The Village performs snow plowing of cul-de-sacs via contractors. The most recent contract expired after the FY 23/24 winter season. New contract specifications were prepared and released using the Village’s OpenGov procurement platform on August 9, 2024. Because this service is paid by Motor Fuel Tax (MFT), per MFT guidelines, the Invitation for Bid was also advertised on the Illinois Department of Transportation’s (IDOT) Contractor Bulletin.

Bids were opened on August 28, 2024. A total of 23 contractors downloaded the bid, including Snow Systems, Great Lakes Snow, Brightview Landscaping, and SV Enterprises. Only one contractor, Plote Construction Inc. (Plote), both downloaded and submitted a bid. In 2022, Plote was also the only contractor to submit a bid.

Below are the three most recent bids submitted by Plote. The difference between 2019 and 2022 was -7%, while the difference between 2022 and 2024 is 13%.

Plote informed Staff that several factors contributed to the 13% increase.

First, a recent contract with their union includes a 5.5% annual increase in wages and fringe benefits. Second, overhead costs have risen for mobilization, supervision, and insurance coverage. Lastly, Plote did not request any Consumer Price Index (CPI) increases in 2023, which amounted to 8.0%, and the CPI for 2024 is 4.1%, totaling a 12.1% increase between 2022 and 2024.

Plote has been the Village’s contractor for cul-de-sac snow removal from 2014-2017 and 2018-2024. Due to MFT requirements, this contract can only be approved for the full bid amount, with a term of one year plus an optional one-year extension. Staff recommends awarding the contract to Plote Construction Inc. for the full bid amount of $465,000.

This price is over budget. The actual costs for the past three fiscal years were: FY 21/22 - $194,050, FY 22/23 - $116,000, and FY 23/24 - $131,925. Staff will manage the contract to keep the costs as low as possible. There are sufficient funds in the MFT fund to cover the costs if needed.

The Village Manager recommends the Engineering and Public Works Committee recommend the Village Board award a bid for Snow Removal in Cul-de-Sacs to Plote Construction Inc. of Hoffman Estates, IL, for $465,000 for FY 24/25 with a one-year optional extension.