Keene council gives staff direction to create field manager post and to route lawn‑care contract to EDC board for ratification

Keene councilmembers on June 10 told the city manager to proceed with creating a new field manager position in Public Works and instructed staff to formalize the city’s lawn‑care contract with Dawn’s Lawn Care and return it to the Economic Development Corporation (Type B) and to council for ratification.

Field manager position

City Manager Jonathan Sykes and Public Works staff described the new field manager as a crew leader/facilities/fleet role to oversee street maintenance, utility maintenance and city facility/park upkeep. The position was advertised on the city website with a proposed salary in the mid‑$50,000 range (cited in discussion as $58,000). Staff said the position would replace a former “lawn tech” post and that the Type B EDC fund would cover roughly half of park‑related duties for the remainder of the fiscal year.

Councilmembers raised process questions about when the job classification and salary should be brought to council (per the city charter, council establishes salary structures). After discussion the council gave direction to move forward with creating the position and to proceed with advertising and hiring at the posted salary; several members asked staff to ensure future job creations and salary changes were communicated to council in advance.

Dawn's Lawn Care contract and procurement questions

Council then discussed recent lawn‑care work performed by Dawn's Lawn Care and whether the contracting steps taken earlier this spring followed the city's usual public procurement and board review process. Don Bowersox of Dawn's Lawn Care attended and described the scope of his work (mowing, edging, fertilization and chemical applications) and said he uses a renewal process each year.

Some councilmembers said the contract had been split across multiple smaller agreements (city hall, parks, welcome sign) and questioned whether that structure and an apparent auto‑renewal clause created ambiguity about the contract's term and whether competitive bidding thresholds were met. The city attorney advised the council the contract language was ambiguous on term length and that ratification by the Type B board and final council approval would clarify the city's position.

Council direction and next steps

- Field manager: Council gave the city manager consensus direction to proceed with creating and advertising the field manager position, with the understanding staff will return with hiring and budget details and that Type B would cover a portion of park‑related costs for the rest of FY25. - Lawn contract: Council directed the city manager to present the lawn‑care contract to the Type B EDC board for review/ratification and then bring the contract to council for formal approval. Council asked the attorney to clarify ambiguous contract language (particularly the auto‑renewal phrasing that could be read as extending through 03/31/2027) and to confirm whether splitting the work into multiple agreements affects procurement thresholds.

Why it matters

The field manager position and lawn‑care contract affect front‑line maintenance services, parks conditions and near‑term operating budgets. Council asked staff to follow charter requirements on salary classifications and to use the EDC board and council approval steps to ensure transparency and compliance with procurement rules.