Like many businesses, ProPark, which owns and operates ten parking lots in Hartford, pays for snow removal by the storm. But, what they pay is based on how much snow falls.
“Zero to three inches is one level. 3.1 inches to 6 inches is at another. 6.1 to 9 inches is higher and so on. Once it’s above 12 inches, it’s by the inch,” said Marc Schreiber, Regional Vice President for ProPark, Inc.
But how do businesses, which pay using this formula, know for certain how many inches of snow is getting plowed? Schreiber says sometimes he does a ruler test. However, plowing contractors often subscribe to a monthly weather service, which provides them with storm totals for each locale. The contractors will them submit this information with their monthly invoice.
Schreiber also says he views each parking space as similar to a table in a restaurant.
“A table at a restaurant turns over basically two to three times a night. On any given night, I should be able to turn a parking space over two to three 3 times a night, depending on your happy hour crowd, your dinner crowd and your late night nightclub crowd,” added Schreiber.
ProPark’s Hartford lots total approximately 1,100 spaces, but as many as twenty percent are presently covered with Mother Nature’s ice cream. This adds up to potentially $100,000 in revenue losses per month.
But, there is one caveat to that. Schreiber says “Unless you have to displace cars off the property and or take keys and valet, you’re not necessarily losing money.” At least until companies are forced to move snow completely off of the parking lot.
That requires a three step process. It costs ProPark between $90 and $140 per hour for a pay loader. A dump truck runs roughly $90 per hour. Then, there are costs to dump the snow at an offsite location.