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Parks presentation: in‑house mowing cost $288,000; contracting estimates rise to $1M–$2.3M
Summary
At an informal Joplin City Council meeting, Mr. Bloomberg presented a comparison of in‑house versus contracted parks mowing, saying in‑house salary-and-benefit costs are $288,000 per season while contractor bids ranged $60–$140 per acre, producing seasonal estimates of about $1 million to $2.3 million; council members asked staff to produce an apples‑to‑apples cost update that includes equipment and fuel.
Mr. Bloomberg, a parks department staff member, told the council the city maintains roughly 24 parks and just over 900 acres of parks and green space and presented a seasonal cost comparison that found in‑house labor and benefit costs of $288,000.
He said the park season is about 25 weeks and that the parks department operates with nine full‑time staff supplemented by eight part‑time seasonal workers. "Total costs with benefits is $288,000 per season," he said while noting his numbers covered salary and benefits and did not include all operations costs.
Why it matters: the council is weighing whether to continue mowing in‑house or to contract maintenance. The presentation showed contractor bids of $60 to $140 per acre; at those rates Mr. Bloomberg said the lowest total seasonal contract estimate is "just right under 1,000,000 dollars" and the highest about $2.3 million.
Presentation details: Mr. Bloomberg listed the scope of city maintenance—24 parks, several facilities, four cemeteries, trails and medians—amounting to just over 900 acres maintained by parks staff and roughly 1,100 acres citywide when athletic complexes and the golf course are included. He said the parks are typically mowed on about a 10‑day rotation during the season (about 17.5 rotations per season), which he translated into roughly 16,000 acres mowed across the season. He said average in‑house cost is about $17.65 per acre for labor and benefits.
Council questions and follow‑up: Mrs. Carlin asked who would maintain a restored area along Joplin Creek (4th and Murphy). Mr. Bloomberg said public works led the initial clearing and parks will maintain the area going forward and that parks staff are working with the Missouri Prairie Foundation to install and manage native grasses and flowers; some native areas would be mowed only once a year under the maintenance plan.
Councilman Jackson pressed for a more complete accounting. "We're not looking at a hard apples to apples comparison here," he said, pointing out that equipment, fuel, insurance and workers' comp were not included in the presented figures and asking staff to update the estimate. Mr. Bloomberg agreed to provide revised figures and told the council that adding equipment and fuel would add roughly $100,000 to the city's apparent expense, bringing the nearer full cost to about $400,000.
Other discussion: Mister Koppel proposed adopting a tiered maintenance schedule that mows high‑use parks more frequently and low‑use parks less frequently; Mr. Bloomberg said the idea fits the department's work converting some acres to prairie habitat and could allow staff to concentrate resources on high‑use areas.
Next steps: Mr. Bloomberg said he will update the cost comparison to include equipment and operations costs and provide more complete maintenance operations figures. The informal meeting closed with no formal vote on the question.
