Grounds maintenance hired for children’s home

Decatur has contracted with Plants Creative Landscapes for basic landscape maintenance of the old United Methodist Children’s Home property. This includes mowing the lawn areas, cleaning walkways, parking lots, weed control, fall leaf removal and pruning of ornamental plants.

Deputy City Manager Hugh Saxon said this could eventually include evaluating the network of beaver-constructed dams throughout the lake in the property’s rear.

The one-year contract is not to exceed $34,560. It will include weekly visits in April through August, bi-weekly in September through December and monthly visits in January and February.

In a separate move, the city will pay $16,900 to Clearwater Environmental Resources to remove a 6,000-gallon underground storage tank on the property. Saxon said the tank isn’t that old but the city has its own fuel container at the nearby Public Works Building.

These are the first city-related moves in taking over the 77-acre property that Decatur purchased in August for $40 million. As of mid-October the children’s home has moved all its residents and staff to Clarkston and Tucker.

In January, the city will begin improvements on the now-existing athletic fields, including higher quality sod, irrigation and new fencing. This should finish sometime next spring.