Village Hall Closed Monday February 16, 2026 NO GARBAGE COLLECTION
Mayor's Letter
February 13th, 2026
Dear Russell Gardens Residents,
On Tuesday, February 10th we held a special Board of Trustees as a follow-up meeting to address the snow removal of the Village sidewalks. We recognized that this matter impacted our community, and we recognize it was a courtesy unique to Russell Gardens that we hoped to maintain, however, many obstacles needed to be addressed as was discussed in earlier village meetings to ensure we could continue this courtesy.
As a backdrop, the sidewalks of the Village have been and are the responsibility of the homeowners since 1979. However, when sidewalks were redone over 30 years ago, the Mayor at the time had the Department of Public Works (DPW) plow all the sidewalks during snow events within the Village as a courtesy. These same sidewalks are no longer in good condition and existing machinery owned by the Village does not have the functionality to effectively clear the sidewalks. In addition, the Department of Public Works was short staffed by 50%, since the beginning of the winter season, and did not have the appropriate manpower to manage clearing all the roads which in and of itself is a massive undertaking in keeping our community safe even when fully staffed, let alone the driveway aprons and then the sidewalks. Lastly, there are and continue to be potential liability issues that are a concern as well when the Village takes on the responsibility of clearing the Village sidewalks as a courtesy.
Since our meeting in January, we have worked diligently in resolving this matter. We have been able to fill the needed open positions within the DPW and are once again fully staffed. Furthermore, we have identified sidewalk specific snow clearing machinery, that should be capable of effectively removing snow from the Village sidewalks even in their current condition. During our special Board of Trustee meeting, that was held on February 10th, we voted and approved the purchase of this machinery. The machinery and various components are currently on back order. We will however be taking delivery of some of the major components within the coming weeks; however, we do not have an exact date for the delivery of all the remaining components necessary to fully operate the machinery for proper snow clearing/removal at this time. Therefore, in the event of another snowstorm, we ask that you continue to clear your sidewalks as is required per Village Code, until we are able to reinstate the courtesy of having the DPW crew to again clear the Village sidewalks.
We appreciate everyone’s understanding in this matter.
Sincerely,
Mayor David M. Miller
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