City of Waco responds to winter weather

By City of Waco Public Information

CITY OPERATING WITH ESSENTIAL PERSONNEL THROUGH WEDNESDAY

Citizens are encouraged to please stay off the roads, conserve energy and be safe!  Protect your family (pets included), pipes and plants.

CLOSURES

The following City facilities and operations will be closed through Wednesday, February 17^th. We’ll update with changes as soon as they are made available.

Cameron Park Zoo, Cottonwood Creek Golf Course, the Texas Ranger Hall of Fame, all branches of the Waco-McLennan County Library, Waco Mammoth National Monument, all community centers (except identified Warming Centers) Cobbs Recycling Center will be closed Wednesday and then evaluated for future opening.

WARMING CENTERS

The City has warming centers currently open at locations around town for residents without power to get warm.

You may stay overnight if needed, COVID-19 restrictions will be in place (masks required), power is currently available, but there is a possibility of power outage at any point. Please bring your own snacks, blankets and warm clothes as needed.

Please drive safely and share with those who may need it – more locations to be evaluated.

·         South Waco Community Center (2815 Speight)

·         Highland Baptist Church (3014 Maple Avenue)

·         Dewey Community Center (925 N. 9^th Street)

·         St. Alban’s Episcopal Church (enter from 2900 W Waco Drive)

TRANSPORTATION TO WARMING CENTERS

Waco Transit System is providing rides to warming centers for those in need. Please call (254) 405-4247 and they will make arrangements to pick you up safely. Available from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. (warming centers only, please).

TRASH PICK-UP

Solid Waste Services has made the decision to cancel residential & commercial collection for Wednesday (2/17). We are evaluating when we’ll make up missed collection days and appreciate your patience. We will notify through our Waco Curbside App and post all updates.  DOWNLOAD THE APP — For immediate alerts affecting your household trash service, download the Waco Curbside Services App available on Google Play and Apple App Store.

COVID VACCINATIONS

Persons who missed their appointments to receive the COVID vaccine last week and those who are due for their second dose are being called to be given an appointment for this Friday and Saturday.  After those are scheduled we will contact those in the 1A and 1B phases of the DSHS directive who are signed up on our waitlist.  We hope to hear about our next shipment of vaccines soon.  When we do, we will continue scheduling from the waitlist.  

COVID Testing

The Texas Department of Emergency Management has closed public COVID testing sites until February 18, 2021.

Urgent Need to Conserve Energy

Demand for electricity continues to be at unprecedented levels. Conservation efforts are extremely important during this historic winter storm as it continues.  All residents and businesses should to continue to conserve energy to help maintain service for our most critical human needs customers.

Conservation Efforts:

• Lower your thermostat to at least 68 degrees.
• Businesses should minimize energy usage as much as possible.
• Lower the water heater temperature to 120 degrees.
• Never use an oven or a gas stovetop to heat your home.
• Unplug electronic devices and turn off lights that are not in use.
• Reduce shower time and avoid baths.
• Refrain from using large appliances like your washer, dryer, oven, and dishwasher for the next few days.
• When in use, limit opening the oven door to prevent wasted energy.
• Keep your fireplace damper closed unless a fire is burning.
• Avoid using your natural gas fireplace, if possible.
• If you have a pool, do not use the pool heater. Instead, run your pool pump during the coldest part of the day to circulate the water and prevent freezing.

CITY UPDATES:

PUBLIC WORKS: Street/ Traffic

·         Treat dark intersections without signage as four-way stops.

·         Due to outages on various traffic signals, road conditions, and long-term nature of the event, some lights will be in red flash around town when lights malfunction.

·         Streets remains on-call all and will continue to be.

·         Supervisors have been monitoring bridges and street segments routinely and will continue.

·         Trucks and crews are working around the clock to sand Waco streets.

TRANSIT

·         Fixed routes and Para-transit services are suspended.

Municipal Court

·         Closed Monday and Tuesday.

Solid Waste

·         Trash collection for residential and commercial customers is cancelled through Wednesday as we evaluate when to continue and make up the days missed.

·         Cobb’s Recycling Center is closed on Wednesday.

·         The Landfill remains open with limited staffing.

Water Utility Services

·         Staff is expecting an increase in water line breaks and an increase in calls for emergency shut-offs because of broken private plumbing lines. Staff is ready to respond to the changing conditions by bringing in additional crews and call center staff as needed.

Parks & Recreation

·         Tree crew on standby to address issues for any trees affected by the weather.

Development Services

·         Inspection staff will contact anyone whose inspection will need to be rescheduled.

·         Inspectors will be on call for any emergency inspections needed for gas/power reconnects/hookups.

Additional Information and Resources

·         Information on outages – ONCOR

·         Report an outage -or- call 888.313.4747

·         Please do not travel, but if you must here are some tips from TXDOT for winter travel and driving safety: https://www.txdot.gov/driver/weather/winter-travel.html

·         To report a dangerous road condition please call the non-emergency dispatch line 254-750-7500

·         To report a water main break or loss of water you can call 254-299-2489. If the issue is due to frozen or busted pipes at your house, please call a plumber.