Weather Frightful for Some, Delightful for Others

It’s the first time Ben Grum, 26, owner of a snow-removal company in Libertyville and a Lake Forest police officer, has been able to take a winter vacation in many years, and it’s mainly due to the unseasonably mild weather.

“For the first time in my career as a police officer, I was able to get a December vacation,” said Grum. “And obviously snowplowing, you don’t usually take too many winter vacations, so it was fortunate.”

Last winter Libertyville received more than 80 inches of snow. This winter, Libertyville has recorded only 1.5 inches of snow so far, according to village officials.

During December 2010, Grum’s business clocked 200 man hours for snow removal. This December, however, he only clocked 20 man hours, just 10 percent of what he logged last year.

“Whenever it doesn’t snow, money is lost. Luckily in the last five or six years it’s become more common for us to take on seasonal contracts, which means we get paid if it snows or doesn’t,” said Grum, owner of Silver Star Home Service Corporation.

Unfortunately, not all snow-removal workers are faring so well.

“People that this is their bread and butter, they are hurting,” Grum said. “Most people in the business, although they had the time off, they didn’t have the money.”

Grum, who has worked as a police officer for five years, says he has heard municipal and state workers say they are hurting because they are not getting the overtime that snow typically requires.

“Our municipal guys count on the snowplow overtime for Christmas gifts,” Grum said.

For the village of Libertyville, the lack of snow was a blessing, allowing many workers time off during the holiday season.

“We’ve been out three times this year, compared with last year around this time, we were out 16 times,” said Public Works Director John Heinz. “The good news is the guys who have been plowing on holidays the past several years were able to be home with their families.”

So far, Libertyville has spent about $13,000 of its annual $279,000 snow-removal budget, which includes funds for items such as plowing, salting and manpower, according to Heinz.

The mild weather has been a plus in other ways, too. The Sports Complex saw an increase in golfers during December due to the nice weather.

“There’s no question that Mother Nature has been very kind to everybody whose business is outdoor or indoor activities,” said Connie Kowal, the village’s director of recreation and the Sports Complex. “The driving range has seen a spike in business and has seen an increase in the number of golfers come out.”

Heinz says if the weather remains mild, the village could see savings, “but we have at least two more months of winter that can catch up quickly, and I expect it will do so.”

The mild weather looks like it soon could come to an end, with snow showers expected after midnight Wednesday, according to the National Weather Service. Expect temperatures to drop to the lower 30s on Thursday.

Even with snow just around the corner, Grum doesn’t expect the snow-removal industry to make up for lost business.

“I’m not hopeful that we are going regain the business we lost in December,” Grum said.