By Wade Vrieze - Shwaders Lawn Care and Landscape, LLC
As winter approaches, it’s important for communities and their board members to have informed expectations of their snow removal service. To truly understand what your community has signed up for, there are three service components each board should understand before winter services commence. These components are separated into pre-snowfall operations, live snow removal operations, and post-snowfall operations. There are many levels of service for snow removal operations, thus having a clear understanding of what your property is signed up for is paramount before going into the winter season. This begins with pre-snowfall operations.
Pre-Snowfall Operations Long before snow season begins, it’s important to know whether your property should be staked. This includes staking curb lines, sidewalks, mailboxes, gutters, etc. so your vendor knows where and how far to push snow. Next, it’s vital to know where your vendor intends to push, pile, and stack the snow each snowfall. Don’t hesitate to ask your vendor for a snow map before the season begins. It’s also useful to know what type of equipment (truck, skid loader, etc.) will be used for removing the snow, and if/where on site this equipment will be stored. Finally, does your property require and pay for pre-treating freezing rain, ice, etc. with brine or another liquid-based product? Once you have a basic understanding of your property’s pre-snowfall operations, you’ll want to focus on the live snow removal operations of your vendor.
Live Snowfall Operations Live snowfall operations should begin with communication between your vendor and your property/property manager so the property has a baseline understanding of what to expect for this specific snowfall. Each snowfall is different, and therefore operations might be completed differently for each event. Some factors that affect snowfall operations include amount of snow, time of day, temperature, etc. For large snow events, it’s important to know if you have an “open-up” clause in your contract, what amount of snow triggers the clause, and what an open-up consists of. Does your open-up only include main drive lanes or roads? Does it include one or two back-drags in driveways, shoveling, etc.? It’s also important to know the timing of the snow removal. Most contracts will include time frames in which the vendor has X number of hours to get the work done. These time frames will probably differ based on how much snow falls during the event. Finally, you’ll want to note the shoveling expectations. Most vendors will have shovel crews that come to the property independent of the plow crews, meaning they may visit the property before, concurrently with, or after the plow crews. Once the storm has subsided and the property has been fully serviced, the post-snowfall agreement shifts into relevance.
Post-Snowfall Operations Many properties require post-treatments of salt, sand, etc. to prevent ice buildup. You’ll want to know if your property automatically receives treatments or if this is on a per-request basis only. Many times, city plows will come in and leave snowbanks at the ends of driveways/entries, fill in mailbox clusters/stations, and block fire hydrants. Make sure there is an understanding of whether the vendor needs to come back to take care of these issues, and if this return service is included in the contract. Finally, during heavy winters, on (and off) site snow relocation might be required. It’s important to have a price, plan, and budget for this added work.
As a board member, a thorough understanding of the specifications of your contract will ensure you know what to expect and how to communicate most effectively with your property manager and vendor, which in turn will ensure a smooth snow removal experience during the upcoming winter season.
Wade Vrieze
952-303-4898 ext. 112
