IMAGE GALLERY: A Snowy Winter to Remember

Last Friday’s April Fool’s storm left Danvers with another four inches of snow, topping off the winter total at 88 inches — not a record, either in terms of overall snowfall or expense, but January was certainly a tough month for town plow crews and private contractors.

The first storm event only required sanding and salting on Dec. 12 and the first snowfall left a mere dusting and some slick roads on Dec. 20, but then two blizzards between Dec. 26 and Jan. 13, relentlessly followed by storm after storm with ice upon ice throughout January, left Danvers battered and the town over budget on snow and ice removal.

Public Works Director of Operations Robert Lee said the April 1 storm cost $28,631 to clean up and wasn’t particularly difficult to manage, but it did bring the overall total on cleanup costs to $862,836. Lee said that figure is $205,749 (or 31 percent) over the allotted budget of $657,087.

“This storm, our twenty-sixth storm event, brings the annual snowfall total to eighty-eight inches – let’s hope this is it!” said Lee.

Town Manager Wayne Marquis says the current DPW budget will be able to absorb some of that cost and between $170,000-$175,000 will most likely be paid for with free cash reserves to balance the books for this fiscal year.

Spring is finally here for good (or so it seems) and the snow is finally gone. Here’s a look back at what was.