Fort St. John ended 2025 and rang in the new year under a brutal deep freeze, complete with frostbite warnings and persistent snowfall. The weather led to a higher-than-expected snow removal bill.
There was no shortage of snow in the Peace last December. The city of Fort St John saw 103.9 centimetres that month alone and reported receiving over 160 centimetres in total for Q4.
“We did go over budget, by $484,000, and it was due to essentially little to no gaps between snowfalls in that month. So, we had to employ contractors to help us get through the city quicker,” said Gary Meir, Fort St John’s roads manager, in City Hall on Monday, Feb. 9.
Contractors helped with overnight hauling to the snow dump, as well as lane maintenance downtown. Service providers are selected from a city-operated tender every fall.
From October to December of last year, the tab for non-city-operated snow removal totaled “well over $500,000.”
“Contracted services were $468,000 over budget. This overage was largely due to the use of additional contract services,” staffers explained to the city council in a report.
City crews were also working around the clock to manage the snow and racked up $9,000 in combined overtime.
“I’m very proud of our snow team. Each and every one of them put a lot of hard work and a lot of extra hours that they could have been home with their families. I appreciate it,” said Meir, commending the work done by his crew and contractors.
Salt and sand were used to de-slick the roads. According to staff’s report “over 90 per cent of the winter sand intended for Q4 2025 and Q1/Q2 2026 was used because of the back-to-back storm events. Additional winter sand had to be purchased using 2026 funds.”
“Salt use exceeded expectations due to ice and rain conditions in the early winter resulting in a $57,000 budget shortfall,” it continued.
Keeping the roads and sidewalks as safe as possible was the city’s priority. This year, it revealed and operated under its new Snow and Ice Policy, which introduced the public to the ranked clearing system, where main roads are cleared first, and residential roads are maintained every other week.
“In evaluating this (year’s snow removal), let’s use the whole scope of the community to look at this,” said Fort St John city councillor Byron Stewart.
He suggested hearing public engagement on snow removal to clear the air and hear feedback from residents. The city’s chief administrative officer said staffers are working on a method to collect feedback, and to expect more information on it this spring.
