Nampa Mayor Bob Henry signed an emergency declaration Tuesday morning in response to the record amount of snow and risk of flooding. The declaration goes into effect immediately and will remain until Jan. 19, 2017, unless modified by Nampa City Council.
Henry declared the emergency after learning Tuesday morning that two of the city’s four plows are down due to the non-stop use of equipment since Dec. 5. “Parts were expected to arrive Monday, but weather has delayed the shipment until the end of the week. A local machine shop is fabricating temporary blade parts and are expected to be available for use soon,” stated a news release from the Mayor’s Office.
The declaration of emergency is an administrative tool that allows the city to bypass the typical time-consuming bidding process to hire contractors. Nampa has contracted with Thueson Construction, Big Bite Excavation and Nampa Paving and Asphalt Company, the release said.
Contracted crews will continue to work on main and secondary roadways, while city crews will focus their efforts to complete plowing of residential areas and readdress areas of concern.
The city had plowed almost all subdivisions and residential areas Monday evening before the additional snow fell, the release said.
City crews continue to check critical storm drains and are addressing localized ponding of water. Snow is also being removed from downtown parking areas.
