Anchorage Mayor Dave Bronson is requesting bids for snow removal services weeks after snow pummeled the city.
The first of the snowstorms arrived on Dec. 6. The Bronson administration waited three weeks to issue a request for supplemental snow hauling services. Bronson is now requesting an expedited process, which will shorten the public notice window from two weeks to seven days.
In requesting expedition, Bronson argued “time is of the essence and the best interests of the municipality will be served by providing a shorter public notice for accepting invitations to bid.”
It took more than a week for the city to clear the roads due to inadequate staffing and an unmaintained plow fleet. Even after the streets were plowed, an abundance of snow turned two-lane streets into one. The lack of snow removal, usually standard in the winter, has created bottlenecks all over the city. Worse, with the sidewalks buried under feet of snow, pedestrians are walking through the already-crowded roadways.
The bid request requires the winning bidder to provide a minimum of 15 tandem axle, end-dump trucks as well as other specific equipment requirements.
The administration was caught unprepared for the snow, with almost a third of the municipal-owned equipment inoperable. They managed to fix most of the graders midway through the back to back storms that blanketed Anchorage with 41 inches of snow.
Businesses suffered losses during the busy holiday season, emergency vehicle response was stalled in some areas, and schools were closed for an unprecedented six days. The municipality continues to struggle with snow removal, with many roads reduced to one lane, while some bus stops and sidewalks remain inaccessible. At an Assembly meeting on Dec. 20, Bronson scoffed at the idea of declaring an emergency to deal with municipal issues related to the weather.
“If we are going to declare an emergency every time there is cold weather, we would have five months of emergency every year,” Bronson said.
Despite continued struggles with snow removal, Bronson waited three weeks to even put out a request to bid. Then, he asked to expedite it.
In June, the Bronson administration was warned by union leader Jason Alward that city maintenance and snow removal would fail due to unfilled positions and low wages. Alward also pointed out that if the municipality hired outside contractors to do the work, they would make much higher wages than what is currently offered to city employees. Bronson donor McKenna Brothers Paving was brought in mid-December to assist with hauling snow for the municipality.
Bids for the private contractor will be reviewed starting Jan. 4.
