After discussions at their two May meetings, the Jefferson Board of Selectmen voted May 18 to award the plowing and sanding of town roads for the next two winters to Gordon Libby Forest Products at an overall rate roughly one-third higher than this year.
Libby and James Beverage have been the town’s snowplowing contractors since at least 2011, splitting up the roads at roughly 31 to 35 miles and 15 to 19 miles, respectively.
Bids from the two contractors were the only ones received for the work, according to Town Clerk Lynne Barnikow.
Beverage submitted a bid of $4,500 per mile for both the 2015- 2016 and 2016-2017 seasons; Libby’s bid was for $4,700 per mile the first year and $4,800 per mile the second, and included a $100-per-mile fuel surcharge for every 25 cents the price of fuel goes above $4.25 per gallon.
However, the two bids in total did not specifically cover all the town roads. Beverage’s bid was for just 15.7 miles (a portion of the “North End” based on the town’s road list), and Libby’s was for 22.8 miles, the entirety of the “South End.”
On May 4, after selectmen became concerned about paying Libby the company’s higher rate for handling the roughly 12 miles not specifically included in either bid, Beverage pulled his bid from consideration.
Libby’s bid did specify any additional mileage would be billed at a minimum of the same rate, which Sarah Lessner, the company’s office manager, said would apply to any mileage the company took off Beverage’s hands, as had been done in the past.
An attachment for the most recent contracts between the town and each of the contractors spelled out the roads and mileage in a similar fashion; 35 miles for Libby and 15.3 miles for Beverage.
The selectmen voted May 4 (with Chair Greg Johnston abstaining) to award the full contract to Libby pending a legal check. However, according to Barnikow, Maine Municipal Association said a conditional vote such as that is not a legal vote.
The selectmen’s options, therefore, Barnikow said at the May 18 meeting, were to put the work back out to bid – which Selectman Jigger Clark opposed, since Libby’s bid was already public – or negotiate with Libby.
After some discussion with Libby and Lessner over the fuel surcharge provision, the board voted 2-1 to award the full contract to Libby at the above per-mile rates, with the town responsible for paying any fuel costs above $4.50 per gallon based on Libby’s average cost over a season.
Johnston voted against the motion, saying he felt a contract should include everything and not have stipulations like the fuel surcharge.
“If you think fuel’s going to go to $5 [per gallon], go to $5,000 [per mile], whatever,” Johnston said.
In total, the contract will cost $240,170 for the 2015-2016 season and $245,280 for 2016-2017, plus any fuel costs. The contracts are pro-rated between the town’s annual budgets due to its fiscal year.
Between Libby and Beverage, the 2014-2015 season contracts totaled $180,702.
The reason for Libby’s per-mile increase for the coming seasons was due to an evaluation of the company’s costs, such as registration, insurance, and repairs, Lessner told The Lincoln County News.
“It was kind of a combination of things, and we want to try to make sure we’re not paying for a job,” Lessner said.