City Hall: Snow daze - when to call off school, when to go remote...and where to park

Jan. 28—MANCHESTER SCHOOLS have had two snow days this month. When the flakes start to fly, families face the same question:

Will kids have a traditional snow day, or will students be stuck inside learning from home?

The current contract between the Manchester Education Association and city schools includes a calendar with five days' worth of extra time built into it to cover snow days. City teachers and administrators agreed the first three snow days of the school year will be non-instructional days, but any snow days beyond that may include remote instruction.

As of Jan. 27, Manchester schools have called off school for weather only twice — meaning the next time the city is hit with a mid-sized storm, parents can count on a traditional day off.

Beyond that? A lot of factors go into deciding on a day off — or a day of remote instruction.

"The ability to hold a remote learning day is an extra option for us, but we won't necessarily start calling only remote learning days instead of a snow day," Superintendent Jenn Gillis wrote in an email. "One key factor for us is that we need to be prepared — this means that teachers have a remote lesson plan ready to go, but more importantly, students have devices and internet access at home to take part in the day."

Gillis said another big consideration is whether a storm has knocked out power or internet to parts of the city.

"The decision to call a remote learning day becomes a whole lot easier, too, once we run through the five days built into our schedule to accommodate for snow days," Gillis wrote. "After five days, we need to start worrying about the potential for extending the school year to ensure students have met the required instructional hours."

Whatever school officials decide, it's all but guaranteed some parents and students won't agree with it.

Gillis said she and other school administrators definitely hear from families about these decisions, and "we take what they're saying into consideration."

"That feedback has led us to be more transparent about how we make these decisions, and also to be as consistent as possible about when we announce schools are closed or delayed," Gillis wrote. "Road safety, unsurprisingly, is one of the more frequent concerns from families, and it is constantly on my mind."

Gillis said in the days leading up to any storm — and all the way through until the end — she's in regular contact with the state, superintendents from surrounding towns, and city staff, including parks, highway, police, fire and Manchester Transit — to ensure locals roads are safe to get to and from school.

Parking rules stiffened

Despite several stories in this newspaper, scary television weather maps on and flashing warning lights, 340 people left their vehicles parked on city streets overnight during the first two snow emergencies since Manchester's new winter parking rules — including increased fines — went into effect.

The next morning, they were gone, towed to the city's impound lot at Derryfield Park, where owners must pay $200 (cash only) to retrieve them.

Manchester's winter parking rules, enacted to facilitate snow removal and emergency vehicle access, went into effect at 1 a.m. on Dec. 1 and run through April 15.

Once a snow emergency is declared by the public works director, vehicles must be removed from both sides of city streets between the hours of 10 p.m. and 6 a.m.

In October, city aldermen approved recommendations submitted by Manchester Police Chief Allen Aldenberg that overnight winter parking fines (odd/even parking) be doubled from $25 to $50 for first-time violations, and snow-emergency parking fines doubled from $75 to $150.

The changes were proposed after concerns arose last winter about the city's handling of cars parked illegally during a January 2022 snowstorm.

During a February 2022 discussion on the topic, Alderman Erin George-Kelly said, "People think emergency parking bans are a joke. They don't take their car off the road and they don't get towed and there's no consequences so they continue to park during emergency parking bans."

According to Manchester police, 180 vehicles were towed during the snow emergency in effect from Jan. 19 to Jan. 20, and 330 tickets were issued.

During the snow emergency in effect from Jan. 23 to Jan. 24, 160 vehicles were towed, with 305 tickets issued.

Those numbers are higher than before the changes were approved.

During a Feb. 5, 2022, snowstorm, the city towed 141 cars and issued 23 tickets. During a Jan. 29, 2022, storm, 158 cars were towed.

In a snowstorm on Feb. 25, 2022, 140 cars were towed and 150 snow emergency parking tickets issued.

A new fine was created for street-sweeping parking violations, set at $50 for first-time offenders.

Aldermen approved bringing on an additional four police officers for a minimum three-hour shift for the sole purpose of issuing "snow emergency" parking tickets.

Hiring the four officers is expected to generate extra revenue. Officials point out that if each officer issues 10 tickets an hour at the new suggested fine of $150 each, even at the most senior officer's overtime rate, an estimated $16,597.44 in additional revenue would be generated in addition to "snow emergency" tows.

The city currently uses Derryfield Park as an impound lot. Manchester police will explore setting up a second lot on the West Side at Rock Rimmon Park, which would allow tow operations to run "more efficiently."

The following locations are available for free parking during snow emergencies:

—Arms Park

—Bedford Street Lot

—Gill Stadium (Beech Street side lot)

—Hartnett Lot

—Livingston Park (lot at end of Beech Street only)

—Pearl Street Lot

—Precourt Park Lot

—Shaw Park (formerly Brown Mitchell)

—West Side Arena, behind arena

—Victory Parking Garage

Snow emergency parking at these locations is permitted only from 8 p.m. the night of the snow emergency until the following morning (time is location-dependent and may be subject to parking fees.)

Vehicles left on the street during a declared snow emergency could be fined $150-$200, removed, impounded and stored at the city's vehicle impound lot at the entrance to Derryfield Park. To recover an impounded vehicle, the owner must present proof of ownership and pay $200 within 24 hours of the vehicle being towed.

Vehicles not recovered within 24 hours will be subject to additional storage charges.

The city announces snow emergencies via the following methods: white, flashing strobe lights at major intersections; electronic alerts through the city's Nixle system; and announcements on the city website, manchesternh.gov.

To sign up for alerts, go to manchesternh.gov/Residents/e-Services/Email-Notifications

Paul Feely is the City Hall reporter for the New Hampshire Union Leader and Sunday News. Reach him at pfeely@unionleader.com.