Boerne council awards FY2025 mowing contract to BrightView, approves not-to-exceed $98,010.75 with contingency

The City of Boerne City Council voted unanimously to award the fiscal-year-2025 municipal mowing contract to BrightView Landscape Services and authorized the city manager to manage and execute the agreement with a not-to-exceed contract amount of $98,010.75 and a total construction-cost contingency figure cited during the meeting of $113,520.

City street staff presented the contract on behalf of the street department, saying the contractor arrangement began in fiscal 2022 to allow street crews to concentrate on street projects in the busy summer months. The staff presentation said the city publicly advertised the work (March 30 and April 6) and received four bids on April 15; the bid range reported to council was approximately $98,000 to $222,000, with BrightView submitting the lowest bid.

The resolution approved by council expands the contract’s scope compared with prior years, adding areas that had been maintained by Parks and other city areas, increasing mowing frequency, and adding language to protect late-blooming wildflowers by delaying mowing in specified locations (presentation referenced a typical cutoff of Father’s Day). Staff also said the contract contains renewal language tied to a consumer-price-index adjustment so both parties could extend the contract without repeating a full bid process, subject to council financial authorization.

Council members asked whether the contractor would do additional cleanup and edging at major intersections—an issue raised because Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT) mowing is typically done with larger tractor equipment and generally does not include trash pickup, edging, or sweeping. Staff said the city contractor would use smaller mowing equipment, would augment TxDOT areas the city elected to include (for example, certain large grass areas near the south interchange and the east side of State Highway 46), and that trash pickup and more-complete landscape mowing are included in the contract language.

During the meeting staff identified specific areas to be added, including the Curry Creek Trail and a large grass area near the park-and-ride. Staff said the city’s previously approved budget included roughly $192,000 for mowing (as presented), but the awarded bid is under that amount; the contract as approved includes a modest contingency to allow adding additional small areas or frequencies without another formal bidding process. Council moved to approve the resolution, with Councilman Willison making the motion and Councilmember Macaluso seconding; the motion passed unanimously.

The council also approved the consent agenda earlier in the meeting with no public comment and no conflicts of interest declared.

Votes at a glance Motion: “Approve mowing services for an amount not to exceed $98,010.75 and authorize the city manager to manage and execute the related contract with a not-to-exceed total construction cost of $113,520.” Mover: Councilman Willison. Second: Councilmember Macaluso. Outcome: Approved, unanimous (vote tally as reported to council: 5–0). Member-level vote details were not read into the record.

Why this matters: The contract formalizes a multi-year outsourcing approach the city said has allowed in-house street crews to focus on heavier street projects while ensuring more consistent mowing, improved entranceway appearance and more careful handling of wildflower areas. The renewal and CPI language is intended to let the city retain a contractor that performs well without repeating a public bid for every one-year extension, while still requiring council sign-off on the financial authorization.

Clarifying note: Numbers and some budget descriptions were presented verbally at the meeting and included multiple references to the city’s previously approved budget amount and to the range of bids received. The article reports the amounts as stated during the public presentation; if exact budget line-item identifiers are needed, staff contact was indicated by presenters.