Issue of grass-cutting raised on council
Agenda
WHILE it may seem like a somewhat trivial matter to some, the issue of crass-cutting on local authority estates must be addressed now to avoid the problems encountered last year.
That’s the view of Cllr John Paul O’Shea (Ind) who raised the issue at this month’s meeting of the Mallow/Kanturk District Committee, asking council officials to outline what arrangements had been put in place for grass-cutting on estates during 2018.
“Last year we had a fantastic spring with a lot of growth. However, by the time we got the grass cutting contract in place we were almost dealing with silage. I want to know if the contract has been awarded for this year and if it will be the municipal district or the housing department who will monitor it,” said Cllr O’Shea.
Cllr Melissa Mullane (SF) said it this was an issue of huge concern to people, in particular those living in areas formerly managed by town councils.
“They would have been used to the job being done properly, but in recent years it has been a disaster with the contractors that have been brought in. I think the only time it has ever worked was when we were doing it ourselves,” said Cllr Mullane.
Municipal District Officer Liz Donovan said the grass-cutting contract was currently being prepared, would be going out to tender within the next fortnight and would be monitored by the housing department.
Cllr O’Shea asked if the contract would be going out to open tender, pointing out that the same contractor was awarded the contract for both the Fermoy and Kanturk/Mallow areas in 2017 “but did not have the resources to do both.”
He said the 2017 contract stipulated the grass on each site had to be initially cut and picked up and subsequently cut on 14 occasions over the year on a 10-14 days rolling basis.
“In some instances last year the contractor did not return for up to 25-days and ended up blowing grass everywhere because it was not being picked up. That’s not what we were paying money for. I would like the tender process to be open as there are a lot of landscape companies within our area that could comfortably cover all of the sites,” he said.
“We also need a point of contact within the housing department should any queries arise.”
Ms Donovan said she would raise issues addressed by councillors with housing officials to ensure the terms and conditions of the 2018 contract, which would be the same as last year, would be adhered to.