourself, please contact the office. The plow operators cannot get close to the area immediately in front of garage doors when these are present.
Contractor Interaction
Any concerns you may have with our snow removal crews should be communicated to the Overlook Lakes Office at 414-427-5715 or Buildings & Infrastructure at: . Do not ask the crews to perform work that might be outside the scope of our contract.
Woodbridge Drive
For safety reasons, Woodbridge Drive is posted “No Parking.” The Board, however, realizes that this is not practical during the Holiday Season, so parking on the ODD address side of Woodbridge will be allowed November 27th and 28th and from December 16th to January 5th. Parking on Woodbridge, however, will not be allowed during snow removal operations. Woodbridge is a private drive, and it is plowed by our snow removal contractor.
Snow Removal Starting Point
In the spirit of fairness, snow removal crews will rotate their starting point. They need to maintain the same “pattern” during snow removal operations, but will rotate the end of Woodbridge and Westlake that they start on so that no one is always at the end.
Please ask if you have questions. Either email or call the Management Office at 414-427-5715.
