Brick Adds $350K to Snow Plowing Account, Solicits Bids To Add Private Contractors

The Jan. 25-26, 2026 snow storm in Brick, N.J. (Credit: Brick Community/ Facebook)

With the township still recovering from the weekend’s winter storm – and the possibility for another bout with snow looming this Sunday – Brick officials transferred $350,000 into the town’s snow emergency account and pledged to hire more contractors to help in future storms.

The funds for the snow emergency account were transferred from the Road Division operating and expenses account. The snow emergency fund was created many years ago in Brick under the administration of former Mayor John Ducey, who oversaw numerous changes to the snow removal process in response to a number of storms in the early 2010s when he was first elected to the township council. The fund has remained in place ever since and, over the years, has risen and fallen with the number of storms that have come through each year.

“This past weekend’s state of emergency and our subsequent response, coupled with weather projected for this upcoming weekend, finds a need to ensure that our trust fund can cover all necessary expenses,” said Councilman Derrick Ambrosino.

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The transfer of funds was approved unanimously by the governing body.

The Jan. 25-26, 2026 snow storm in Brick, N.J. (Credit: Brick Community/ Facebook)

Council members also approved, simultaneously, both a rejection of bids for additional private contractors to plow snow in town and the re-advertisement soliciting contractors. Officials said the township’s recent effort to attract contractors produced just a single response – far short of the number preferred for snow removal – largely due to what was seen as a low hourly rate that was not competitive with other local communities.

“The township had previously bid for this service and only received one response,” said Ambrosino. “This is not sufficient to service our needs in a future snow event, and due to the nature of these services and research we’ve done on surrounding municipalities’ rate structures, we’re going to be increasing our rate to reflect current costs.”

The new bid will be designed by township staff and publicly advertised; the new rate was not announced at the meeting, nor did it appear in the bid solicitation resolution.

“The township has not significantly increased the rates for snow removal recently, and research suggests that by increasing the rates, the township may receive more bids and, in doing so, end up with a longer list of contractors and equipment to handle future storms,” Ambrosino explained.

The bidding process normally takes, at minimum, several weeks, meaning additional contractors would not be available for a notional snowstorm that would occur next weekend. But township officials said even during the last storm, crews worked on a 24 hour schedule to plow the township’s 800 miles of municipal roadways, with Public Works coordinating with police, EMS-Rescue and other departments.

“They even had cots and food ready at DPW so they would be able to work around the clock,” said Ambrosino, adding that 60 vehicles were tasked with salting, sanding and plowing, including township-owned dump trucks and excavator-style pieces of equipment.

“We had to go out and re-plow roads, especially around the major roads in town,” he said. “Add to that the big drop in temperature Sunday evening … now all of the sudden we have ice on top of everything else.”

The coordination could be seen in areas like Thiele Road in the Herbertsville section – a well-known trouble spot for local residents – where police closed a portion of the roadway until Public Works could re-plow and deliver sand in order to keep vehicles from slipping.

The township’s response included a meeting with members of numerous departments before the most recent storm, Mayor Lisa Crate said.

“Every single person who sat in on that meeting was committed to making sure we were prepared for this storm,” she said, adding that a website link to report un-plowed streets was added, with requests being sent directly to the township’s business administrator. “The second it turned over to freezing rain, then rain, then back to freezing rain – it hampered all of the workers who were out there.”