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Select board instructs staff to refine sidewalk snow-removal contracts; sets 2-inch trigger and seeks event-based payment language
Summary
Board discussed sidewalk snow-removal scope and pay structure, debated whether contractors should act in advance or 'as directed,' and indicated a preference for requiring clearing at accumulations of 2 inches or at the board's request while asking staff to craft event-based payment language to avoid multiple charges for the same storm.
At its workshop the select board spent extensive time reviewing sidewalk and snow-removal contract language, focusing on when contractors should salt, sand and plow, and how contractors should be paid for work during multi-day storms.
Members debated a provision that would have contractors treat sidewalks in advance of expected snow or freezing rain. Several argued that routine advance treatment for every dusting would be costly and recommended instead that contractors remove snow when accumulation reaches 2 inches or when specifically requested by the select board. One Committee member said the existing contract required cleanup after every storm over 2 inches or at the select board's request; others added that contract language should define a single "event" (a storm) so contractors are not paid multiple times for repeated trips within the same weather event.
The board asked staff to compare the old and current contracts, draft revised scope-of-work language that keeps legal liability and formatting consistent with other town contracts, and add an event-based payment clause so a single storm counts as one event for compensation purposes. Members scheduled a follow-up review of the sidewalk contracts at a workshop next Tuesday at 6 p.m.
