RFA 27-08 Snow Plowing RFA FY27-FY28

City of Somerville
Snow Plowing Vendor
Intake Package
Request for Application
(RFA)#27-08
Return completed package by Thursday
September 17, 2026, by 3:00 pm
Deliver To:
Department of Procurement & Contracting Services
1st floor, Somerville City Hall
91 Highland Ave.
Somerville, MA 02143
ATTN: Logan Carroll
OR via email
Lcarroll@somervillema.gov
procurement@somervillema.gov

Dear Prospective Vendor,
The City of Somerville (the City) is actively seeking contractors to provide snow plowing services on an "as-
needed" basis. While contractors are not guaranteed that they will be called in to work during snow events,
during a typical New England winter, the City needs contractors who have experience with plowing and
clearing snow.
The scope of services and standard rates for all snow plow contractors are detailed in the attached documents.
If you are interested in offering snow plowing services to the City of Somerville, the following forms and
information must be provided:
1) Equipment List: please fill out the vehicle and registration information for all vehicles that will be used for
snow plowing.
2) Provide a W-9 (2026 version) for your organization.
3) Certificate of Insurance that includes the City as "additional insured" and proof of worker's compensation
policy.
* Each Contractor must provide evidence of automobile liability insurance covering all registered
vehicles. Commercial liability insurance "mobile equipment" and for injury due to an accident
caused by snow plowers' work (bobcats, backhoes, front end loaders, etc.) and worker's
compensation if applicable; if worker's compensation is not applicable, contractor must sign
affidavit provided by the City.
4) Completed and signed Side Guard Ordinance acknowledgment form.
5) Completed and signed Living Wage Ordinance acknowledgment form.
* The City of Somerville has a Living Wage Requirement that establishes minimum
hourly rates for all covered employees that perform work on a City contract. The City of
Somerville living wage as of July 1, 2026, is $18.85 per hour.
6) Contract offers of over $25,000 will require completion of our Campaign Contribution Ordinance.
Estimated contract period: 10/15/2026 to 06/30/2028
A contract with the City for these services does not guarantee that the services will be utilized. Contractors
will be called depending on the needs of the City.
If you have questions, please contact the Procurement & Contracting Services (PCS) department:
procurement@somervillema.gov
Please return the completed forms to:
Lcarroll@somervillema.gov
Thank you,
Ben Waldrip
Director of Operations
City of Somerville
Department of Public Works
1 Franey Rd, Somerville, MA 02145

SCOPE OF WORK
SNOW PLOWING SERVICES
CONTRACT RATES FOR SERVICE
The Contractor will be paid a pre-determined hourly rate, set by the City of Somerville (the City). Please refer
to City of Somerville rates set by the Commissioner of Public Works. The City DOES NOT pay overtime
rates.
SCOPE OF SERVICES
The work to be performed under this contract shall consist of furnishing labor and equipment for any of the
following on an as-needed basis, as directed by the Commissioner of Public Works or DPW Designee:
1. Plowing of snow from City streets, parking lots, and any other public ways as directed by the
Commissioner or DPW Designee.
2. Plowing of snow from bus stop shelters, ADA Ramps, and sidewalks.
3. Snow-clearing treatment of public ways including sanding and salt spreading. Public ways include, but
are not limited to, City streets, parking lots, designated bus stop shelters, ADA ramps, and sidewalks.
4. Clearing snow from areas that cannot be reached with snow equipment.
5. Attend and participate in snow event simulations and trainings as deemed necessary by the
Commissioner of Public Works. The Commissioner will stipulate which vehicles are to attend
simulations and trainings. Vendors will be paid according to the City's established rates.
A snow event is determined by a minimum of 2"- 4" of accumulated snow on sidewalks.
EQUIPMENT
Contractors shall furnish trucks and vehicles engaged in snow clearing operation with plows, frames, chains,
and drivers.
Dump trucks for snow removal to local sites shall be complete with tailgate. Minimum body size: 5 cubic yards.
Trucks used for sanding and spreading shall be self-spreading. Minimum body size: 2 cubic yards.
SPECIFICATIONS
The work to be performed shall be in accordance with the following specifications and conditions.
1. All equipment furnished shall be in good mechanical order and capable of performing work without
breakdown.
2. In the event of breakdown, payment shall be allowed only up to the conclusion of the hour in which
breakdown occurred.
3. Plowing or sanding time will be computed and credited in the following manner:
* Plowing or sanding time will be computed from the time when hired vehicles have checked in at
the Department of Public Works Yard, Highway Division, One Franey Road, Somerville, MA.
* Contractor to receive one hour set-up time per engagement per vehicle presented at the yard. In
order to receive the one hour set-up time, all equipment must be installed and ready to go.
Contractors that report without their assigned GPS device are not eligible to be paid for set-up
time.
* All Contractors with more than one (1) vehicle must provide a contact phone number for a field
supervisor to the Superintendent of Streets & Sidewalks, Director of Operations, and
Commissioner of Public Works.
Somerville, MA Snow Plowing Scope of Work

* Plowing or sanding time will terminate when hired vehicles have checked out at the Department
of Public Works Yard after dumping ballast at a DPW-designated site within City limits.
4. Minor repairs on hired equipment will be performed with the consent of the Contractor by the
Department of Public Works if, in the opinion of the Superintendent of Streets & Sidewalks or DPW
Designee, such repairs are in the best interest of the City. In the event that the City provides emergency
repair services to Contractor's vehicles and/or equipment, the charges for such repairs shall be deducted
from the Contractor's invoice.
5. The Contractor's vehicles and applicable equipment must have insurance coverage as required by
Massachusetts General Law.
6. Equipment must comply with the requirements of the Registrar of Motor Vehicles in all respects.
7. The Contractor shall report to the DPW Yard within one (1) hour of being notified by phone, email or
text message that their services have been requested.
8. The City reserves the right to place City personnel in hired equipment. These personnel shall have the
responsibility for supervising activities of hired equipment during snow plowing, snow removal, or
sanding. City personnel will not operate the hired equipment.
9. The City will host a simulated snow event in mid-November of each contract year at the
discretion of the Commissioner. All Contractors must attend the event. The event will include
simulated plowing of routes, as well as equipment calibration and inspection.
10. It is expressly understood and agreed that this Agreement gives the Contractor no exclusive right to
perform all or any of the City of Somerville's snow plowing services. It is also expressly understood
that the City of Somerville may contract with others and/or rely on City employees to do such work.
11. Each Contractor may be issued a GPS smartphone app or other telemetry device for the duration of the
snow season. It is the Contractor's responsibility to have the device on for the duration of each snow
removal engagement.
12. Each vehicle will be required to have proper registration in the cab and to exhibit it upon request during
plowing and related snow clearing operations.
13. For streets, contracted plowing operations shall be performed as close to bare pavement as possible and
all streets shall be widened to maximum width. All intersections shall be cleaned to their full widths.
Care will be made not to pile snow on sidewalk corners but pushed beyond the radii and equally
distributed along the curb line.
14. City officials will instruct Contractors when to raise and lower plow blades, when to stop and start
spreading salt, etc. Failure to follow these instructions will result in liquidated damages as outlined
below.
15. Contractors may not leave the City without permission of the DPW Commissioner, Operations Director
or Superintendent of Streets & Sidewalks. Leaving the City without permission of the Commissioner
will incur liquidated damages as outlined below.
16. Once operations are underway, Contractors may not provide plowing services for any entity other than
the City. Failure to follow this specification will incur liquidated damages as outlined below.
CLEARING OF BUS STOPS AND ADA RAMPS
There are 235 bus stop shelters and approximately 3,060 ADA ramps located within the City of Somerville.
The City may require Contractors to clear bus shelters and ADA ramps of snow after snow events on an on-call,
as-needed basis. If needed, the Highway Superintendent, Director of Operations, and/or Commissioner of
Public Works will notify Contractors of which ramps and shelters the City needs them to clear. Once notified,
Contractors will start no less than twelve hours after a snow event and finish no more than 48 hours after a snow
event, unless City provides guidance otherwise.
All ADA ramps will be cleared to a minimum of 45" wide.
Contractors will clear the bus stops to the standards of the MBTA:
Somerville, MA Snow Plowing Scope of Work

* Landing pad: Clear a 6 ft x 8 ft space for safe ramp deployment
* Snow berms: Remove berms at least 3 ft wide, ideally up to 8 ft, next to the boarding pad
* Connections: Ensure a 5 ft wide path to sidewalks, curb ramps, or entrances
Snow must be trucked away to a site within the City, as directed by the Superintendent of Streets & Sidewalks,
the Director of Operations, or the Commissioner of Public Works.
CLEARING OF SIDEWALKS OUTSIDE OF PRIVATE BUSINESSES/HOMES
As part of the City's Sidewalk Snow Clearing Pilot, Contractors may be requested to provide on-call sidewalk
clearing services after snow events. Contractors may be assigned certain sidewalks, including ramps, by the
Superintendent of Streets & Sidewalks, Director of Operations, or the Commissioner of Public Works. All snow
and ice must be cleared entirely for each requested address.
CLEARING OF SCHOOL APPROACHES
If needed, Contractors may be requested to provide on-call school approach clearing services after snow events.
Contractors may be assigned certain sidewalks, ramps, and other arrival/drop-off facilities by the
Superintendent of Streets & Sidewalks, Director of Operations, or the Commissioner of Public Works. All snow
and ice must be cleared entirely for each requested location.
SNOW HAULING
Determined by the City of Somerville DPW Commissioner or Designee, the City may require snow hauling
services. Vendors may be asked to haul snow to the DPW designated snow storage space. The storage space
will be located within the City of Somerville. The service will include the pickup and trucking of snow from
within the City, hauling to the designated storage area and dumping as directed.
LIQUIDATED DAMAGES
The City shall be entitled to assess liquidated damages against the Contractor for its failure to perform the Work
as specified above. Liquidated Damages are not penalties but represent a fair measure of damages which will be
sustained by the City if the Contractor fails to perform its specified obligations.
The City shall have the right to withhold the amount of liquidated damages assessed from any payment owed to
Contractor as a credit or offset of such amount, provided the City notifies the Contractor of the specific
assessment before the deduction.
Somerville, MA Snow Plowing Scope of Work

CONTRACTOR: ____________________________________ PHONE: ________________________
ADDRESS: ________________________________________ EMAIL: _________________________
2026-2028 SCHEDULE OF PLOW TRUCKS & EQUIPMENT FOR
HOURLY SNOW PLOWING SERVICES
No. 1 No. 3
Manufacturer: ___________________________ Manufacturer: ___________________________
Model/Type: ______________ Year: ________ Model/Type: ______________ Year: ________
VIN: __________________________________ VIN: __________________________________
GVWR: ___________ # of Wheels: ________ GVWR: ___________ # of Wheels: ________
Bucket/Dump Size (cu yd): ________________ Bucket/Dump Size (cu yd): ________________
Plow Size (ft.): __________________________ Plow Size (ft.): __________________________
Spreader Size (cu yd): ____________________ Spreader Size (cu yd): ____________________
Other Attachment(s): _____________________ Other Attachment(s): _____________________
Office Use Only - Hourly Rate: ____________ Office Use Only - Hourly Rate: ____________
No. 2 No. 4
Manufacturer: ___________________________ Manufacturer: ___________________________
Model/Type: ______________ Year: ________ Model/Type: ______________ Year: ________
VIN: __________________________________ VIN: __________________________________
GVWR: ___________ # of Wheels: ________ GVWR: ___________ # of Wheels: ________
Bucket/Dump Size (cu yd): ________________ Bucket/Dump Size (cu yd): ________________
Plow Size (ft.): __________________________ Plow Size (ft.): __________________________
Spreader Size (cu yd): ____________________ Spreader Size (cu yd): ____________________
Other Attachment(s): _____________________ Other Attachment(s): _____________________
Office Use Only - Hourly Rate: ____________ Office Use Only - Hourly Rate: ____________

CONTRACTOR: ____________________________________ PHONE: ________________________
ADDRESS: ________________________________________ EMAIL: _________________________
2026-2028 SCHEDULE OF PLOW TRUCKS & EQUIPMENT FOR
HOURLY SNOW PLOWING SERVICES
No. 5 No. 7
Manufacturer: ___________________________ Manufacturer: ___________________________
Model/Type: ______________ Year: ________ Model/Type: ______________ Year: ________
VIN: __________________________________ VIN: __________________________________
GVWR: ___________ # of Wheels: ________ GVWR: ___________ # of Wheels: ________
Bucket/Dump Size (cu yd): ________________ Bucket/Dump Size (cu yd): ________________
Plow Size (ft.): __________________________ Plow Size (ft.): __________________________
Spreader Size (cu yd): ____________________ Spreader Size (cu yd): ____________________
Other Attachment(s): _____________________ Other Attachment(s): _____________________
Office Use Only - Hourly Rate: ____________ Office Use Only - Hourly Rate: ____________
No. 6 No. 8
Manufacturer: ___________________________ Manufacturer: ___________________________
Model/Type: ______________ Year: ________ Model/Type: ______________ Year: ________
VIN: __________________________________ VIN: __________________________________
GVWR: ___________ # of Wheels: ________ GVWR: ___________ # of Wheels: ________
Bucket/Dump Size (cu yd): ________________ Bucket/Dump Size (cu yd): ________________
Plow Size (ft.): __________________________ Plow Size (ft.): __________________________
Spreader Size (cu yd): ____________________ Spreader Size (cu yd): ____________________
Other Attachment(s): _____________________ Other Attachment(s): _____________________
Office Use Only - Hourly Rate: ____________ Office Use Only - Hourly Rate: ____________

CONTRACTOR: ____________________________________ PHONE: ________________________
ADDRESS: ________________________________________ EMAIL: _________________________
2026-2028 SCHEDULE OF PLOW TRUCKS & EQUIPMENT FOR
HOURLY SNOW PLOWING SERVICES
No. ___ No. ___
Manufacturer: ___________________________ Manufacturer: ___________________________
Model/Type: ______________ Year: ________ Model/Type: ______________ Year: ________
VIN: __________________________________ VIN: __________________________________
GVWR: ___________ # of Wheels: ________ GVWR: ___________ # of Wheels: ________
Bucket/Dump Size (cu yd): ________________ Bucket/Dump Size (cu yd): ________________
Plow Size (ft.): __________________________ Plow Size (ft.): __________________________
Spreader Size (cu yd): ____________________ Spreader Size (cu yd): ____________________
Other Attachment(s): _____________________ Other Attachment(s): _____________________
Office Use Only - Hourly Rate: ____________ Office Use Only - Hourly Rate: ____________
No. ___ No. ___
Manufacturer: ___________________________ Manufacturer: ___________________________
Model/Type: ______________ Year: ________ Model/Type: ______________ Year: ________
VIN: __________________________________ VIN: __________________________________
GVWR: ___________ # of Wheels: ________ GVWR: ___________ # of Wheels: ________
Bucket/Dump Size (cu yd): ________________ Bucket/Dump Size (cu yd): ________________
Plow Size (ft.): __________________________ Plow Size (ft.): __________________________
Spreader Size (cu yd): ____________________ Spreader Size (cu yd): ____________________
Other Attachment(s): _____________________ Other Attachment(s): _____________________
Office Use Only - Hourly Rate: ____________ Office Use Only - Hourly Rate: ____________

PRICE SHEET
Prices are fixed (hourly or per unit rates), depending on the vehicle and service performed, as
stipulated below. The City DOES NOT pay overtime rates.
Somerville, MA Snow Plowing Rates
Service Period 11/01/2026 - 06/30/2028
PLOWING EQUIPMENT RATE PER HOUR
34 ton pickup (8,600 - 10,999 GVWR), Minimum 8' plow $125.00
1 ton pickup (11,000 - 11,999 GVWR), Minimum 9' plow $130.00
112 ton pickup (12,000 - 15,999 GVWR), Minimum 9' plow $155.00
Truck (16,000 - 25,799 GVWR), Minimum 10' plow $180.00
Truck (25,800 - 32,999 GVWR), Minimum 10' plow $190.00
Truck (33,000 - 50,000 GVWR), Minimum 10' plow $210.00
SPREADER/SANDER SUPPLEMENTS
1-3.99 cu yd Salt Spreader $45.00
4-5.99 cu yd Salt Spreader $60.00
6-9.99 cu yd Salt Spreader $80.00
10+ cu yd Salt Spreader $90.00
SNOW CLEARING EQUIPMENT
Loader: 1.5-2.99 cubic yard bucket $195.00
Loader: 3-5 cubic yard bucket $215.00
Backhoe with or without Plow $235.00
Excavator $245.00
Skid-Steer (base rate) $135.00
Skid-Steer with Snow Attachment $145.00
Tractor equipped with Plow or Blower $195.00
Sidewalk Machine (Trackless or equivalent) $200.00
Shovel and Shoveler $62.00
SNOW/SALT HAULING
6-wheeler dump truck $130.00
10-wheeler/Tri-Axel dump truck $160.00
Tractor with dump trailer $175.00
SIDEWALK CLEARING
Regular property sidewalk (non-corner lot) $85.00
Corner lot property sidewalk $155.00
The City of Somerville has set a specific invoicing format that must be adhered to for quick
and easy processing of vendor payments. A sample can be provided on request.
Per the DPW Commissioner

Name of Company:
Submitted By:
Signature:
Date:
Address:
_____________________________________________________________________
Phone: __________________________________
EMAIL:
2