Cottonwood Heights prepares for better snow removal

COTTONWOOD HEIGHTS, Utah -- Utahns are gearing up for more snowy weather Thursday, and Cottonwood Heights residents are hoping for better snow removal.

This is the first year the city has gone with the private contractor Terracare rather than pay Salt Lake County for its snowplow services,and residents said it hasn’t been a smooth transition.

City leaders said Terracare failed in its first attempt to clear the streets after the season's first snow storm, which resulted in some streets not getting plowed for several days.

Cottonwood Heights Mayor Kelvyn Cullimore said Terracare was just not up for the task the first time around, but he expects things to change.

"At first you don't succeed you figure out what you did wrong and then you fix it," he said. "Terracare has been very cooperative in trying to make the changes that need to be made so that the problems we experienced in the first couple of storms don't reoccur."

Cullimore said Terracare has 12 plows ready to hit the streets with two more on order. He also said the company has moved its plow yard from West Valley City to Cottonwood Heights, which should cut down response time.