COTTONWOOD HEIGHTS, Utah – The City of Cottonwood Heights is parting ways with Terracare over frustrations with the way the company handled snow removal services last winter.
Residents in Cottonwood Heights said they faced piles of snow under Terracare’s watch.
“It's the greatest snow on earth, but it's not great when it's on your street and you can't get out,” said Bill Clark, a resident of Cottonwood Heights.
Clark said at one point even the mail couldn't get through.
“I called the city and complained, part of it was that it got so bad that we couldn't even get mail delivery,” Clark said. “The Post Office just couldn’t get anywhere near the area."
Carla Patton also experienced some frustrations with the snow removal services.
“When we saw the rinky-dink trucks they had, we were all, ‘Oh, no. This is not going to be enough to do the job,’” she said.
In the wake of those issues, Assistant City Manager Bryce Haderlie terminated the contract with Terracare. The deal with the private company and city began in 2013 and covered public works, including snow removal.
Starting this fall, Haderlie said the city will use its own employees and buy new trucks.
“We are going to provide more equipment at a lower cost that, with proper training, can be much more effective than the services we've had in the past,” he said.
The city will purchase 14 new snow removal vehicles to bring their total fleet up to 19.
“I'm glad they are moving in the right direction,” Clark said.
FOX 13 News reached out to Terracare for comment on this story, and so far has not yet received a response.
