El Paso County crews participate in annual snow school training Tuesday
COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (KRDO) — Winter weather that brings snow and ice doesn’t just come in the winter; we’ve seen it come in mid-fall and in early spring.
So, El Paso County public works crews must prepare for snow removal and related tasks ahead of time, in good weather — whether crews are new or experienced.
That’s the purpose of the annual “snow school” training event.
It helps crews learn and refresh their skills, including how to plow snow properly, put snow chains on their tires, and other duties.
You may not realize how large the county is: Hundreds, if not thousands, of roads, many of them unpaved, and as far as 40 miles from the Colorado Springs city limits.
It takes an appropriately large staff to cover that much territory.
Supervisors say that a full call-out for a winter storm event is 140 people, and last season, the county was close to being fully staffed, with 135 drivers.
The height of the COVID-19 pandemic reduced those numbers significantly.
In response, the county eliminated some job requirements, such as having a high school diploma, and raised pay and benefits to attract new employees and retain existing workers.
The county has also found success in outreach programs that have continued since the pandemic.
Supervisors occasionally host students at the transportation complex and make presentations at schools, exposing students to a possible career in public works.
Scott Hall, the county’s training supervisor for public works, said that around a third of the employees are new, and the overall retention rate is around 10%.
“We’ll be a little under what we were last year,” he said. “Maybe a dozen or so short of being fully staffed. “We’re close. We’re still doing a lot of training, and we have a whole new group of people coming in — new hires next week. So, it’s always a process.”
One of the newer employees is Dalton Hopkins, who’s in his second year with the county after a similar job with Fort Carson.
“I haven’t really decided (whether to stay long-term),” he said. “But I know it’s a good group of people. I think for a lot of people, (the county) just might not be the place for them.”
Hall agrees.
“This is not a burger-flipping job. This is a work job.”
He hopes that a new career progression program will convince more departing employees to stay.
“You can actually see your future build,” Hall explained. “You know what you’re going to work towards in your first year, your second year, whatever those years are, plus the money that goes with it. And it has helped immensely.”
Finally, Hall added that the weather isn’t the biggest challenge for crews; it’s drivers who get too close to the plows or otherwise hinder them.
“For their safety and yours, please give the plows plenty of space,” he urged.
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