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The Nicholasville City Commission awarded a mowing contract Monday to Curry Services for the Maple Grove Cemetery, pictured here last week. (Photo by Benjamin S. Rossi/brossi@jessaminejournal.com / April 11, 2012) |
The Nicholasville City Commission accepted the bid of Nicholasville-based Curry Services for the mowing of Maple Grove Cemetery during Monday’s meeting.
The bid came in at $1,685 per week, city purchasing agent Pauline Horsley said.
In years past, inmates from the Jessamine County Detention Center did much of the mowing, but commissioner Andy Williams said the city elected to bid out the work because the inmate labor pool was dwindling.
“They’re letting quite a few of them out, and we’re just not getting that quality that we were getting before,” Williams said. “It’s not that we can’t get them; it just takes longer to get them.”
Williams said he and cemetery supervisor James Hubbard looked at contracting out the work versus hiring additional city employees.
“The bid for contracting for mowing is cheaper versus us hiring more employees for the city,” Williams said.
By contracting out the work, it saves the city $100,000, which includes salary, insurance and other considerations such as workers compensation.
Williams said the contract allows for each party to opt out with a 30-day notice, if needed.
“There is a clause that states if something happens during mowing season, that if James or someone from the city is not comfortable with what is being done, we can terminate the agreement,” Williams said.
The typical mowing season runs from mid-April through October, Hubbard said. Curry will only be paid for work performed; if the weather turns dry and mowing isn’t needed, then the city is not obligated to pay for the weeks when no mowing took place.
Hubbard said the mowing would take place either on Tuesdays or Wednesdays, but if there are weeks where it is raining on those days, the schedule can be adjusted.
