HomeMy WebLinkAbout09-27-21 Public Comment - C. Stanley - Snow Removal FeesFrom:clintstanley88@gmail.com
To:Agenda
Subject:Absurdly high snow removal fees
Date:Monday, September 27, 2021 11:12:52 AM
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I am very concerned with the snow removal fees the City of Bozeman imposes on its citizens. I would really
appreciate it if whomever reads this would take the time to read, digest and really consider what I am saying instead
of just -blowing me off. What I have to say is real, truthful, accurate, and without exaggeration or embellishment. To
put it bluntly, the City of Bozeman is getting raped by these snow removal contractors and the City of Bozeman is
raping the citizens of Bozeman by passing along the costs to them. The costs are completely out of line, unfair,
completely unreasonable, and evidently the City of Bozeman doesn’t care and is not willing to do anything about it.
This must stop. The City of Bozeman must put financial parameters in place on the bidding process for these snow
removal contractors The way it is structured now, the sky is the limit for these contractors and the lowest bid, no
matter how ridiculously high that is…wins. That is reckless on the part of the City of Bozeman, not to mention the
fact that the City of Bozeman just passes the costs on to the citizens. If The City of Bozeman actually had to pay
these costs without being reimbursed, I’m certain they would change their posture regarding these exorbitant costs. I
an 65 years old and have had major reconstructive back surgery. Please keep that in mind as I explain my concerns
below..The city commission of Bozeman, Ken Phillips to be specific, has authorized an unscrupulous snow removal
contractor to charge the City of Bozeman $.70 per square foot to remove snow from residential sidewalks if deemed
necessary by the City Of Bozeman. Allow me to put this absurd amount into proper perspective. I, a 65 year old
man, who has had major reconstructive back surgery can easily clear one square foot of snow in 2 seconds. All I
need to do is take a conventional shovel that has a 12 inch wide blade and move it 12 inches forward and I have
successfully cleared one square foot of snow from a sidewalk. Ken Phillips seems to feel that it is a fair and
reasonable amount of money for the good citizen’s of Bozeman to pay for such service under the guise that it is the
lowest bid from contractors for this service. Let me put that into perspective for you. If I can clear one square foot of
snow in 2 seconds (easily done) that means I can clear 30 square feet in one minute, which means I can clear 1800
square feet in an hour and that is all by hand, no machines involved. Furthermore, add in the fact that a snow shovel
that is 24 inches wide, a person can clear 2 times that amount of snow in the same timeframe. If you consider the
fact that a plow attachment on the front of an ATV can clear 671 square feet of sidewalk in less than 30 seconds, the
cost is ridiculous and absolutely absurd. I use 671 square feet as an example because I was charged $471.00 to clear
a sidewalk and if you consider that $471.00 divided by $.70 cents per square foot = 671 square feet. I personally
observed the workers use and ATV with a plow attachment to clear my sidewalk in less than 30 seconds and the
City of Bozeman has sent me a bill for $471.00 for that service, I want you to think about this for a moment. If it
takes 30 seconds to clear a sidewalk of snow do you realize what that extrapolates to an hourly wage? I would like
to tel you…$471.00 for 30 seconds of work equals $942.00 per minute and that figure times 60 minutes in an hour =
$56,520.00 per hour. Now, I would like to ask you, do you or anyone in the City of Bozeman Commission feel that
charge is in any way, shape or form a fair and reasonable charge for snow removal? I would also ask you to ask
anyone on the commission if they would be willing to pay a contractor $56.520.00 per hour to remove snow from
their personal property? I feel very strongly the answer would be a resounding NO but yet that is exactly what Ken
Phillips and the City of Bozeman are asking, (actually demanding) that the citizens of Bozeman pay for snow
removal services. Ken Phillips, by his own admission, is charged with finding contractors to remove snow within
the city of Bozeman as required. Is this really the best he and the City of Bozeman can do? $56.520.00 per hour is
the best he can do? I would respectfully submit to you that he should be fired immediately and replaced with
someone who has has some semblance of common sense and has the ability to negotiate a fair and reasonable price
for snow removal.The good citizens of Bozeman deserve much better than Ken Phillips to represent us. What if the
lowest bid was $10.00 per square foot? Would he accept that as well? Are you kidding me???? That is the most
absurd thing I have ever heard of. Maybe he is getting a financial kick back from this unscrupulous contractor.
Something is very very wrong here and it seems like no one within the City of Bozeman cares to even look into this
issue. It needs to be looked into and anyone who has a received a bill from the City of Bozeman for snow removal
needs to be apologized to and the fees need to be forgiven along with a letter of apology from the City of Bozeman
Commission for being completely negligent of what is going on beneath their very noses. Along these lines, I
submitted a well thought out letter of appeal to Mr. Phillips and his boss, Mitch. After receiving a denial letter I cam
to realize that Mitch denies every appeal letter that comes across his desk with apparent full autonomy and no
accountability to anyone on the City commission. What a joke. Show me, City of Bozeman any snow removalappeal that has been approved. I dare you. Another thing you should know. I walk alot around town and I can assureyou that there are many sidewalks that are the responsibility of Bozeman to clear and they are not cleared in thetimeframe they are supposed to be cleared. That is clearly a violation but does the City of Bozeman do anythingabout it?? Of course not. But you are very quick to levy fines on a resident who is in the same violation as the Cityof Bozeman. I would submit to you this…make sure your own house is in order before pointing your crooked littlefinger at a single residence for a snow violation that is evident all over the City of Bozeman..Yes you may contactme and please do. I’m not hiding from you. I’m not afraid to meet with anyone representing the City of Bozemanregarding these fees. Are you? Thank you for your time.
Clint Stanley
clintstanley88@gmail.com