The Green Park Board of Aldermen approved a bid Sept. 19 to continue employing Beishir Landscape Maintenance for its snow and leaf removal services. Beishir has provided the city its services since 2014.
The board went to bid in July, with a warning from City Administrator James Mello that the move could backfire on the city.
“Sometimes when cities (seek bids) they end up shooting themselves in the foot because now that you’re in a new open bid with new pricing and there’s no contract to defend or renew, everyone’s price is much higher than your existing contract,” Mello said.
Mello’s fears came to fruition, with Beishir’s bid coming in about $5 to $10 higher on all hourly rates. Beishir’s was the lower of two bids received by the city.
Jason Beishir, president of the company, said he has dedicated a lot of the company’s efforts to Green Park in the past, and he was planning to ask for a raise at the 10-year mark of his services either way.
Ward 1 Alderman Carol Hamilton asked if Beishir would consider going back to the lower original prices since Green Park stuck with his company through the pandemic and provided consistent work, but Beisher explained his reasoning behind the new prices.
“I haven’t had a raise in nine years. I’ve never pushed the issue … What I was paying my guys nine years ago and what I’m paying them now is more than the price increase,” Beishir said. “I split it with where I’d like to have been and where we were … honestly I needed $10 an hour per man to make myself where I was nine years ago.”
The board also discussed the leaf and street cleaning service provided by Beishir. Ward 1 Alderman Michael Broughton said he has received several complaints about trash and leaves being blown into yards during biweekly street cleanings.
“I can understand doing that on Green Park Road and the industrial (zone), I don’t see any purpose in that in the residential areas,” Broughton said.
Beishir said the street cleaning is already included in the contract’s hourly rate, and is useful for clearing out storm drains and preventing floods. He said the cleaning includes large item pickup and weed spraying, and the cleaning is built for speed and efficiency.
Hamilton, who shares the ward with Broughton, said she was in favor of keeping the street cleaning as is.
A possibility would be to let a future code enforcement officer determine when a street would need a cleaning. The city has been searching for an officer for months, with one offer extended and not accepted.
