Fairfield cemetery board opts for paid contractor over volunteers for regular mowing

Speaker 1, presiding member of the Fairfield Cemetery Board, reported outreach to vendors and relayed a contractor quote for cemetery maintenance: "He came back with, $485 for a cemetery mowing" and an additional $45 per man-hour for spring cleanup. Board members discussed reliability, volunteer liability and the difficulty of getting other contractors to bid for work in the town.

After a lengthy discussion about volunteer programs, insurance waivers and the town's experience with inconsistent volunteer turnout, the board voted to hire a maintenance company rather than rely on volunteer labor. Speaker 3 noted the contract price is low enough to avoid a formal three-bid solicitation. The board settled on a likely schedule tied to Memorial Day (a mid-May mowing), a mid-summer mowing (July), an autumn mowing (September/October) and a floater as needed; members discussed starting with three mowings and increasing to four if necessary.

Members emphasized the town must reconcile liability and volunteer rules before running volunteer cleanup events, and they discussed a separate tradition of community clean-up days for individual plot care. The board directed staff to notify the contractor (identified in the meeting as Tristan), confirm pricing, and set the first mowing around Memorial Day.

Speaker 1 said he would notify Tristan about the job and the spring-cleanup hourly rate. The formal vote to proceed with a contractor was recorded as unanimous by the board during the meeting; no contract document was signed on Feb. 3 and staff will return with contract details for administrative completion.