Pulled off the consent list, the parks contract got questions, then a unanimous yes

Tri Scapes’ $691,000-a-year contract to keep Milton’s parks, trails and ballfields was on Monday’s consent agenda, the list of routine items Council passes in one vote without discussion. At the start of the meeting, Mayor Peyton Jamison moved it to new business, where it got its own presentation, questions and vote.

Jen Young, the city’s parks manager, presented it. The city’s request for proposals drew four bids, she said, and a four-person committee picked Tri Scapes as “one clear winner”: the lowest cost and the highest qualification score. The new contract pays for dedicated crews rather than individual jobs, and negotiations brought the price down to what the city had planned to spend this year. The city hasn’t released the other bidders’ names, prices or scores.

Council’s questions:

• What it covers. Councilmember Jan Jacobus asked whether it covers every city outdoor space. Young said 20 properties, plus four greenspace sites not yet open that get as-needed care until they open.
• Who checks the work. Councilmember Brian Dolan asked how the city makes sure Tri Scapes meets the contract. Young said staff meet with Tri Scapes weekly after a site inspection, collect public ratings of the parks and get a monthly inspection report for each park, and take corrective action when needed.
• Storms. Jacobus asked whether storm cleanup would need a new bid. No, Young said: emergency work is priced in the contract ahead of time. Jacobus added that he likes having dedicated crews this time and hasn’t had complaints.

Councilmember Jan Jacobus moved to approve it, Councilmember Brian Dolan seconded, and it passed unanimously. Mayor Pro Tem Doug Hene and Councilmember Carol Cookerly were absent. It can run through September 2031, about $3.5 million over five years at the first year’s price.

We emailed Tri Scapes on Monday morning with five questions drawn from the contract and its price offer, including why the final price sheet has seven full-time workers when the city asked for eight, and what has covered its Milton work since Oct. 1, the start date written into the new contract. Tri Scapes did not respond by our 2 p.m. deadline. We’ll add any answer online.

The background: the mayor moved the same contract from the Oct. 19 agenda to Monday’s because it had been left out of that meeting’s packet (our Oct. 20 report). Sunday’s issue laid out what the contract shows: the price came down about 11 percent from Tri Scapes’ $777,737 offer, the crew went from eight full-time workers to seven, extra jobs are capped at $80,000 a year, and the term was written to start Oct. 1, a month before Monday’s vote.

Also Monday, all unanimous:

• The consent agenda: the Oct. 19 minutes, the handover of the police and city vehicle outfitting contract from ProLogic to LEHR Upfitters, the financial report through Aug. 31 and a plat revision at 2395 Bethany Bend.
• Two water-conservation code changes the Metropolitan North Georgia Water Planning District requires, one on building standards and one on car wash water recycling.
• Council’s 2027 meeting calendar.
• First readings, with votes at a later meeting: lot rules in the development code, and an event space for up to 90 people at 631 North Main Street.

Council also told staff, without a formal vote, to go ahead with a traffic-calming plan for the southern end of Hopewell Road: four landscaped medians and a crosswalk with flashing beacons, about $200,000, to be bid with a contract back in 2027. Six residents spoke in public comment. Sloan Greer and Lisa Cauley urged Council to keep land bought with the 2016 greenspace bond, such as the Milton City Park and Preserve, for passive use. Jeffrey Nash and two residents of the Oxford Lakes neighborhood opposed plans for a large church off New Providence Road. Christy Hayes asked Council to hold off on the Hopewell Road work, and asked again that the Greenprint steering group meet in council chambers, recorded, with time for public comment. Council ended the night behind closed doors to discuss personnel, land and litigation. Watch the meeting →