Board says no to bidding out mowing

MEXICO -- In a followup to their previous meeting, the Board of Selectmen voted on April 26 that they will continue mowing the recreation park with in-house labor rather than bid out the job.

On April 12, resident Todd Piper, who lives down the road from the recreation facility, originally had proposed a verbal bid $3,000 to contract with the town for mowing, then adjusted it to $5,000 after learning about additional mowing that would be involved.

Recreation Director Greg Arsenault talked about what is involved with the department taking care of the fields. He has two helpers at 20 hours a week assisting him from May to the second week in August, then Arsenault mows the fields by himself into October.

Selectmen debated that perhaps contracting would enable the spares to have more time to make repairs in the park, or it would allow the town to cut the hours of the spares.

Selectman Richie Philbrick said that first of all, a "man living down the road" should not be the only giving the opportunity for this, if the board so chose.

Selectman Byron Ouellette said that the initial offer by Piper of $3,000 to do the mowing sounded good, but the adjusted figure of $5,000 not so good as they budget $4,000 or so for the in-house mowing. "However, we still can get information."

Selectman Reggie Arsenault, who was against bidding out the mowing, noted that the town purchased a new machine to do the mowing. In addition, there is much more than mowing that is done to maintain the park.

In a second vote, the board indicated they want a more detailed plan for mowing and other upkeep at the Roxbury Road park at the next meeting. Voting against the measure was Reggie Arsenault.

Philbrick said he wants Town Manager John Madigan and Greg Arsenault to get together to create the plan. "This is not negative about what's being done down there."

Madigan said, "We'll write one up as best we can. The main thing is how much it's going to rain. If we have a dry summer, it's not an issue. It's like in winter to bid out snow removal."