No Snow Hurts Winter Service Businesses; Snowboarders Still Ride

Colin Taheny says the snow business is really like the law of averages.

Just because there is no snow, yet, doesn’t mean the whole winter will stay dry.

“Last year, we had a very early winter, and then it died out,” said Taheny, vice president of sales for Ryco Landscaping in Lake in the Hills.

“It’s been pretty mild so far this year, but, I’m optimistic. Our hopes are for January, February and March. Snowfall is based on the law of averages. It’ll snow. It’s just a matter of when.”

Taheny estimates about 15 percent of Ryco’s annual business revenues come from salting and snowplowing services.

Typically, the company, located at 8595 Pyott Rd. near the LITH Airport, snowplows about eight to 14 times per winter season, and spreads salt for clients about 18 to 30 times, he said.

While Taheny waits for the flakes to start falling, he is using this downtown time to train Ryco staff and prepare for spring landscaping work, which starts in mid-March, he said.

“This downtime actually gives us a breather to train our workers, and that will make us a better company in the long run come spring,” Taheny said.

“However, we do feel for the labor force (the snowplow drivers who are not getting any work hours now), but, of course, there’s people on the other side who are glad they haven’t had to touch their snow budget.”

Indeed, individual homeowners, apartment complexes, businesses, government and school establishments all save money when they don't have to pay for snow removal expenses.

Fred Mullard, director of public works for the village of LITH, said the village has budgeted $138,000 for salt alone. With the absence of snow, the village has saved on salt and overtime pay that sometimes goes to drivers during big storms.

But Mullard said every snow storm is different and impacts his department in varying ways depending upon whether a storm hits at night, during the day, on the weekend or during the week.

Just because the village hasn’t used its salt supply, yet, doesn’t mean it won’t need to soon, he said.

“If we get an ice storm, we use more salt than if we get a big snow storm,” Mullard said. “We always budget for the same amount of salt each year, and we usually use about that same amount each year.”

Over at Raging Buffalo Snowboard Park in Algonquin, it’s snow business as usual, despite the mild winter.

“We make our own snow with water from the Fox River,” Manager Stephanie Krautstrunk said Wednesday.

 “We have a two-foot base, and we have a lot of people here today. We have a lot of lessons going on.”

Raging Buffalo, located at 19-265 Route 31, has been open for business since Dec. 10, Krautstrunk said. The snowboard park blows its own snow at night.

Even with the warmer temperatures, the park is planning to host a New Year’s Eve rail jam and an X-Games rail jam qualifying competition on Saturday, she said.