Hot Springs Village POA Associate Public Services Director Matthew Broom shared some information about the department’s plans to deal with the expected inclement weather in Hot Springs Village. Interspersed throughout the whole conversation was a common theme – “Stay Home and Stay Safe.”
This interview transpired on Thursday, January 11, 2024, and Broom shared that an overnight storm promised to bring severe thunderstorms, hail, and a possible tornado watch. The storm did not disappoint, leaving some folks in the state of Arkansas without electricity and some property damage.
“It will be warm in the morning [Friday, January 12], but temperatures will drop quickly. The wind is something we will be monitoring as well. We are supposed to have 40-mile-per-hour winds, so that may leave us with downed trees and things like that,” explained the Associate Director.
“The fun stuff begins on Sunday,” Broom facetiously shared. “The weather reports are constantly changing, but we are definitely looking at some wintery-type weather. We expect up to a foot of snow or more between Sunday afternoon and Sunday night. We are hoping it is just snow. We are right on the line, and it could be an ice storm, or we could get a mix of snow and ice. We can handle the snow a lot better than the ice. If we get a lot of ice, that really shuts things down.”
Broom said that most of the POA service trucks are equipped with 4-wheel drive and will be weighed down. “We have sand and salt ready to go. On Sunday afternoon, we will begin pre-treating the roads in preparation for the possible ice. When it is actively snowing, we almost have to let it do its thing, and then we go out and plow the major roads.”
“It is worth pointing out that we cannot plow every road. We receive a lot of requests from people wanting their road plowed so they can go to work, and so on. We don’t have the resources. We are only able to plow the major, heavily-traveled, arterial roads. There are too many roads and not enough plow trucks.”
Matt Broom, HSV POA Associate Public Services Director
The roads are plowed for emergency personnel. If there is an emergency, we may need to plow one of the secondary roads so emergency vehicles can enter the street.
Having said that, Broom said that they do plow some of the “usual suspects” – the roads that are known to become especially troublesome due to geographical/physical factors.
Hot Springs Village POA has four plows in the Streets Department. Two other plows are used to keep the fire stations, police station, and some parking lots clear. Two of the larger plow trucks also serve as sand and salt trucks.
In case of power outages, the POA will have a warming center at the Woodlands and possibly another location when the temperature becomes dangerously low. (If the Woodlands or another building is opened up as a warming center, the POA will make an announcement using all of their information channels, such as the Digest.) Broom said the best way for Villagers to receive the latest POA information is to be a Digest subscriber.
Expect Road Closures
Broom said, “There are areas on Barcelona and Fresno Roads that we typically close because they are too dangerous for even the POA vehicles.” When the roads are icy, it is difficult for emergency vehicles to reach troubled motorists in these places.
“It is important that people do not drive around road-closure barricades, because you are likely not to make it down the hill.”
Matt Broom, HSV POA Associate Public Services Director
Broom reiterated, “The biggest recommendation is to stay home when it gets bad. We do not need our first responders to deal with people out and about sightseeing. It gets to be too much for emergency personnel to deal with.”
Sometimes people stop in the middle of the road when they realize they are in danger. This causes a backlog of traffic, making it difficult for POA staff or emergency travel. Recently a Fed Ex driver stopped on Balearic Road.
Broom said it is not unusual for Villagers to call the POA to ask for an escort. “We do not have the resources and cannot make house calls. The POA is responsible for taking care of the roads and ensuring the emergency personnel can go where needed.”
Dangerous Conditions After the Storm
Broom said the nighttime temperatures are expected to reach single digits, and when it warms up in the daytime, all of the precipitation on the roads will begin melting. This creates dangerous driving conditions, especially in the early morning.
Precautions to Take
- “Make sure your water meter box lids are secured properly.”
- “Let your faucets drip in the middle of the night so that water constantly runs through the meter. If the water meter freezes, you will not have water. If this happens to many folks, it overloads the POA staff, and unfortunately, your situation may not be immediately remedied. It will be a while before we can get to everybody.” As the old adage goes, ‘An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.’
- Disconnect your outside water hoses from the hose bibs.
Broom is confident of the staff’s ability to handle the inclement weather challenge. “We do this every year. The employees that are out there plowing and sanding the roads are very experienced. They know what they are doing. I have all the confidence in the world for these employees. We have great leadership and will get through this just fine.”
Necessary staffing will report to work on Sunday to pre-treat the roads. They will work twelve-hour shifts around the clock, as long as necessary.
“We are in the mountains and roads can be dangerous in normal driving conditions, so when there are elements such as snow and ice, it is not worth it for people to go out. Stay home unless absolutely necessary.”
Matt Broom, HSV POA Associate Public Services Director
Cover image: Photo Credit to Superintendent Todd Noles – February 15, 2021
Contact Information for HSVPOA Associate Director of Public Services
Matt Broom
Email: mbroom@hsvpoa.org
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Thank you for the tips and advice. Stay home, stay safe. A thank you to POA employees who have to get out to keep us safe!