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County reviews snow response after 'historic' storm; agencies pledge after‑action fixes for tracker, coordination and school access
Summary
County officials presented a multi‑agency review of the January snow/ice event and responded to council questions about communications failures, 3‑1‑1 and SnowIQ data mismatches, sidewalk and bus‑stop clearing, contractor constraints and prioritization for vulnerable residents; agencies promised an after‑action report and operational changes.
County leaders briefed the full council on Feb. 3 about responses to a major snow and sleet event that left deep accumulations and long recovery needs across Montgomery County.
Rich Maddalino, the county’s chief administrative officer, and Matt Mazurko from OEMHS framed the storm as an unusual combination of heavy snow, sleet and an anomalous Arctic air mass that led to prolonged freezing conditions. Mazurko summarized meteorological drivers and said the storm produced the equivalent of about two inches of liquid across much of the county and localized 6–10 inches of snow/sleet accumulation.
Department heads described operational scale and challenges: DOT said it deployed roughly 500 pieces of equipment, about 600 personnel (roughly half county staff, half contractors), operated 13 consecutive days of response, tracked 220 plow routes and cleared more than 800 bus stops toward a 1,000‑stop goal. DOT also reported more than 10,000 3‑1‑1 service requests during the response phase.
Officials acknowledged failures in automated communications between SnowIQ (the snow-management system) and public reporting tools that led to premature closing of service requests and inaccurate public-facing “street cleared” messages. Director Conklin and other agency leads said they will "reinsert a human" in the data‑to‑public flow, improve data‑entry and route‑completion practices, better integrate 311 with SnowIQ, and produce an after‑action report with specific recommended changes.
Councilmembers pressed agencies on coordination with Montgomery County Public Schools: MCPS said it prioritized facility readiness and then shared route testing results and a list of problematic stops (a first consolidated list provided on Sunday afternoon at about 2:13 p.m.), which DOT and other agencies used to target additional resources. MCPS reported opening 9 school sites for food distribution midweek and ultimately served more than 47,000 meals over the week (count not yet finalized).
Councilmembers repeatedly raised equity and vulnerable‑population concerns, requests for clear prioritization rules (including school bus stops and safe walking routes), contractor billing and sharing questions, and whether a formal written MOU should govern interagency responses in major events. Agencies acknowledged those issues and committed to surface after‑action findings and to return to council with corrective steps.
