Parks director proposes contractor use and staffing shifts to improve Moore landscaping

Sue Wood, Moore parks and recreation director, presented landscaping and staffing proposals to the City Council on Oct. 6, saying the department manages about 29 locations across the city and that landscaping requires dedicated time and expertise.

Wood said landscaping "has to be treated as a specific task, not something handled only when time allows," and described contracting specialty services combined with supervisory staffing changes — converting the horticulturist to a crew-chief role, adding an inspector, and creating three focused crews: a maintenance/custodial crew for playgrounds and restrooms, a mowing and trimming crew, and a crew dedicated to Central Park.

Wood told the council that contractors have specialist plant knowledge and that contracting has reduced the need to add roughly six full-time employees: "Without the contractors we've hired in recent years, we would have needed at least 6 additional employees, 4 for landscaping and 2 for cleanup and maintenance," she said. Staff said contractors are inspected after work and paid upon approval.

Council members pressed on oversight, irrigation for newly planted trees and how to integrate landscaping work into ongoing public-works projects; staff said they will work with public works and return with formal job descriptions and a proposal to amend positions and the organizational chart.

Next steps: staff will draft the proposed job descriptions and bring them back to council for formal approval at a future meeting.