Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Parks And Recreation topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Council weighs hiring an in-house landscape team versus contracting; $500,000 landscaping budget proposed
Summary
Council and staff discussed four options for city landscaping—full in‑house crew (supervisor + three workers + equipment, $881,916 one option), continued contracting with increased budget ($500,000), hiring a landscape architect, or hybrid—debating recurring personnel costs versus outsourcing savings.
Parks staff presented four options for improving city landscaping and beautification: (1) an in-house crew with supervisor, horticulturalist, three workers, trucks, trailers and a $500,000 project budget (presented at $881,916 total for option 1); (2) continue contracting and increase the contract budget to $500,000; (3) hire a landscape architect to design prioritized projects and use the $500,000 for construction; or (4) hire an in‑house designer/supervisor and outsource construction. "The landscaping that I've been advocating for is durable, perennial based and can provide seasonal interest without the very labor intensive and very not cheap, extensive color changes," a Keep La Porte Beautiful committee member said.
Council members expressed concern about adding recurring salary costs versus buying services; Miss Williams said she supported hiring a supervisor and three landscape workers to keep jobs local and capture what would otherwise be contractor profit. Staff said the Keep La Porte Beautiful committee will review options and return recommendations to council before final budget action. The council did not adopt a budget decision tonight; options will be revisited before the September adoption.
