County commissioners discuss mowing reduction

Sarasota County could be considering reducing or eliminating its responsibility to mow rights of ways.

County commissioners heard an update today from staff about the current state of the mowing program. Sarasota County pays the third highest per acre out of seven surrounding counties, according to the staff presentation.

Commissioner Paul Caragiulo said comparing dollar amounts was not quite accurate because staff should compare the scope of work, instead. Spencer Anderson, division manager of field services for the county, said that in most of the other counties, the contract for mowing was only for about 100 acres. In Sarasota, the county contracts out the service for 300 or more acres.

Mowing rights of way costs about $1 million, Anderson said. The county’s contractors mow about 2,310 acres, but a recent GIS map showed the county is actually responsible for 3,275 acres. Anderson told the Sarasota Observer that the discrepancy was partly because some property owners prefer to maintain their own lawns.

Commissioner Charles Hines questioned the county’s need to continue mowing the rights of way areas, especially when $1 million could be put to different uses.

“What’s the role of the government in this? It’s a policy question,” Hines said.

County Administrator Tom Harmer said that in his experience in city government, municipalities rarely maintained rights of way, and that counties have mixed policies on this responsibility. The board needed to look at it from an efficiency standpoint, he said.

“It’s a good policy discussion for the board,” he said.

Whether or not the county should change the policy, Commissioner Christine Robinson complimented Anderson, his staff and the contractors of the effort they’d put in to clean up the county.

“When I stepped into office, South County was a mess. Things weren’t getting mowed, stuff wasn’t looking good,” she said. “I understand that we’ve come a long way. You’ve done an excellent job.”

“I don’t get many complaints anymore… as a matter of fact, I’ve gotten compliments,” Robinson added.