Besides the few inches of snow that coated Athens just last week, Southeast Ohio has seen a rather mild winter thus far, and it isn’t good for the snow removal industry.
Snow services account for about 70 percent of winter income for Athens’ Premier Grounds Maintenance and Solutions, but this season has brought hardly more than a flurry for the private plowing company to remove.
“Wintertime is usually our most profitable time of the year,” said Joe Gosney, owner of the private plowing company. “But it’s not going too well right now, and we will suffer considerably. I would much rather have cold weather and snow.”
During a typical ice and snow season, Athens County uses about 3,000 tons of snow and aggregate, respectively, according to the Ohio Department of Transportation. As of two weeks ago, the entire nine-county district had used 1,612 tons of materials, only a quarter of the average amount used in Athens County alone.
Gosney said he usually expects snow around Christmastime, but this past December brought only 1.47 inches of precipitation, and every inch of that was rain.
“I would rather use my material and have profit,” Gosney said. “Coming into spring, we’ll need to find other ways to profit, so we will have to do other things like home maintenance for our clients to bring in money.”
Snow plowers aren’t the only ones suffering from Athens’s no-snow streak. Snow shovels and sidewalk salt are top-sellers for hardware stores this time of year.
“Last year was really snowy so that was nice, but we haven’t been so lucky this year,” said Travis Shirer, manager of Tractor Supply Co. in Athens. “It’s unfortunate for our customers when bad weather comes, but it’s great for our business.”
Gosney said his business would be suffering much more if it didn’t cover other services such as construction and lawn care as well.
To prepare for mild winters such as this one, companies such as Premier Grounds Maintenance and Solutions pick up construction and maintenance work during the summer months.
“Most normal (snow removal companies) do all their work during the summer, and now they’re twiddling their thumbs at the window hoping for snow,” he said.
This winter loss is forcing businesses to plan ahead for spring in order to keep their finances afloat. That is, unless the late months of winter surprise Athens with snow and ice.
“You never know what Mother Nature’s going to throw at you,” said Brenna Slavens, public information officer for Ohio Department of Transportation’s District 10. “We see the most snow in January and February, so you never know what’s around the corner.”
oy311909@ohiou.edu
