Burton council awards street-sweeping contract to Curbco, approves $124,964.36 bid

Burton City Council voted to award the city’s street-sweeping contract to Curbco for $124,964.36 after an extended discussion about service quality, procurement history and the costs of doing the work in-house.

Councilmember Heffner moved to award the contract to Curbco; Councilman Smith supported the motion. On roll call the council recorded unanimous yes votes and the motion carried.

The item generated lengthy council comments. Several council members described recurring quality problems with previous contractors — insufficient use of water, leftover debris in curb pans and the need to repeatedly call contractors back to re-sweep. Staff told council the low bidder had repeatedly produced substandard work and that the bid from Curbco was higher than other respondents but might yield better performance. City staff also advised that buying a municipal sweeper would carry additional costs: equipment purchase, staffing, maintenance and regulated disposal of sweepings and fluids; staff cautioned those lifecycle and environmental-disposal costs could make in-house sweeping more expensive than it initially appears.

Council members discussed the city’s budget for sweeping (discussion referenced a current budget line in the $80,000–$88,000 range) and said they would use a transfer if necessary to cover the contract. A councilmember argued the city should pay more for reliable service rather than accept poor performance to save money.

Motion: award street-sweeping contract to Curbco in the amount of $124,964.36. The council asked administration to return with details on the transfer or budget amendment required to fund the contract.

The vote and the direction to come back with funding details took place during the council’s action items segment; staff agreed to present the required transfer at a subsequent meeting.