Discussion about Mowing of Residential Roadway Rights-of-Way
(Todd Noles, Assistant Superintendent of Streets, and Sanitation)
At the April 6, 2022 Board Discussion Session, Todd Noles, Assistant Superintendent of Streets, and Sanitation presented a proposal for a mowing contract. No votes were taken at this meeting.
The mowing south of DeSoto Boulevard is performed by POA staff. But, “We don’t have enough equipment or staff to mow the whole Village. DeSoto Boulevard is the centerline”, and for the past 15 years, we have hired a contractor to mow everything north of DeSoto.
Noles said we just finished a five-year contract with a mowing company. There are 300 centerline miles of road that we contract.
Four requests for bids were sent out, with two being returned. “One bid was for $206 per centerline mile. The other was for $150 per centerline mile.” Last year we paid $126 per centerline mile. “The same contractor that performed the work last year for $126, bid $206 per centerline mile this year.”
The budgeted amount for the mowing was $110,000 and we received a bid for $90,000. This proposal is a three-year renewable contract to mow all paved residential roads north of DeSoto in two stages, totaling 600 centerline miles of roadway.
We can cancel the contract at any time if we are not satisfied with the work explained Noles. Substantial completion of this work should occur by November 1, 2022.
Noles said he and GM Hale compared the cost of doing this work in-house against the cost of using a contractor.
Hale said that to do this mowing in-house, we would need to hire two additional staff and purchase a new tractor in addition to another deck. Furthermore, the cost of purchasing the equipment alone would be $110,000 and we are not able to get it.
Next year the situation will be reevaluated to determine whether to continue on with the contractor or to use staff for all of the mowing.
Cheryl Dowden, Hot Springs Village People, April 7, 2022
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Tom Blakeman
04/10/2022 — 6:32 pm
You know it is very strange that we are in the golf course business which by definition means that we cut grass, trim brush, landscape, plant, fertilize, operate and maintain tractors, mowers, and all sorts of other stuff. But yet we are not equipped or staffed to cut down brush by the side of the roads. This is one of the main reasons why we are always behind in our finances. The answer is simple. Get the equipment, hire the staff, maintain the equipment and rotate the staff around so that things get done. Contracting out everything is never the solution other than for unexpected or one-off occasions.
Melvin west
12/29/2023 — 9:21 am
I agree. Outside contractors are hard to do a good job
They don’t have any pride in what they do
Get equipped to do the job in-house