Chatham-Kent is making some changes to the way the municipality oversees and tenders grass-cutting across the region.
South Kent Councillor Anthony Ceccacci entered a successful motion Monday night, which will see a number of changes to municipal grass-cutting aimed at avoiding another late start to the season.
Those changes include having one municipal department to be in charge of grass cutting for all parcels of grass to ensure continuity, consistency, and ownership of the grass cutting operations.
Municipal staff will also develop a five-year tender package from 2023 to 2028 for grass cutting. It will be issued in the fall to provide successful bidders with enough time to purchase equipment and hire staff for the 2023 season.
"Us [councillors] in the rural areas are really hearing the struggles right now with the grass cutting and I know that the contractors are taking some of the blame as well," said Ceccacci. "They have been put in a very challenging situation with the late approval of contracts. We all know how it is just in our yards to catch up let alone a very vast municipality."
While presenting the initial motion, Ceccacci also added a fourth point for municipal staff to look into the associated costs of adding additional cuts during the Spring.
Director of Parks and Recreation Rob Pollock said part of the reason for some areas being neglected is due to the municipality having to hire new contractors on such short notice.
"Our supervisors have been working over and beyond trying to get the grass cut," said Pollock. "I think adding additional cuts is definitely something we could look at."
According to Pollock, it will take a few weeks for some grassy areas to be cut and cleaned up.
"I would say it's going to take two to four weeks for parcels to look as to how they should."
