Muskego finance committee OKs 2025–26 landscaping contract after debate over savings and mower purchase

The Muskego City Finance Committee voted March 25 to approve awarding the 2025–26 Parks, Boulevards, Terraces and Facility Landscaping Services contract, following a 20‑minute discussion about the contract’s reduced 2026 scope, expected savings and a planned $70,000 lawnmower purchase.

Committee members said they needed clearer numbers showing how much the city will save after shifting some mowing and other work in‑house. The discussion covered differences between bidders’ submissions, mulching schedules and where herbicide applications will be used on park playing surfaces.

Alderman Wolf pressed staff on whether bidders had accounted for a smaller scope in 2026. “I want to see some realistic saving numbers here,” Wolf said, noting he had asked at the previous meeting for figures showing savings from 2024 to the present and projected future savings. Wolf said he was concerned the packet did not reflect the reduced contractor workload for 2026.

A staff member replied that the city solicited new bids after receiving only one response previously and that the previous low bidder remained the low bidder this round. The staff member said some bidders — identified in the discussion as Snow Patrol and Redtail — had not adjusted their submissions to reflect the removed second‑year mulch work and other changes. The staff member also said the contract had been pared back toward a “bare bones” level to keep the operating budget manageable.

On the planned equipment purchase, staff said the city will buy a lawnmower costing about $70,000 with an expected service life of roughly 10 to 15 years, which the staff member annualized as about $7,000 per year in hardware cost. The same staff member said the city did not plan to hire additional personnel to operate the equipment and expected to reallocate existing labor, not create new positions. “We’re not adding extra labor. We’re finding efficiencies within our own departments,” the staff member said.

Staff described how the change affects herbicide usage: contractors will treat plain, playable surfaces (for example, soccer and baseball playing areas) but not outline or naturalized park areas. Staff said a map in the contract shows which parks and playing areas will receive contracted weed control and which areas the city will maintain in‑house.

Alderman Wolf said he wanted a clear accounting showing how much the city would save after the changes and where any savings might be redirected (he cited the road program as an area of interest). Staff said budget and maintenance efficiencies from prior years and increased in‑house preventive maintenance factor into the savings, but acknowledged that the specific numbers Wolf requested were not included in the packet and would be provided later.

The committee voted in favor of the award. No formal vote tally by name was recorded in the transcript; three alderpersons were present and the motion passed with all voting in favor.

The contract packet notes that some bidders did not fully account for the second‑year scope changes; the final contract includes explicit maps and a list of park areas covered for contracted weed control and playing‑surface maintenance.

The committee did not vote on the mower purchase itself during the meeting; staff described the equipment cost and life span during the landscaping discussion.