Approve Contract Maintenance Services for The Draw

As Council is aware, 2011 is the first full year that the city will be maintaining The Draw.  Coinciding with this, is the mid-summer resignation of a full-time maintenance worker assigned to parks.

While additional seasonal worker hours have been budgeted for 2011 for the various added responsibilities, like The Draw and the maintenance of the HRA properties, there still will be the absence of the more skilled FT hours within parks' and public works' due to the resignation.  This Topic Report continues the discussion on a partial strategy to 'backfill' those hours.

At Council's first work session in June of 2011, a RFP was approved for services relating to mowing The Draw.  An ad was placed in the Anoka County Union for three weeks, and additionally, staff sent an invitation to 32 different lawn services directly.

3 quotes were received, and staff is recommending that mowing and related services for The Draw be contracted out for the balance of this year and also 2012.  The following are the bids for 25 weeks of service:

• Prescription Landscape:  $14,080 (Tax included)
• Professional Maint. Services: $14,400 (Plus tax)
• Turf Enterprises Inc.: $41,874.56 (Tax included)

If the consensus is to approve this contracted service, approval of the consent agenda later in the evening will authorize staff to enter into an agreement with Prescription Landscape.

If approved, 2011 General Fund savings from not filling the Parks Worker vacancy will be available as a funding source for this contract for 2011 and 2012. Staff is proposing to utilize the money that is put into the seasonal budget to accomplish this Contract.

Consensus recommendation to approve staff to enter into an agreement for Contracted Maintenance for The Draw, with Prescription Landscape.