Nov. 6—The City Council on Monday will vote on whether to enter into new contracts for mowing and grounds maintenance that specify the cost per cutting but not the number of cuts.

One councilman expressed concern that this could increase costs that in previous years have been capped by contracts that specified the number of rounds of mowing, but a city official said the new contracts provide flexibility to get mowing done when it's needed but forgo it when it's not.

The three-year contracts on Monday's agenda are for the low bidders on alley cutting services, grounds maintenance and right-of-way maintenance. The services required for each tract of land vary, but generally include either mowing or weed-eating and spraying. A single round of mowing and maintenance for the three contracts combined would cost the city $178,546.

Purchasing Agent Charles Booth said the total cost is not known at this point because Parks and Recreation doesn't know how many rounds each company will make during the year.

"The number of rounds depends on the need and what Parks and Recreation wants," Booth said. "If there's a drought, they may not have to work as much. If it's a rainy summer, they may mow more often."

Parks and Recreation Director Jason Lake said he and Parks Superintendent Jonathan Gruber adjusted the new contracts "so we can get more of the things we want done and be more efficient."

For example, he said the contractors will be working during winter and early spring months to clear out some areas. This will allow them to avoid the bugs, snakes and other wildlife.

"I think we'll see more work than we did with the last contracts," Lake said.

Gruber said he also added more A-boom attachment work. This attachment is used to clear brush and hanging tree limbs along rights of ways.

Councilman Billy Jackson said he is concerned that the contracts are open ended on the amount of work that the companies could do.

"The new contracts say on an as-needed basis," Jackson said. "The former contract said we were going around the city three times on alleys. If we go from three to unlimited, the amount of money we're going to spend (could be an) enormous amount that's not budgeted for."

Lake said the contracts appear to be open-ended, but the city budgeted $1.04 million for contract mowing and $73,000 for alley maintenance in fiscal 2023. This was an increase from the fiscal 2022 budgeted amount of $910,865 for contract mowing and $65,000 for alley maintenance.

"We know how much money we have and what we can do," Lake said. "This gives us more flexibility."

Thrive Outdoors, of Huntsville, was the lowest responsible bidder on rights-of-way mowing at $134,423 per cut, which Booth said is $10,823 more than three years ago. The contract is for 10 of the city's rights of way.

New additions to the fiscal 2023 contract are the city's planned 34-acre softball complex off Modaus Road Southwest and 11.64 acres of adjacent Decatur City Schools land that will be used for the complex and school parking; and a Market Street lot north of the Doubletree by Marriott hotel and near the Tennessee River.

The Modaus Road softball complex property is scheduled for at least seven rounds of mowing per year, although Gruber said this year's mowing could be limited by construction. Seven rounds would cost the city $27,195 per year.

Superior Services, of Hartselle, was the winning bidder for the three-year grounds maintenance contract with a bid of $20,123 per round of 17 properties. Booth said the contract increased $8,070 per round over 2019.

L&L Outdoor Service, of Hartselle, submitted a $24,000 bid to do about 385,440 linear feet in one round of alley cutting. L&L was one of four companies to bid on the contract. Its winning bid is $18,500 less than the second-place bidder.

Councilman Carlton McMasters said the city could take L&L's bid and almost double the number of rounds before hitting the next lowest competitors' bid. He expressed concern that L&L, a first-time bidder, won the job with such a low bid.

"We need to make sure the work is done up to our expectations," McMasters said.

— bayne.hughes@decaturdaily.com or 256-340-2432. Twitter @DD_BayneHughes.