A citizen complaint has led to a review of the county’s mowing contract.
Wayne Crawford of Hacklebarney Road addressed commissioners during the public comment section of their regular monthly meeting last Tuesday night. The meeting was delayed a week due to Hurricane “Debby”.
Crawford brought a copy of the county’s mowing contract and asked County Chairman Neal Bennett to read portions Crawford had highlighted dealing with how often the rights-of-way are to be mowed and the specifics of how the rights-of-way are to be maintained.
The county currently pays K&A Mowing of Blackshear $74,400 per year for mowing of the county’s approximately 480 miles of rights-of-way. The company is owned by Andy Rozier of Blackshear.
The mowings are to be done three times per year in June, August and October and are to cover the area from the road shoulder to the edge of the county’s rights-of-way.
“The terms of the contract are not being fulfilled,” Crawford said. “I’m not one to complain, but the mowing needs to be done right.”
Third district county commissioner Randy Dixon told the board he agreed with Crawford.
“I don’t think the taxpayers are getting their money’s worth,” Dixon said.
Dixon said he had observed K&A’s work in the earlier mowing in June and he was not satisfied with the job.
“It just knocked everything down. It didn’t really cut it,” he said.
Dixon asked that each commissioner be informed when K&A Mowing is working in their district, so that board members could go and observe and make sure the job was being done to specifications.
“We shouldn’t pay them until the terms of the contract are fulfilled,” Dixon said.
County Manager Raphel Maddox said he would consult with County Public Works Director Bruce Carter and they would meet with Rozier to discuss the issues.
Maddox is to report back to the commissioners next month.
