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Board approves solicitation for four-year mowing contract; members discuss reducing acres and native-plant pilot
Summary
The Marshfield Board of Public Works approved an RFP to solicit bids for mowing services for 2026–2029 and discussed adding contract language to adjust compensation if acreage is reduced. Board members also asked staff to draft a plan to convert some mowed areas to native habitat and to explore grant funding.
The Marshfield Board of Public Works voted to solicit bids for a four-year mowing contract covering the 2026–2029 season and approved the RFP and related bidding documents.
Tim Rasmussen, street superintendent, told the board the packet includes an official notice, the RFP with specifications, a contractor compliance checklist and a bid form. "It will be published as a class 1 notice on Sunday, October 19," Rasmussen said. He said the RFP would remain open until Friday, December 19, 2025, and that the recommended contract term aligns with a similar parks and recreation contract.
The nut graf: the action starts the formal procurement process for routine public-right-of-way and city-property mowing — a contract that staff expects to run from 2026 through 2029 — while several board members requested both contractual protections and a separate plan to reduce the city's overall mowing footprint.
Board members asked for a clause tying contractor compensation to acreage if the city reduces the area it mows during the four-year term. "Just so that it was in there that if we reduced the amount of acreage…the compensation would also be adjusted," said board member Natasha. Rasmussen said staff would work on a calculation based on acreage to meet both parties' needs.
During discussion after the vote, Natasha urged staff to coordinate Parks and Recreation and the street division to prepare a plan to reduce mowing by 25% through conversion of selected strips and small plots to native Wisconsin habitat. She suggested consulting the city forester and UW Extension and pursuing a CEED seed grant to help fund plantings and seeds.
Other members cautioned that past attempts to leave medians and triangles unmowed had maintenance and neighbor-relations complications. One board member recalled a previous triangle plant project that was later judged a failure because it was not maintained and created neighbor disputes.
The board approved the motion to solicit bids after confirming the RFP documents and accommodating the requested flexible language on acreage adjustments. The motion was made and seconded on the record; the board signaled approval by voice vote.
Looking ahead, staff said the RFP timing was intended to let potential contractors view properties before winter and that any long-term change to the mowing footprint could be phased and coordinated with the procurement schedule. Natasha asked that a draft plan be ready to present to the council in December or early in the council's budget process.
Ending: The board approved solicitation of bids for the mowing contract and asked staff to return with language to allow compensation adjustments if acreage is reduced, plus a timetable and partners for a pilot native-plant conversion plan.
