The Pulaski County Commissioners have decided to continue outsourcing the lawn care at certain county properties, after all. Last year, the county contracted mowing at certain county properties out to TK Lawn Services. In January, the commissioners decided to rebid the contract for this year, but they decided last month to hold off on awarding the contract until Maintenance Director Mia Salyers could see what it would cost to repair or replace her department’s zero-turn lawnmower.
She told the commissioners last week that buying a new mower would cost more than contracting the mowing out for a year, and that doesn’t include maintenance and staffing costs. “But I also learned that I gave our smaller lawnmower to the airport last year, so we actually are down two mowers,” Salyers added.
The commissioners directed Salyers to seek bids once again, but this time, have companies submit both an hourly price and a yearly price for each property. Commissioner Kenny Becker noted that county airport officials have expressed interest in outsourcing lawn care, as well, but felt they could do it separately, since the airport has its own budget.
The commissioners already decided to turn snow removal at various county properties back over to the Maintenance Department last month.
