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Councilor questions high blight fees and asks whether mowing contract is negotiable
Summary
Councilor Heidi Parker raised concerns about how blight fees were calculated, questioned costs for clippings cleanup and disposal, and asked if the existing blight mowing contract could be renegotiated; a contractor representative, Jerry Middaugh, commented on costs and billing.
Council discussion at the Aug. 18 Caro City Council meeting flagged resident concern over blight-abatement fees and the city’s billing process. Councilor Heidi Parker asked how the fees were developed, questioned the high costs for clippings cleanup and disposal, and inquired whether the existing blight mowing contract could still be negotiated.
A representative from Great Lakes Land Management, Jerry Middaugh, commented during the discussion about the mowing work and the billing process. The transcript records Parker’s questions and Middaugh’s participation but does not include direct verbatim quotes in the provided excerpt.
The council discussed the mechanics of billing for abatement and disposal and whether the city could seek adjustments to contractor pricing. No formal motion or vote on changing the fees or seeking renegotiation appears in the minutes for this item; it remained a discussion topic to be revisited as part of council oversight of nuisance abatements.
Council materials and the minutes note that department staff (Code Enforcement Officer Jon Beaupre and DPW Superintendent Thomas Reese were on the attendees list) supplied reports elsewhere on the agenda; the discussion here focused on clarifying the basis for billed amounts and the disposal process for clippings.
