The Howell City Council met recently and approved a contract for annual street sweeping services.

On Monday night, City Council approved a one year contract extension with the low bidder, Progressive Sweeping Inc. for an amount not to exceed $49,606. It’s said to be a critical service as the City has a lot of trees. Howell became a Tree City USA community in 1987 and has maintained that status each consecutive year since. Some members questioned the cost when considering budget stresses but if the street sweeping was not performed, officials noted there would be serious issues with storm grates backing up. It also keeps debris and other things out of local lakes, creeks and streams. Director of Public Services Erv Suida tells WHMI the City has annual street sweeping, which is contracted out. The three year contract is to sweep all major and local streets that have curb and gutter and parking lots, including Grand River and the central business district. Suida says it’s done on a routine basis, helps with storm water management, keeps debris out of the storm system and generally keeps streets draining.

The company will do an initial spring clean-up toward the end of April or beginning of May, which was said to typically take two or three passes. After that, it’s basically routine maintenance with streets done once a month but the central business district is done twice a week. (JM)